MotoGp, trouble after Valentino Rossi: Ezpeleta is drastic

MotoGp boss warned everyone ahead of the coming years

MotoGp boss Carmelo Ezpeleta in an interview with Speedweek responded to criticism from those who consider the World Championship calendar too crowded, with too many races. “We compete with other sports and we have to compromise when we create the calendar,” are his words.

“The extra races will make us start the season earlier and end it later. We are going to Kazakhstan because there is no other organizer who has agreed on a GP date in July. Otherwise there would be a five-week break, and we can’t afford that anymore.”

The Covid crisis, Valentino Rossi’s farewell, Marc Marquez’s difficulties: the perfect storm has left its marks, especially on racing in Europe. “We lose money to racing in Europe. We have to make it clear to the teams and the facilities,” Ezpeleta is drastic, pointing a finger at the Italian GP at Mugello: “We have to be respectful of the many teams and riders at the Italian GP. Also, with Ducati and Aprilia, we have two Italian MotoGP plants in the field that will equip 12 of the 22 riders in 2023, and sometimes we have to compromise. But it was a mistake to let the Mugello GP take place on the same day as the Formula 1 classic in Monte Carlo. The organizers no longer want a clash of dates with Formula 1. That’s why we had to move the Mugello GP to the first weekend in June and the Catalan GP to September.”

Competition from F1 is becoming overwhelming: “Soon there will be 24 races in F1, the weekend space available to Dorna is getting smaller and smaller. We need to expand and extend the season.”