Marco Bezzecchi
Liberty Media don’t see too much wrong in their decision to take positive lessons from their Formula 1 experience and apply them to MotoGP.
A lot has been made about Liberty Media’s approach to MotoGP since they purchased the premier motorcycle racing league last year.
Many fans have slammed Liberty Media for taking a ‘Formula 1’ approach to MotoGP, as certain decisions have not been well-received by fans and members of the sport alike.
Is this a step in the wrong direction from Liberty?
On top of that, the catastrophic crashes at the Catalan Grand Prix not being deemed enough grounds to stop the race has raised concerns about Liberty Media’s stance on MotoGP riders’ safety.
However, one top official within MotoGP has defended Liberty Media’s involvement and approach in the sport, suggesting that them taking from the Formula 1 playbook is warranted given how successful they’ve been.
READ MORE: Alex Marquez’s Catalan Grand Prix crash forces Liberty Media to rethink their MotoGP plans
MotoGP officials back Liberty Media’s attempt to expand the sport like Formula 1
Speaking to Motor Sport Magazine, MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group marketing director Kelly Brittain defended Liberty Media’s efforts to try and expand the sport while using the blueprint they used in Formula 1.
While she believes that the F1 insight cannot be replicated entirely, it would be naive of Liberty Media to not take a look at what has worked in the past.
“What we want — and need — for MotoGP is what Liberty want to see, so there hasn’t been any clashes or a feeling that we had parallel plans.”
“I think a lot of people don’t want to hear that and have made up their mind already about what Liberty are going to do to the sport and how they are going to F1-it and do X-Y-Z.
“We’d be naive not to look at what worked elsewhere. But we are a different sport, with a different fanbase, different roots and slightly different fandom and fan insight. What we need to do is make sure that we speak to that insight and not the F1 insight.”
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Liberty Media’s involvement in MotoGP is already paying off in viewership
Brittain added that Liberty Media have treated their investment in MotoGP seriously, and allowed for the sport to grow significantly, citing an improved viewership record since the takeover.
“They are here for the long-term and are investing long-term and are supporting the business with a long-term view. It doesn’t feel like a typical piggybacked industry where they will come in and rip a bunch of costs out of the business and bleed it hard and sell it off.
“Liberty’s involvement increased interest from agencies that want to work with us and brands that want to work with us, but also the talent.
“While the purists might feel that something has been detracted, you cannot argue that 10 times the growth in fans and 10 times the amount of people being able to turn on a TV or open an app and enjoy what they are seeing is a bad thing.
“And I’m not talking about the income being through the roof, I’m talking about people’s time and enjoyment and accessibility to the sport, and that’s ultimately what we are trying to do.”
Whether or not Liberty Media intend to make sweeping changes to MotoGP, they must be aware of the negative rumours within the sport about their involvement.
MotoGP teams asked Liberty Media to improve compensation through a new revenue-sharing agreement, something they feel is valid given how the new owners have touted the sport’s growth.
However, Liberty Media wants MotoGP riders to emulate F1 drivers under this new agreement, as they would have to commit to more commercial events and appearances to bolster the sport’s visibility.
Things cannot be this tense between the owners and the teams in the sport for much longer, as it could create drastic problems for them in the future.
It would be best if Liberty Media started to take a more compromising approach to MotoGP and allowed them to operate similarly to how they have in the past, with a few tweaks and suggestions for improvement.
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