MotoGP wants a future race calendar of “22 Super Bowls”

MotoGP’s newly announced commercial deal with the manufacturers that will last until 2031 has been followed up with the suggestion that the calendar should be filled with “22 Super Bowls”.

The Super Bowl is the final match of the NFL play-off season and arguably the biggest sporting event in American sports. 

It’s success does not come only from the sporting spectacle and significance, but also from its importance in wider pop culture that has been garnered from the success of its famous half-time show, a version of which will feature in this year’s FIFA World Cup final which will be hosted in New York City.

The link between MotoGP and the Super Bowl was made by the series’ sporting director, Carlos Ezpeleta, during the same press conference in which the deal between MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (formerly Dorna Sports) and the five MotoGP manufacturers (Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM) was announced.

“We had a slightly-over 10 per cent increase in attendance last year and we continue to see growth this year,” said Ezpeleta.

“Attendance is key because it doesn’t only drive the numbers on site, but building our events as flagship events is a really core part of this business. 

“The ultimate goal would be to have 22 Super Bowls around the world – it’s further out in time, but I think that there’s, from that side, we’re seeing tailwinds in our events.”

Ezpeleta explained that the idea of ‘22 Super Bowls’ on the MotoGP calendar does not mean changing the sport, but changing its presentation, a part of which is the inclusion of city centre races like the Argentinian Grand Prix in Buenos Aires and the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, both of which will make their debut on the calendar in 2027.

“We have this amazing racing and we just scratched the surface in terms of a number of areas,” he said.

“I think hospitality is one of them where we’ve announced a good partnership with Quint. 

“I think merchandising is another area where we’re scratching the surface only because there’s a lot for us to do with building the brands, the manufacturers, the teams, and the riders to elevate the merchandising product and the fan activation on-site.

“I think we will be seeing differences in that area as soon as next year because it’s an area where we’re investing to elevate the experience. 

“I think another one is clearly the destinations themselves, with us bringing two very big events next year in Buenos Aires and Adelaide, which are going to be two downtown events which we’re really looking forward to.

“We will continue to look forward to growth in the calendar, whether it’s South East Asia, which are markets which are really important to the manufacturers, but also United States which is equally important to both of us. 

“So, from that point of view on-site we will continue to see growth. 

“I think, on our side specifically, but also for the greater group, sponsorship is clearly an opportunity because we are under-monetised by fan, so on a per-fan basis we will continue to see growth in that area. 

“I think it’s really good that we’re seeing, also on the teams’ side, new partners coming in on a sort of monthly basis now. I shows the impact of the Liberty Media acquisition for the growth of the sport. 

“Finally, of course, content, our content distribution and our production, I think there are different areas that we’re working on from a content point of view, but I think the production itself, bringing audio communication, firstly with the teams and then with the riders, I think that’s really going to elevate the experience for people at home and people on devices, social media et cetera.”