MotoGP in front of F1’s 450,000 spectators in Texas is a major promotional opportunity

Here’s how Liberty Media intends to expand interest in MotoGP: take it somewhere it has never been before, to the same paddock and the same track as Formula 1. It will happen this weekend in Austin, Texas, during one of the richest Grands Prix on the calendar of the world’s #1 motorsport series.

A huge crowd—450,000 attendees last year—and, above all, a wealth of sponsors will have the chance to get to know some of the riders and bikes from motorcycling’s premier class. For many, it will be a first: our sport has always occupied a niche in the US, even during the golden age of the “Martian” riders who dominated the 500cc class in the World Championship. The most prestigious event, the Daytona 200, has never drawn more than 40,000–50,000 spectators, even in its best-attended editions. The same goes for AMA Superbike, now known as MotoAmerica, which races at outlying circuits in front of sparse crowds compared with the enormous numbers drawn by car racing.

It’s a real shame that MotoGP is racing at the other end of the world this same weekend, at Phillip Island in Australia. If the date had been more convenient, Liberty Media might even have been able to organize an exhibition race. Instead, the Austin crowd will have to settle for a small taste of what’s to come: just four riders and their bikes. That should be more than enough to show them what it’s all about. The lineup will include Dani Pedrosa, Nicolò Bulega, Andrea Dovizioso and Lorenzo Savadori. It hardly matters that two of them—Pedrosa and Dovi—are former full-time riders, even if they still work as test riders for KTM and Yamaha. The promoter has nonetheless brought together some prestigious names, each with an impressive past and present. After all, the newly crowned World Champion Nicolò Bulega will also be on track—now very much a MotoGP rider in all but name, given that next year he will move up to Valentino Rossi’s team and ride its D16.

The fabulous four will put on a 20-minute track demonstration from 11:40 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CDT, or from 6:40 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Italian time. The riders will complete several high-speed laps of COTA shortly before Formula 1’s third practice session (Free Practice 3). Austin is an ideal venue, too, having been a mainstay on both the car racing and MotoGP calendars for years. It is a circuit perfectly suited to motorcycles—a rarity among Formula 1’s 24 venues.

It’s unlikely we’ll see F1 and MotoGP race at the same circuit on the same weekend in the future. It wouldn’t make economic sense: each event brings Liberty Media a fortune in fees from the local promoter, so the aim is to stage as many rounds as possible for both series. But, as this weekend’s event in Austin will show, there are plenty of opportunities for synergy. Since the Americans took over, F1 has exploded in popularity, with audiences surging everywhere—so much so that Monza also sold out this year. But most importantly, sponsorship revenue has grown exponentially, bringing in more money through major sponsorship deals.

In its most recent financial year, Liberty Media took in $840 million in sponsorship revenue, while F1’s global business—including team sponsorships—exceeds $3 billion. MotoGP is still light-years away from those figures; the gap is at least ten to one. The Americans’ idea is simple: persuade sponsors currently involved in F1 to channel some of their budgets into MotoGP as well. That’s why next weekend’s exhibition is a strategic move: it’s designed to introduce the product to fans and, above all, to brands. And if the idea takes root, it will blossom.

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