Marco Bezzecchi
Mat Oxley believes that Silverstone may be ‘for the chop’ from the MotoGP calendar under Liberty Media.
The MotoGP calendar has been hotly debated in recent weeks, with changes to upcoming seasons and rescheduling to the 2026 season.
When looking to the 2027 calendar, Phillip Island has been removed and an Adelaide street circuit has been added, which may take place in November 2027.
With this change being made, there have been fears that there will be further changes made to the calendar with established circuits being removed because of Liberty Media.
You’re in charge of MotoGP, what is the one track that you’d immediately add to the calendar?
Mat Oxley has named three circuits that may be ‘for the chop’
During a Q&A session on the Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast, Mat Oxley and Peter Bom discussed what circuits could be cut from the MotoGP calendar.
Following on from Phillip Island’s removal from the calendar, Oxley has suggested that Silverstone, Portimao, and MotorLand Aragon may follow.
Oxley said, “With Liberty, it is all about improving the fan experience; that is what they want to do, which is why they love city races in Formula 1, and why they want to be closer to cities in MotoGP.
“The way Liberty look at it is, you will have a much better weekend if the track is outside of the city, like for Barcelona, for example, you can watch the race, and in the evening you can go into Barcelona and hang out at nice bars or restaurants. That is the way they look at it, they are beyond sitting in a tent in a field getting p—– in the evening and waking up and watching the racing.
“That is not Liberty’s concept of where MotoGP should be, rightly or wrongly.”
Bom asked, “That leaves us with Silverstone. Are you in trouble?”
Oxley said, “Absolutely, yes, I would think so… They need to get a bigger crowd at Silverstone, otherwise it will be for the chop. That is the thing, Formula 1 nearly left Silverstone for many, many years, because Ecclestone screwed them. But now it is a hugely successful event, they get over 400,000 people there a weekend.”
Oxley added, “I would say Aragon because it has a small attendance and is in the middle of nowhere, and Portimao because it has smallish attendance and is in the middle of nowhere.”
Do you believe that MotoGP will follow in Formula 1’s footsteps?
Carlos Ezpeleta insists Liberty Media will not change MotoGP
There have been suggestions that, with Liberty Media involved, MotoGP will be changed after their successful involvement within Formula 1.
With the arrival of street circuits to MotoGP, many believe that the Formula 1-isation of MotoGP is already underway, something Carlos Ezpeleta denies.
Ezpeleta said, “There is this fear out there in the media that we are going to Formula 1-ise MotoGP, and that is by far not what we are trying to do. MotoGP is not Formula 1 on two wheels; it is a separate sport, with our unique attributes and values.”
Liberty Media have been known for pushing excess amounts of street circuits onto the Formula 1 calendar, something MotoGP fans do not want to occur to MotoGP’s calendar.
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