MotoGp: top management denies Valentino Rossi problem

Irta CEO Mike Trimby: “The drop in Italy has nothing to do with Valentino Rossi’s farewell.”

International Race Teams Association CEO Mike Trimby, one of MotoGp’s big guns, denied that Valentino Rossi’s farewell is straining the popularity of the World Championship this season: “The impact of Valentino Rossi’s absence is more perceived than real. Everyone says Valentino’s farewell would kill the sport. That’s not true.”

“The effect of Valentino’s departure is more perceived than real,” he continued to The BBC Bikes Podcast. “The drop in Italy had nothing to do with Valentino, it had to do with the promoters who were driving prices up to twice what they should be. Others like Kenny Roberts, Barry Sheene, all the famous stars we thought we couldn’t do without, they left and new stars emerged.”

According to Trimby new stars are being born, such as Quartararo: “The likes of Fabio came from nowhere and became big stars and now MotoGP is almost the most popular sport in France. So new heroes will always be born and keep the sport going.”