Marco Bezzecchi
Liberty Media are looking to complete their takeover of MotoGP in 2025 after almost a year of negotiations.
The American media company agreed a deal worth around £3.5bn to acquire 86% of Dorna Sports in April last year. Liberty have had incredible success in transforming F1 into a global empire.
The pinnacle of motorsport has seen an astronomical rise in viewership around the world. Netflix’s documentary series Drive to Survive has been key for the sport to break into the US market.
Liberty want to have the same success in MotoGP. Early rumours have suggested that select Grand Prix will be placed on the same weekend as F1 races, which will expose the sport to new fans.
However, Liberty’s proposed deal is still awaiting approval. The takeover is subject to an investigation by the European Union as it is concerned the takeover could limit competition in broadcasting and streaming markets.
Dorna chief Dan Rossomondo admits the timeline for Liberty Media’s takeover of MotoGP was ‘very ambitious’
Liberty had hoped to get the deal done before the 2025 season, but Dorna CCO Dan Roosomono admitted to the Paddock Pass Podcast that that timeline was ‘very ambitious’.
The deadline for the EU’s investigation into the deal is June 30th. Rossomondo says all parties involved are ‘confident’ it will be approved by the early third quarter of 2025 at the latest.
Asked whether he felt the delay was more than expected, Rossomondo replied: ‘Well, not more than experts expected, how about that. More than I expected, yes.
“The initial timeline to get the deal approved was very aggressive and very ambitious, you know eight months to get it approved.
“So when it went to phase two we were really not surprised. What happens in phase two is just because of a lot of more document discovery work that we have to do and produce, sometimes there’s little delays in there because they stop the clock and ask us for more information.
“So that’s… it’s still on track. It’s just a matter of will it be done in May, June or early July. That’s what it comes down to but listen, the commission’s doing their job, they’re doing their work and we’re giving them all the information that they can possibly ask for.
“Our current shareholders, Liberty, the management team here are confident that it’s going to get approved and will be part of Liberty Media come [the] second quarter, early third quarter I guess.”
The ‘rumour’ surrounding Michelin after Pirelli secured MotoGP tyre deal
As Liberty continues to work on their takeover, MotoGP will see a step away from Michelin tyres come 20207. F1 tyre supplier Pirelli will join the sport ahead of the new regulations – they also supply rubber for Moto2 and Moto3.
Frankie Carchedi was stunned by the news that Michelin will leave MotoGP in 2027. They have been the premier class’ sole tyre supplier since 2016.
Rumours have suggested that Pirelli and Michelin were in a bidding war to secure the MotoGP contract. The latter want to continue in the premier class but not in the lower categories.
As Pirelli await their entrance to MotoGP, riders are ‘not allowed’ to criticise Michelin. The Clermont-Ferrand brand have come under fire for recent accidents, notably Jorge Martin who will miss the Argentine Grand Prix after a setback in his recovery from a crash at Sepang in pre-season.
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