Marco Bezzecchi
Pedro Acosta has admitted that MotoGP suffered a great deal upon Valentino Rossi’s retirement from the sport at the end of the 2021 campaign.
Ahead of the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix, Valentino Rossi announced what many had been expecting for several months: he would be retiring at the end of the season and calling a day on one of the most successful careers in the premier class ever.
What are your thoughts on Liberty Media taking MotoGP down the same route as F1?
Pedro Acosta thinks it's the right move
Since his very first season in the 500cc category back in 2000, Rossi had spearheaded MotoGP’s growth across the globe through his charismatic charm and undeniable prowess on two wheels.
Even if someone had never watched a Grand Prix in their life, chances are, they knew who Rossi was. However, upon his exit from the sport, MotoGP was unable to fill the void of the most marketable member of the grid.
Pedro Acosta outlines how Liberty Media can fill the void of Valentino Rossi’s departure from MotoGP
Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi believes Rossi’s absence from the MotoGP grid remains a ‘problem’ for the sport due to the premier class now holding less of an attraction for young riders to take to it.
Pedro Acosta thinks that there is a simple way to recoup some of the lost fans, though, and has urged Liberty Media to take MotoGP in the same direction as Formula 1 by putting on more races in countries that can grow the sport.
F1 star Kimi Antonelli has visited Valentino Rossi’s ranch during the break – But which MotoGP rider would win a race in Formula 1 cars?
Speaking via the Gypsy Tales podcast, Acosta was asked for his thoughts on Miami potentially hosting a MotoGP race weekend following the success of F1’s move there.
“Yeah, let’s see. I mean, we have to be honest. At the moment, I think the different classes are at a much higher level than MotoGP,” he began.
“At the moment, I think Formula 1 and, in my opinion, Supercross, are putting on an amazing show. It’s true that MotoGP has been better since Liberty Media came to the class.
“We’re still quite far from what Formula 1 can do, but I think it’s important that we start to go to these kind of countries, and make the sport bigger and bigger.
“Maybe we lost many fans that we had like ten years ago when Valentino was around. For this, I think it will be quite cool for the sport if we try to go in the direction of Formula 1.”
One F1-style change that has been heavily pushed by figures in the MotoGP paddock is to amend Sprint races in the premier class to just a handful of race weekends, rather than them being at every single event.
Renowned rider agent Carlo Pernat is all for the idea, highlighting how ridiculous it is for the sport’s officials to expect their competitors to take part in 44 races over the course of just one campaign.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
