Marco Bezzecchi
With concerns about the overwhelming amount of Spanish and Italian riders in MotoGP, Carmelo Ezpeleta has suggested a way to expand the sport.
Out of the 22 riders active in MotoGP today, only six are from countries other than Spain and Italy, showing just how dominant both nations’ presence in the sport is.
Over the last few months, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding how prominent Spanish and Italian riders are in MotoGP, compared to other nationalities.
Are there too many Spanish riders on the MotoGP grid?
In response to this discourse, Carmelo Ezpeleta pushed for more non-Spanish riders to be given an opportunity in MotoGP.
And while Spanish riders have dominated MotoGP for several years, there is now more of a push for riders of different nationalities to be in the sport.
READ MORE: MotoGP fans tell Liberty Media ‘this isn’t F1’ over proposal to introduce pit stops in 2027
Carmelo Ezpeleta urges MotoGP to follow Ai Ogura example to solve Spanish and Italian rider dominance
Speaking on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo podcast, MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta addressed the dominance of Spanish and Italian riders in MotoGP.
He believes that while this issue can’t be regulated, Ezpeleta called on other nations to provide more infrastructure in conjunction with MotoGP to see new talent rise.
“Obviously, that’s not good, but you can’t regulate it. What needs to happen is for other nations to do what has been done in Spain or Italy—basically Spain—to achieve this, which is to help young riders. Ogura wouldn’t have raced if we hadn’t organised the Asia Talent Cup.”
While Ezpeleta makes a valid point about the inability to regulate the rider nationality issue, MotoGP definitely can do more to expand its reach to help develop young riders across the world.
It would be a smart move from MotoGP to invest in other countries to help develop riders, as it would allow them to grow the sport in these nations, thus achieving a larger goal.
READ MORE: Carmelo Ezpeleta once warned MotoGP riders they would ‘ruin’ the sport if they formed a union
Do you think MotoGP officials have the riders’ best interests in mind?
Carmelo Ezpeleta has defended the decision to restart the Catalan GP twice!
MotoGP will need to grow the sport to attract riders from different countries
The complaints about the overwhelming presence of Spanish and Italian riders tie into a larger issue about the global presence of MotoGP.
Perhaps this untapped potential for popularity in other countries is why Liberty Media are using their Formula 1 blueprint to try to expand MotoGP.
But with rumours of a potential MotoGP race in Miami, there has been pushback from fans and some riders, which suggests that Liberty Media will face obstacles in their efforts to grow the sport.
It is in Liberty Media’s best interest to try and help grow the sport globally while not trying to change too many core elements of MotoGP.
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