Austin, Texas
CNN
—
With the ink barely dry on F1 owner Liberty Media’s $4.2 billion deal to add MotoGP to its portfolio, motorcycle racing’s elite landed in Austin last weekend to explore the sport’s new Managers had their first chance to enforce the rules on their investments. , Texas for the annual Grand Prix of the Americas.
The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is the venue for both MotoGP and Formula 1, and a quick look at the grandstand reveals that it’s still some time before bikes can rival quad bikes. , the circuit attracted 432,000 spectators. 2023 F1 Grand Prix.
The question on the lips of both fans and teams was how the Liberty could help their loved ones, but at least for Americans, the niche sport had gone from merely surviving to being in the United States. It meant that I had the potential to become a prosperous being.
One of the benefits of MotoGP is its often noisy unpredictability, which is very different from the sometimes queue-filled nature of F1.
“Liberty does not believe that the sport needs modification, and we agree with that,” Carlos Ezpeleta, Dorna’s chief sports officer, told reporters on Thursday.
Current double world champion Pecco Bagnaia agreed. “It’s very difficult to say what can be improved,” he told CNN. “I think it’s already a really great show, but it needs to become more popular.”
Dan Rossomondo, MotoGP’s Chief Commercial Officer, speaks with passionate enthusiasm about the competitive race: 5th place but he doesn’t even get points, he doesn’t get anything, zero? ”
Rossomondo also believes that F1’s success runs deeper than its famously successful ‘Drive to Survive’ series.
“‘Drive to Survive’ was a huge part of their success, but they were doing a lot of other things right that I think a lot of people don’t realize. They did a lot to leverage ‘Drive to Survive,”’ Rossomondo said.
What this documentary series told was a human drama, and the names of the F1 competitors and their teams were well known. Six-time premier class champion Marc Marquez says that must be the new owner’s goal.
“I’m happy with this news. I mean, what they did in F1 was very big and made a big difference,” Marquez told CNN.
“The goal is to reach the younger generation and bring out the big names of the past like Valentino (Rossi), (Dani) Pedrosa, (Jorge) Lorenzo, (Casey) Stoner. All big names coming in.” is a question of investment, investment in MotoGP and even more so in growing the show. ”
Jonathan Hawkins/CNN
Roland Sands is steeped in American motorcycle history.
This year, a wild card thrown into the mix to bring more fans to COTA came in the form of King of the Baggers, a class that tricked out Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycles. What started as an experiment in quirky racer style has evolved into a serious proposition, backed by a paddock of experienced riders and a big budget.
Baggers’ appearance on the COTA card brings with it Baggers’ entourage, including legendary former racer and designer of custom high-performance bikes, Roland Sands, as well as an array of products and apparel.
Sands believes MotoGP, the epitome of the cool California custom scene, needs to do more to get American audiences interested in the scene.
“Americans won’t mind Europeans riding around in circles on their bikes unless there’s a reason to do so,” he explained.
“You have to really build a character and you have to have a sense of knowing who’s behind the helmet. Liberty has done a great job of not only doing that[in F1]but also telling the backstory of the team. Now I feel like I have gained knowledge.”
Sands also believes the language barrier will be an issue for the U.S. documentary-style MotoGP series, where Spaniards and Italians dominate the sport.
Jonathan Hawkins/CNN
Maverick Vinales’ team greeted him at the finish wearing Caped Crusader masks.
“If you’re going to do it for America, you have to broadcast it in English first, because no one wants to see subtitles here,” Sands said.
“You have to develop a character and you have to make it a party and take it to the point where people are watching it in a bar. I mean, now people are going to watch football here. They’re I wake up early in the morning and go to a bar and have a beer.”
Rossomondo disagreed, citing the success of F1 and European soccer in the United States as supporting evidence.
“There’s a cultural attachment in the United States to global sports. You look at Premier League results, you look at F1 results, that’s a big thing, we’re global and that’s a great thing,” Rossomondo said. told CNN.
“People say, ‘You guys don’t speak English,’ and that’s OK. I mean, when was the last time you heard Lionel Messi give an interview in English? Not really. So, I think that’s part of the opportunity in the United States.”
Sands says the sport needs to find a new star in Valentino Rossi, the charismatic Italian who finally retired from the sport in 2021.
“What did Rossi bring to this sport? And why is he so great, and why has he helped MotoGP grow? “I think people care about him, he’s personable, he’s funny. It kind of celebrated him and gave people a visual reason to like him.”
Mirco Lazzari GP/Getty Images
Maverick Vinales takes the lead during the MotoGP of the Americas Sprint at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on April 13, 2024.
Three-time MotoGP World Champion Wayne Rainey currently runs King of the Baggers as well as the MotoAmerica series, which develops American motorcycle track talent. He says the sport has always been under the radar in America.
“When I was world champion, my neighbors didn’t know what I was doing. But I couldn’t leave the house because I was going to Spain. everyone I knew what I did,” the 63-year-old told CNN Sports. “The United States is 3,000 miles wide and has many different states, so it’s difficult to get a foothold here.”
“When we introduced King of the Baggers four years ago, people said, ‘Wayne, what are you doing? I thought you guys were trying to develop future GP stars?'” Rainey added.
“But it’s all about entertainment, right? We need entertainment and the reason the Baggers are here at MotoGP now is precisely to bring in the crowd and build excitement, and ultimately what matters is entertainment. is.”
Jonathan Hawkins/CNN
Wayne Rainey is a three-time MotoGP World Champion.
Walking around the paddock at COTA on Thursday were Natalie Cardenas, her husband Christopher, and their sons Cyrus and Jack.
“We have been to every race in Austin since it started,” Natalie said with a smile, expressing her passion for MotoGP. “The riders, the intensity of the bikes, just running around the track, our boys love it.”
Christopher told CNN: “I watch F1 a little bit, but MotoGP is my number one sport and that’s what I really, really love and for me it’s the actual racing, so I’m a rider. , it’s not just the bike, it’s not just the coloring.”
“I only come to America once a year, so it’s great to experience it firsthand.”
On the track, Sunday’s Grand Prix has rarely provided a more convincing finale to the weekend.
After Marc Márquez briefly took the lead on his Gresini Ducati but suffered a dramatic crash, Maverick Viñales bounced back for Aprilia after a disastrous start that left him in 11th place, leading rookie sensation Pedro Acosta’s Gas Gas machine. He defeated the revived Enea and achieved a dignified victory. Bastianini at the Ducati factory.
Jonathan Hawkins/CNN
MotoGP’s chief commercial officer, Dan Rossomondo, is a passionate defender of the sport’s global influence.
The victory meant that the Spaniard had won a GP with three different manufacturers for the first time in the MotoGP era, and was celebrated in style.
Vinales wore a helmet emblazoned with the Batman logo, while his team greeted him at the finish line wearing a Caped Crusader mask, and Vinales wore his own cape and mask for the podium ceremony with the ticker blaring. .
Paddock and fans alike feel that once people get a taste of what MotoGP has to offer, they’ll want more. Liberty Media had brought an 11-member delegation to COTA, and it’s hard to imagine them leaving without a bang.
Sands explains the raw materials of the sport:
“It’s beautiful to watch and it’s very intellectually deep into why bikes work the way they do and why they don’t work. It’s a much more technical sport than any motorsport, right? It’s also about the rider’s style. It has all the ingredients to make something incredibly interesting, so it stands out much more than an F1 car.”
