Despite being at the top of the hierarchy of competitive motorcycle racing and being one of the most global sports of all, MotoGP needs to evolve and keep up with trends and what the audience seeks.
For this reason, over the years, changes have been introduced at various levels of regulations and in the format itself. This was the case when Sprint races were created in 2023, with a new structure for each Grand Prix placing more emphasis on competition and less on free practice sessions.
Carlos Ezpeleta, sporting director of the promoter Dorna, explained on the Por Supuesto Podcast that he aims to maintain a young audience and there is constant agreement with his father and CEO of Dorna, Carmelo Ezpeleta:
– In all my proposals, in all the ideas I have, Carmelo is always very much in agreement. The truth is that we discuss these things little because, let’s say, he respects opinions and new ideas and generations. We know it’s something we always have to do; we’ve always been very proud of how young our demographic is and we work to keep it that way.
Regarding the Sprint races specifically, Carlos Ezpeleta expressed his optimism that they will be viewed favorably in the future, hoping that in years to come, they will be seen as a positive innovation – despite acknowledging it is early to make definitive judgments: ‘I hope that within a few years, we look back and we look back at the Sprints and say: «What a good change that was!». Right now, it’s too early to make that statement, but in the first year and a half, it could be one of those things: «What a good decision we made»’.