Special Press Conference: Liberty Media to acquire MotoGP™

Ahead of lights out on the track action at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, a special Press Conference saw Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta joined by Chief Commercial Officer Dan Rossomondo and Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta to talk about the recent announcement that Liberty Media is to acquire MotoGP™. Here are some snippets from the event.

Carmelo Ezpeleta spoke first, outlining the news.

“Last week, we made a very special announcement that Liberty Media [acquired] 86% of Dorna. The agreement is set to be completed at the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals, during which time we will continue with our current shareholder’s structure. Even after the agreement, Dorna will continue to operate as an independent company based in Spain and with our current management. We are extremely happy with our agreement and to be able to share it with the world. We are very excited to be able to work with Liberty Media once it is complete; this will be the perfect step in the evolution of MotoGP™, as Liberty Media has a great track record in developing sports success. I want to thank the paddock, the FIM, manufacturers, teams, and riders. I am very happy and enthusiastic about welcoming more fans every day so we can share all the excitement behind the sport together.”

Having been CEO of Dorna since 1994, and with the company since 1991, Carmelo Ezpeleta also shared his personal emotions regarding the news.

“All of you have known me for over 30 years, and this is a result of our work together. I am extremely happy to see everyone here, from the press to the fans who make this possible. One sport that we started with in 1992 at a different level, and now we are one of the most important sports in the world. I think all of you must be very proud that we have this possibility; I remember the difficult days during the pandemic when we worked together and made this possible. And this is one step more in history which has been possible because of your help in the last 32 years.”

Here are a few more of the questions asked at the event.

Will we have more races outside of Europe?

Carmelo Ezpeleta: “Until 2026 we will continue more or less as we are with maybe some changes. We cannot do more than 22 races, and if we have to open more markets, then there will be more races outside of Europe, but not until 2027.”

What changes can fans expect?

Dan Rossomondo: “I am very conscious of our hardcore fans and how special they think our sport is, and I tend to go on deep rabbit holes of Reddit and Twitter feeds where I see that people do not want much change to our sport, but those same fans also want to be able to share this sport with others, and I think that is what we are going to focus on, and we have been focussing on it. We have been doing a lot over the past year and previous ones before me on how to make this spectacle transcend motorsport and become more culturally relevant, so it’s about preaching that and shouting it from the rooftops.”

Carlos Ezpeleta: “As we keep saying the deal will not be finalised before the end of 2024. I think as we were saying and as fans that we are of the sport, fans will only have things to look forward to and more people to share their fandom with. Liberty does not think that the sport needs fixing, and we agree with that. We think that we have an amazing sport that we have built together with all the stakeholders in the paddock. I think we will work together and a lot of the things that we have already initiated in the past couple of seasons, like big changes to our format, which is trying to increase the visibility and awareness of our sport globally while continuing to satisfy our traditional fans and markets. Once the deal is completed, I don’t think there will be a lot of big changes that will affect our current fans.”

What does Liberty see in MotoGP™?

Dan Rossomondo: “They have seen the great potential that this sport has, and I think that is the very important thing. They are very happy with the business, and they think they can add to that once this deal is approved. The really important piece is how they feel this sport is evocative of the emotions that people have in their lives: that it is so exciting, that it inspires courage, and the riders are so athletic. They saw the same potential that I saw when I started one year ago, so that to me is a big part of this as they see this is a tremendous opportunity.”