Liberty Media will ‘take MotoGP riders to the level of heroes’, claims Ducati boss

Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali believes Liberty Media, MotoGP’s new majority owner, will raise rider profiles “to the level of heroes” worldwide.

Liberty Media acquired an 86% majority stake in MotoGP back in April last year for €4.2 billion, with the purchase cleared by European Union regulators in early July of 2025.

Liberty now owns world motorsport’s two biggest championships, having taken over as Formula 1’s commercial rights holder in 2017.

F1 has seen major mainstream growth across the globe under Liberty’s ownership, something that it will look to replicate in MotoGP in the coming years.

Ducati CEO Domenicali believes Liberty will help raise the profile of the riders, while teams will also have a more unified approach to marketing.

“In my opinion, what could happen is that there is more even behaviour between the teams,” he said at the German Grand Prix.

“And more of a clear focus on having resources dedicated to the fanbase directly.

“And really taking the riders to the level of heroes. They are already there, but even magnifying this more geographically.

“And having a more balanced approach in how we exploit the marketing value of what the teams are doing in a more even way between the teams.

“Some are doing a lot, some are doing less.

“I think if taken to the next level, a kind of controlling in terms of direction, and directing the effort of the teams with Dorna and Liberty Media, I think it’s one way to go.”

Domenicali added that he believes MotoGP is in a good place already, but sees Liberty being able to help the series grow in key markets like the US.

“It’s a very, very exciting moment, to be honest,” he said.

“We, as a manufacturer, tend to say we are into entertainment. So, we don’t see ourselves as a bike manufacturer, more an entertainment company.

“So, this cannot be better because I think really the sport today has grown a lot thank to what has been done altogether - we as manufacturers, Dorna, all the stakeholders.

“In the past years we’ve done a fantastic job to keep the racing very close and the fans very engaged. So, a lot has been done. But still there is a lot of potential there.

“There is a lot of potential for MotoGP to grow as a sport, to get into a much bigger audience.

“In the US we have one race, and actually a lot can be done. Maybe not everything that Formula 1 has done, but if we look at what Formula 1 has done in the US in terms of fanbase, the growth in the last years has been exceptional.

“The potential for all the teams to really engage and create a bigger fanbase, if we work together, is fantastic.”