Liberty Media's Domination: How Will Their New MotoGP Deal Pan Out?

It's not new news that Liberty Media had acquired some of Dorna's stake in MotoGP after being announced in the earlier part of the 2024 season. It's actually more recent news of the purchase being delayed that has raised some eyebrows along the paddock, with 'Phase 2' being put on pause before the end of December. However, statements have suggested that this is only a short term fix and will be resolved sooner rather than later, expecting to at least give a further update before the start of the 2025 season. This deal has already made a massive impression on the sport, most notably the logo change which must have been kept the tidiest secret throughout the season as sources only began to catch wind a day or two before the release on the championship deciding day back in November.

The ever-increasing presence of social media further emphasising why Liberty Media could be needed and how 'free access' can be utilised by the 76 year old motorsport series. Although these changes were in fact performed by Dorna as almost a welcoming (and convenient) gift, it begs to ask the question as to what the American company has in store for the motorbike series and whether or not fans and teams alike will accept these new terms peacefully.

First of these features possibly being a wider documentary series on the category. Although there is the mini series of 'There Can Be Only One' on the MotoGP YouTube channel, it isn't majorly publisised throughout the year with no particular anticipation for the series for possibly a multitude of reasons. The series which has been running for two seasons in a row only follows the riders and teams that are closest in contention to the championship. Even though the unpredictability of the motorbike series would make the viewer think they cover a large range of riders, this has proven to be the opposite with the 2023 season that was released in February 2024 only focusing mainly on Pecco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi for the duration over it 5 episodes.

Oppositely to the equivalent of Formula One, 'Drive To Survive' covers a large range of topics within the race year and just think that when the series started, Australian Daniel Ricciardo's career seemed to be slipping to a stop but provided some of the best entertainment, according to fans, towards the series. Is this something that Liberty Media would think about changing? I'm sure many avid fans would love to see the insides and outs of KTM's future uncertainty, the fight for the Ducati seat with surprise changes and more input about retirements as a homage to rider's careers.

However there is an issue itself with the series being uploaded to YouTube even if it seems as the perfect option while being on a free streaming platform to almost every country in the world. The advertisement hasn't been perfect in these two rolling years for the series and the idea of mini-series on YouTube is becoming an outdated method.

By pairing with any subscription based network that younger fans most likely already own, all of a sudden the advertising is booming and getting a wider audience, particularly in America, excited about MotoGP albeit it's taken nearly 6 years for the Formula One series to reach the popularity that it holds today with a further 2 races in the western continent being implemented since. Has this construct already been considered by Liberty Media and will we be seeing this change in the next few seasons?

But this American factor is one that seems to be the most tempting for MotoGP after seeing its boom within the Formula One world, completely transforming the face of the sport on an immeasurable scale and morphed into something that is turning over billions rather than hundreds of millions. They managed to find a selling point that would entertain former NASCAR fans, but where is the motorbike equivalent?

Any sort of series, other than the AMA series, is vaguely unheard of towards a European audience unless you peel back the layers of time and find names in MotoGP such as Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and most recently Nicky Hayden. Even Randy Mamola still makes himself known in the paddock nowadays; American were simply dominating the motorbike classes over decades until it all came to a halt in 2015.

A simple answer, the American aren't backing their riders which could all come to a change ahead of this deal. Could we see Joe Roberts, American Moto2 rider, become more of a household name? Albeit Liberty Media forced 2 new tracks to be built for Formula One which sparks some outrage amongst lifelong fans and begs the question as to why the most infamous track of Spa-Francorchamps is being demoted to a rotational race to accommodate for these, would the company be able to fix these so-called 'issues' by keeping the historic tracks of Brno, Sepang, Phillip Island and rather fund their money into the presence of American riders to boost their patriotic values instead?

Another issue is the location of manufacturers and the American extinction that is among this. MotoGP mainly consists of Italian and Japanese bikes while Moto2 and Moto3 don't even use these brands either. I must admit, it would be rather odd to see a Harley Davidson in amongst a bunch of Ducati's and Honda's.

Comparatively, this was the same situation that Formula One found themselves in half-way through the last century. In a 4 wheeled racing sense, Haas F1 was officially debuted in 2016, notably a year earlier than the acquisition of Liberty Media onto Formula One. While they remain the only American team on the grid as of the 2025 season, the popularity of a mid-field team has skyrocketed with a western audience. Although this may possibly be encouraged by the flamboyant attitude of former team boss, Guenther Steiner, even a year after being exiled from the team there is still a huge amount of support for what you would call an 'average' team.

In a strange twist of similarities, Trackhouse Racing within MotoGP was founded last year after being bought by the owner of Trackhouse Racing NASCAR, Justin Marks, with a Aprilia engine. And with Liberty Media in the hopes to finish the deal with MotoGP this season, it is almost an identical situation that Formula One had in their hands 7 years ago, not to mention the American-run Moto2 team in OnlyFans American Racing Team. Do the series need more of an American motorbike presence in terms of manufacturers, or is this simply enough for Liberty Media to look onto the series with high hopes that fans will gravitate towards the likes of rookie Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez? That is without the attention of a loud-mouthed team principal.

There is one factor however that is increasingly causing concern about the domination of Liberty Media upon the sport: that being the social influence of race attendance and ruining this experience for the average long-term fan. But has the changes in Formula One taught the company what is right and wrong for the future of the sport, or simply a case of exploiting the most money out of the series to improve the racing?

Formula One tickets have exploded in price ever since Liberty Media made their presence known, particularly at Silverstone and Monaco, and even added races that are almost impossible for your stereotypical fan to buy like the newly added Las Vegas street circuit. It's no secret that this has caused uproar within the community but it seems as if it has reached a point where prices can't be undone, and is very much in the back of every MotoGP fans mind with this announcement. The removal of some iconic circuits is also very much a worry for fans, even when some of the biggest news for the 2025 season is that the Czech Grand Prix is being revived in Brno. However, the MotoGP ability to rotate tracks is certainly something that Formula One could take from their books, rather than the opposite way around.

The one thing offering a sense of personal help is the new branding of the sport. As well as a brand new logo, MotoGP have unveiled the new slogan of "FASTER, FOWARD, FEARLESS" and most importantly "For the fans". This unveiling paired with a very convincing video exposition backed by the voice of Emilia Clarke almost makes it seem to the eye that Liberty Media are interested in keeping the fans at the forefront of the campaign. The question is whether this promise will be upheld or simply not feasible to create an environment that brings in more fans across the world and increase the dwindling sales for race attendance.

So is it true that Liberty Media will 'save' the audience of MotoGP even though the demographic doesn't fit the average American racing fanatic? Is it a case of waiting for further generations to brighten the sport or a new outstanding sportsman to increase popularity just like Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez and many others have done before in its history? In terms of outreach, the sale of MotoGP could only bring positivity in the form of new fans from across the Formula One world and beyond, but their plan to extrapolate the most of the series to benefit both fans and business alike must be performed carefully to keep a balance between the two stakeholders.