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Sunday’s Grand Prix of the Americas at Austin was about nearly as good an commercial for MotoGP as you would ever hope for – with frenetic motion, tonnes of passes for the lead, and an thrilling host of of storylines taking part in out between varied protagonists on the entrance.
And, coming solely days after the information of the provisional sale of MotoGP proprietor Dorna to Components 1 proprietor Liberty Media, it ought to act not simply as a vindication of the acquisition however of an instance of all the pieces that MotoGP could be as an asset – each good and dangerous.
On monitor, Liberty actually couldn’t have hoped for a greater weekend to have a good time its tentative new possession of the sequence, given the completely distinctive present placed on by underdog Maverick Vinales, rookie sensation Pedro Acosta, returning ‘King of COTA’ Marc Marquez and title contenders Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini and Pecco Bagnaia.
Sunday’s grand prix was, to be frank, the type of race that many thought was completely unimaginable on the Circuit of the Americas, with the flowing esses part comprising Turns 2 by means of 10 tending to hamper overtaking alternatives and to show races into processions.
That wasn’t the case final weekend, although, and somewhat than simply getting a superb race for the circuit we had been at, we as an alternative acquired to witness probably the greatest MotoGP battles in years. A reminder of what was comparatively commonplace earlier than aerodynamic rules overtook the standard of the present, it hints that 2024 could be a return to type, one thing that’s certain to have Liberty salivating.
Nonetheless for now very a lot palms off till EU competitors regulators approve the sale (one thing that’s prone to take till the top of the yr no less than), there definitely hasn’t been time for any adjustments to even be thought-about by the American agency not to mention applied, so none of what we noticed could be in any manner credited to Liberty. However whereas Sunday would possibly present that it does not want to vary something on monitor, it additionally properly highlighted the place it does have to convey some change.
In spite of everything, what’s the purpose in having the very best sport on the earth when nobody even is aware of that it’s occurring? I’ve some buddies in Austin who I visited earlier than the race weekend who’re informal however not hardcore sports activities followers – and didn’t even know that MotoGP was happening of their residence city.
That’s a sentiment that’s been echoed throughout the broader spectrum as nicely, with MotoGP’s greatest drawback not being the standard of the leisure product that it delivers however somewhat the power to promote that present to followers of different sports activities – and even to individuals who aren’t sports activities followers in any respect.
Liberty has executed a very distinctive job of that with F1 since its takeover in 2017. Creating hype across the sequence that’s unprecedented by permitting followers unprecedented entry to the tales of the grid, not simply by means of the hit Netflix documentary Drive to Survive however with higher use of social media and advertising and marketing methods, it is satisfied tens of millions to observe a sport at the moment bereft of a lot on monitor motion. Think about what’ll occur as soon as those self same followers get a style of Sunday’s MotoGP race!
Liberty is certain to know that, too. In spite of everything, there’s a cause why it is simply dropped practically £4billion shopping for Dorna: as a result of it is aware of that if it does a greater job of promoting what we’ve already acquired with out altering the on-track product (one thing that appears to be the plan, provided that Dorna’s sporting course will stay in place), then there’s an enormous viewers on the market able to be transformed by races like Sunday’s COTA spectacle.
