It’s always tough for commercial partners in any sport when the superstar performer levels criticisms against the way the sport is run.
But that’s exactly what happened to MotoGP two years ago, when motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi labelled the decision to cut MotoGP’s engine capacity from 990cc to 800cc in 2007 as “the biggest mistake in the last 15 years.”
“For me, the manufacturers committed a great error when they changed to 800cc,” the record-winning MotoGP world champion said. “The 990s were better in every way.”
Without getting into the technicalities of what makes the 990cc version more exciting than the 800cc model for both riders and fans, the key to the affable Italian’s diagnosis is that Rossi laid the fault at the door of the manufacturers, not the sports’ commercial and television rights-holder, Dorna Sports.
Indeed, not long after Rossi’s outburst, a meeting in December 2009 at FIM (International Motorcycling Federation) headquarters between leading representatives from Dorna and the Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers’ Association (MSMA) decided, in effect, to reverse these rules from 2012.
As Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta explains: “We had [previously] been under demand from the manufacturers to change to 800cc. Although the show [on the track] has been very good, the bikes are expensive. Now that situation has changed: we are going to 1000cc from 2012, which should benefit everyone. The bikes will be less expensive than the former 990cc models, which were supercharged - there will be more bikes on the grid and they will all be very competitive. We don’t want a second division of bikes.”
In terms of technical regulations, for the first time in motorsports’ history MotoGP engines will be limited to four cylinders with a maximum bore measurement of 81mm from 2012. There will also be less use of electronics and a greater premium placed on the skills of the rider.
All well and good, but in 2011 the rules will continue to adhere to the 800cc variant. So where exactly does that leave Dorna in its promotion of the coming season?
Ezpeleta admits that 2011 is a year of “waiting for 2012” when rules on a new Moto3 series to replace the 125cc category will also come into play. But that doesn’t mean that the sport is stuck in second gear, he says: “We are seeing a lot of interest in this season from our TV and sponsor partners from all around the world. Last year was better than 2009 and this year is going to be better than that.”
For Ezpeleta, of course, that is a commercial as well as a sporting judgement and one that highlights MotoGP’s successful negotiation of the global economic crisis that hit motorsport particularly hard.
“Our crisis started two years before the rest of the world, in 2006, when we were under pressure from losing tobacco sponsorship,” Ezpeleta says. “Even before the international crisis we were trying to advance ways of making the sport more competitive and as a result our sport is still growing.”
The 800cc experiment, however, has left the sport with something of a financial hangover, with the manufacturers committed to the expensive technology for one more season, leading to fears that the number of teams on the starting grid could erode dramatically this year.
“In 2011, we will have 17 riders, the same as last year,” Ezpeleta responds. “It really isn’t something we are worried about. I am happy with the grid and we decided not to spend more money just to have more teams when the quality might not be as good.
“There were 1.2 seconds between first and last per lap in Valencia last year and that competitive element is much more important. In 2012, we will have a maximum of 22 riders.”
For 2011, Ezpeleta also received a promotional gift from the Gods when Rossi decided to move from Yamaha to the Italian Ducati team: “Valentino has been a star of this sport for 16 years: he moved from Honda to Yamaha and has now added value by going to an Italian brand.”
For the full feature, please see the latest issue of SportBusiness International out March 1.
