In 2025 MotoGP drew 3.6 million spectators to its circuits, the highest figure in its history, compared with 3 million the year before. At the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, 311,797 were counted over a single weekend, an all-time record for the championship. A few months earlier, Liberty Media had completed its acquisition of MotoGP. Taken together, these two facts explain why the championship is today one of the most interesting platforms for a company considering sport as a marketing channel.

Updated September 2026.

There is a distinction to make straight away. It is one thing for MotoGP to be a growing spectacle, and another for it to be a good investment for a specific company. The first statement is backed by the numbers. The second depends on objectives, markets and budget, which is why this guide ends with a section on who should look elsewhere. First, though, the five reasons.

In short:

• A growing global audience: 632 million fans in 2025, more than half of them under 35.
• Record attendance at circuits and a calendar of 22 Grands Prix in 18 countries.
• A new cycle: Liberty Media ownership since 2025 and new technical regulations from 2027.

1. A format that multiplies storytelling opportunities

MotoGP combines two logics that are usually separate. It is an individual sport, because each rider races mainly for himself and team orders are rare, but it is also a team sport, because behind every bike there is a group of engineers and both sides of the garage develop the same project. For a sponsor, this means two riders, two personalities and two stories to tell under the same brand. Since 2023, moreover, every weekend has two races: the Saturday Sprint over half distance and the Sunday Grand Prix. Two peak-audience moments instead of one, for 22 weekends a year.

The values associated with the championship, speed, technology, precision, courage, teamwork, are easy to link to a great many sectors. But a value on its own is not enough: it becomes useful when there is a concrete way to tell it, and that is where the format makes the difference.

2. A global, young and growing audience

According to figures released by the championship at the end of 2025, MotoGP’s fan base reached 632 million people, 12% more than in 2024, and more than half are under 35. TV audiences rose by an average of 9% per Grand Prix, and Sprint audiences by 26%. The official social media accounts have more than 60 million followers, and over the season the YouTube channel clocked up more than a billion minutes of viewing.

These are the rights holder’s figures, and like all figures of this kind they should be read with due caution: they measure the potential audience, not the one that a single brand will reach. But the direction is clear, and for a company looking for a young audience in Europe, South-East Asia and Latin America it is a hard signal to ignore. For a more detailed analysis of who the fans are and where they live, we have gathered the data in our guide to MotoGP 2026 teams, riders and sponsors.

3. Packed circuits and an audience that buys

The 3.6 million spectators of 2025 are not just a press-release number. Nine Grands Prix broke their own attendance records, starting with Le Mans, and the 2026 calendar again has 22 rounds, with Brazil returning, at Goiânia, after more than twenty years off the calendar. At every circuit there is a commercial area where championship partners and other companies meet the public at the moment it is most receptive: during leisure time, in a festive atmosphere, often with family.

For a consumer brand it is a direct contact channel that few other sporting events offer for three consecutive days, twenty-two times a year.

4. Hospitality as a business tool

For companies that sell to other businesses, the most concrete reason is often hospitality. Watching practice and races from the MotoGP VIP Village, with access to exclusive paddock services, is an effective way to strengthen a client relationship, close a deal or reward a sales network. It is not a gift: it is a setting in which a two-day conversation is worth more than many meetings. In our experience, for a business-to-business company it is often the most sensible starting point, even before a logo on the fairing. The options available for each Grand Prix are gathered on our page dedicated to MotoGP hospitality.

5. A new cycle that is just beginning

On 3 July 2025 Liberty Media, which already owns Formula 1, completed its acquisition of MotoGP. It is the same group that in just a few years turned Formula 1 into a global entertainment product, winning new audiences, starting with the American one. Nobody can guarantee the same trajectory will be repeated, but the direction has been declared. In 2027, then, new technical regulations come into force, with 850cc engines, less aerodynamics and Pirelli as sole tyre supplier.

For a sponsor this means two things. The first is that entering during a growth phase generally costs less than entering once the growth has already happened. The second is that contracts signed now will span a change of regulations, and with it a possible reshuffle of the order on track: a risk to be managed, but also an opportunity for those who choose the team well.

Who MotoGP is right for, and who should look elsewhere

MotoGP works well for brands with interests in the markets where the championship is strongest: Mediterranean Europe, South-East Asia, Latin America. It works for those looking for a young audience and for companies that can use hospitality commercially. It also works for budgets that would not be enough in Formula 1, because entry costs, for comparable visibility, are generally lower: precise figures depend on the team and the package, and for an order of magnitude we refer you to our MotoGP sponsorship calculator.

It is less suited to a company that sells almost exclusively in North America, where the championship is still developing, or to anyone who needs commercial results within a single season: a sponsorship pays off over time, and the first year is mostly about building. Companies in that position would do well to consider more targeted alternatives first.

How to move forward

When a company asks us which bike to invest in, or which sport, the answer never starts from passion. It starts from the numbers, the brand’s values and its objectives, and only then gets to the championship and the team. The starting point is our guide to MotoGP sponsorship. Finally, it is worth understanding how our work is structured: in most cases RTR Sports’ commission is paid by the team or the property, not by the brand. It is this separation that allows us to advise, when necessary, not to invest at all.

Sources: MotoGP, record-breaking growth in 2025; MotoGP, more than 3.6 million spectators in 2025; BlackBook Motorsport, the numbers of the 2025 season; MotoGP, Liberty Media completes the acquisition.