The European Commission has provided Liberty Media Corporation with unconditional approval to complete the acquisition of the MotoGP World Championship. The process of annexing the top motorcycle competition had begun in the spring of last year, only to experience a physiological slowdown in the fall of 2024, when the Commission initiated the appropriate checks on potential conflicts of interest and monopolistic risks in motorsport. Today’s is a crucial – and final – step in a historic moment, however little publicized: the go-ahead for the passage of86 percent of Dorna (the media company that holds the MotoGP rights) into the hands of the group that has succeeded in reinventing Formula 1, and is now willing to pay $4.2 billion for the top two-wheel series.

Today begins, for all intents and purposes, a new course destined to have profound repercussions on the next decade of motorcycling-and motorsport in general.

To infinity and beyond

Liberty Media now buys a sports property that generates annual revenues of about 486 million euros — a figure comparable to that of a Premier League team like Tottenham Hotspur, and a far cry from Formula 1’s 3.65 billion. Unlike the latter, MotoGP gets almost half of its revenue from television rights, while only 140 million comes from hosting fees for a calendar that continues to lengthen.

It is precisely between the folds of these numbers that Liberty sees room for growth, especially in the relationship between the cost of each Grand Prix to the circuits and the growth of attendance in the stands.

The 22 world championship races cost the territories a little more than 6 million euros each, but they record far from negligible spectator numbers: Le Mans exceeds 311,000 in attendance, Jerez 220,000. By way of comparison, the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, which costs the promoters’ consortium some 25 million euros, recorded just over 300,000 spectators. This is a comparison that cannot be ignored, although it is equally true that the average Formula 1 spectator has greater spending power. But this, too, is evidently a gap that Liberty intends to address.

Sports sponsorship, now worth about 97 million euros a year to Dorna, is another area set to receive attention. The approximately 634 million that enters Formula 1’s coffers is still a long way off, but the new course-led by Dan Rossomondo-seems geared toward bridging a gap that has widened, not narrowed, in recent years, even in light of the entry of such major partners as LVMH, Nestlé, Barilla and Disney into the F1 paddock.

Whichever way you look at it, Liberty’s vision is clear: MotoGP possesses enough untapped potential to justify such a large investment. The bet – far from whispered – is to replicate, at least in part, the successful model already implemented with Formula 1.

To each his own

MotoGP is now the third most popular motor sport in the world, behind only Formula 1 and NASCAR. While it is true that Formula 1 is gradually moving away from the purely competitive dimension to embrace that of global entertainment, the battle for second place is far from over. NASCAR, while losing steam after recent political controversies, remains a domestic giant, while WEC, IndyCar and WRC are catching up thanks to smarter regulations and the arrival of new manufacturers.

Two-wheelers suffer from an original sin that is difficult to ignore: cars are more popular and incomparably more familiar to the general public. Some 34 million cars are on the road in the United Kingdom, compared with 1.4 million motorcycles; in the United States the gap is even sharper: 284 million cars versus just 8.8 million motorcycles.

Yet, from a sports point of view, motorcycle racing is objectively more exciting. This is not an opinion, but a physical and geometric fact: motorcycles are smaller, ride multiple trajectories, brake over longer distances and curve more slowly – elements that increase the possibility of overtaking and reshuffling positions. The perception of risk, the three-dimensionality of riding, the short duration of races, the absence of pit stops and the centrality of human error make motorcycling a genuinely unpredictable spectacle.

In summary: Liberty finds a highly spectacular but under-played sport. A combination that – while not without its pitfalls – can generate extraordinary media results.

United States and Southeast Asia: theory and practice

The United States will again be a crucial node in the Liberty plan , despite the American public’s endemic disaffection with two-wheelers-a distance that, in Europe, we often tend to underestimate. Here a clear distinction must be made between those who play a sport and those who follow it.

Americans use motorcycles infrequently for structural reasons : a shortage of entry-level bikes, no credit lines for those with credit scores below 600, long distances, adverse weather, an “Outlaw” culture, and, above all, serious safety issues-crucial in a country where people ride so much but getting worse according to the data.

To be successful in the U.S., Liberty will have to disassociate MotoGP from the practice of motorcycling, repositioning it as a spectacle of adrenaline, courage and technology-perfectly in line with the demands of star-studded entertainment.

No sports property today can ignore the United States: too central in terms of licensing, sponsorship and consumption. The merchandising and sports retail data speak for themselves. Any success of MotoGP on U.S. soil – already F1’s privileged hunting ground – would be systemic in scope. In this regard, the role of Fox Sports, a broadcaster with an elite portfolio that includes NFL, MLB and NASCAR, and which recently signed a multi-year contract for MotoGP rights, will be crucial.

Equally complex is the node of Southeast Asia, with which Dorna has cultivated a perhaps overly optimistic relationship. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Vietnam: territories that are passionate about motorcycling but still have limited economic and infrastructural capacity. Asia loves motorcycles but is not yet able to sustain their commercial growth. On the contrary, MotoGP remains strongly anchored in the Italo-Iberian basin, unfortunately suffering from decades-long economic stagnation. Since 2007, GDP per capita has fallen by 2.7 percent in Spain and 9.8 percent in Italy-a figure that clearly photographs the shrinking resources available.

Change of pace

Not everything that worked for Formula 1 will be applicable to MotoGP. Some strategies may be replicated, some may not – and that is entirely physiological. What is certain is the attempt to transform MotoGP from the “pinnacle of motorcycle racing” to the “pinnacle of entertainment,” as already announced by the new claim “The most exciting sport on Earth” that appeared on the 2025 paddock panels.

MotoGP must become a global platform for brands: modern, digital, value-based. The introduction of apps, advanced data capture systems, digital passes, and a renewed brand identity are the first steps toward a broader transformation.

It’s not just a matter of economics-although money matters, all right. Big consumer brands, from LVMH to LEGO, are now catalysts for popularity and engagement, but they choose the platforms they invest in based on their ability to penetrate popular culture. They need big stories, and MotoGP is certainly not without them. More importantly, they need great stages to tell them.

The path will be long, bumpy and not without obstacles. But also inevitable. The next 5-10 years will be perhaps the most important in the history of modern motorcycling.

No vacancy

“No vacancy” is the sign lit on American motels when all the rooms are occupied. A perfect metaphor for a modern and probably unexpected dilemma Liberty faces: Formula 1 is full. There are no more spaces for sponsors, partners, or circuits. It’s a good problem to have, but still a problem. Dozens of brands in digital, artificial intelligence, electronic payments, cyber security that can’t find a place and are -maybe- forced to abdicate. It is a matter of real estate, or precisely vacancy.

Here, then, is where MotoGP can become a strategic dépendance for all those brands that have no place in F1 today, or do not yet have the resources to access it. “Start here, then we’ll see if we make the jump”-this could be, by implication, the message. And perhaps it also applies to circuits, although FIA homologations (Grade 1 and 2) also come into play there.

Per aspera ad astra

The “after Valentino” was a complex period for MotoGP. Number 46, the most influential Italian sportsman of the past 25 years, had not only brought oceanic crowds to the circuits, but had revolutionized the entire discipline. With him, in the early 2000s, Dorna had completed the transition from the motorcycling of the past to that of the present.

Today, 25 years later, we are facing a new momentous turning point. A profound transformation that will touch every level of the paddock, on and off the track. For those who can seize this moment, the opportunities will be immense.