The new MotoGP? A money-making machine inspired by soccer, American football, and martial arts

We’re all asking ourselves: where is MotoGP heading under the new American leadership? “It doesn’t seem to us that the direction is really clear,” a highly prominent paddock figure told us a few days ago. If those in daily contact with the levers of power don’t understand it, let alone the fans.

In the meantime, however, MotoGP announces four major new executive appointments. These are managers coming from very specific backgrounds: Formula 1, top-flight football — namely the Premier League — the NFL (American football), and by recruiting managers from Formula 1, Tottenham Hotspur, the NFL, and the UFC, which stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts league. So, in plain terms, managers who don’t know motorcycling, its specific traits, its tradition, its identity. But who know perfectly well how sport becomes a money machine. So, reading between the lines, the project is clear: the Americans don’t care where MotoGP comes from, only where it can go to attract as much money as possible.

Ryan Norys will take on the role of Chief Commercial Officer. He comes from Tottenham Hotspur, where since 2022 he has served as Chief Revenue Officer, and he will be responsible for partnerships, sponsorships, licensing, hospitality, marketing, and digital activities. He has previously worked with AS Roma, Manchester City, and the Miami Dolphins.

Sameer Pabari will become Chief Media Officer after a consulting period with MotoGP. He boasts 20 years of experience across the NFL, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Manchester United: he will oversee live TV production, content, media distribution, and the growth of the direct-to-consumer streaming service.

Louise Young joins from Formula 1 as Chief Operating Officer. After over eight years in the Circus, where she is set to become Chief Race Promotion Officer at the start of 2025, she will lead relations with Grand Prix promoters, event organization, and ESG activities.

Denitza Batchvarova, who already joined the company in September, will serve as Chief Strategy Officer. She comes from TKO Group Holdings, the parent company controlling UFC and WWE, with the task of developing MotoGP’s global growth strategy.

The four appointments are part of a broader reorganization at the top. In August, Carlos Ezpeleta was promoted to Deputy CEO, in May Vince Russell joined as Chief Financial Officer, and Enrique Aldama moved into the role of Chief Administrative Officer. Together with CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, they form a completely renewed leadership group. Meanwhile, prominent Dorna figures, particularly in the marketing area, have been reassigned to Superbike. We’re talking about Marc Saurina, the Catalan manager who in recent years had taken on a leading role in the World Championship’s marketing machine. Evidently, he was not aligned with the shift driven by Liberty Media.

The direction seems clear: MotoGP is looking to the development models successfully tested by Formula 1, the NFL, the Premier League, and the UFC, focusing on content, streaming, major events, and the commercial enhancement of the championship. Each new executive brings specific expertise already proven in contexts where sport and entertainment merge on a global scale. The challenge now is to translate these experiences into the world of two wheels and turn the World Championship’s potential into tangible growth. The world is changing at breakneck speed; perhaps the strategic recipe will work, also because the engine is investments with plenty of zeros. But the risk that within just a few years the hardcore fan base no longer recognizes itself is very real.

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Sources: MotoGP.com,