‘The best racing we put on’ - The bright future for MotoGP at Silverstone

Silverstone boss Stuart Pringle believes MotoGP is “pound for pound the best racing we put on in the year”, following its new two-year extension with Dorna to host the British Grand Prix.

Silverstone has hosted MotoGP’s British Grand Prix since 2010, though its future has been in some doubt amid rumours of a return to Donington.

That uncertainty was laid to rest ahead of this year’s British Grand Prix, after MotoGP and Silverstone announced a new two-year deal to keep the event at the UK’s home of motorsport until the end of 2028.

It comes as Silverstone tries to boost its MotoGP profile following several lean years of crowd attendance, through various factors.

“They are backing this because it’s important,” Pringle tells Crash.

“The UK is an important market. Silverstone is a prestigious international circuit with profile and history.

“And also, great racing. 11 winners in 11 races - people who don’t understand think motorcycles are at their best when they are cranked over going slowly round slow corners.

“They don’t understand that you want a fast track where they are popping in and out, slipstreaming like hell, lead changing four times a lap. It’s mega.”

“Awareness doesn’t happen overnight”

Around a decade ago, Silverstone regularly welcomed weekend crowds of over 150,000. That shrank to under 100,000 last season.

The switch to a May date by MotoGP didn’t help matters, as it cut down on promotion time. Valentino Rossi’s retirement has dampened interest, while the current TV deal with TNT Sport has locked MotoGP behind a paywall and severely cut down its visibility in the UK.

There also currently isn’t a full-time British rider on the grid. But the German Grand Prix has reached record levels in recent years without a top talent on the premier class grid, so this argument isn’t as robust as is made out.

“Awareness is the issue,” Pringle added. “And awareness doesn’t happen overnight.

“So, an extension of a length that will allow us to work together absolutely hand in hand to try and boost the profile, and hopefully off that, we as the promoter, will do a good job at selling tickets and raising the numbers.

“Ultimately, if we are unsuccessful at the end of 2028, I’m realistic that Dorna has other offers.

“MotoGP has other offers. There are other people out there who want to pay quite a lot of money to host a MotoGP event.”

The word has definitely started to get out there. Silverstone is expecting a 22% increase in attendance compared to last year. But that is still a far cry from the half-a-million figure Silverstone achieved for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix in July.

While Pringle sees no reason MotoGP shouldn’t be as big as F1, he is realistic about what is possible right now.

“I declare an interest. I’ve got quite a few motorcycles and I’ve ridden bikes for 35 years,” he said. “So, I like this stuff. So, I think, pound for pound, this is the best racing we put on at Silverstone in the year. I think it’s a terrific value ticket. If you come on Saturday, you get sprint race and qualifying [for] £60.

“I don’t know how many tiers down the football league you have to go to pay £60 for 90 minutes. And you’ve got all day [here], finishing with an epic Baggers race and Bradley [Smith] winning. And they’re bonkers those things - we like those!

“So, there’s no reason in theory that this couldn’t be as big as F1 because actually the racing is great; you don’t need to edit it up, you just press play on the tape, just run the race and all the action is there. But, back in the real world, there’s a lot of catching up to do. So, we’re not going to get to those kinds of numbers, but this deserves double the numbers we’ve got here now. And that should be perfectly achievable.”

Silverstone events should be week-long

Silverstone MotoGP ticket prices are a shade of what they are compared to F1, with general admission three-day access costing just over £100. Growing the event will be dependent on opening up bikes to a wider audience.

“At the moment, it’s just a cracking day or weekend, great value - it really stacks up value-wise,” Pringle adds. “In round numbers, it’s 25% of an F1 ticket, and it isn’t 25% of the product in any way, shape or form. It is still a traditional audience. That said, there are people. You look at who is wandering around; they’re not all grey-beard bikers.

“It’s about explaining to people that this is a great value weekend. If you like racing, this is great. We’ve got to get the riders out there more. I think that’s one thing a Liberty influence will make a difference on.”

On Liberty’s influence, he noted: “Liberty Media haven’t paid a lot of money for MotoGP to sit there and not do anything with it. They want to grow it. They believe they’ve got an approach that will help them do that.

“I believe them because I’ve seen it with F1. And they are good people to work with. Now we are getting the best of both worlds. We’re getting all the knowledge and the history and understanding of the Ezpeletas with the fresh thinking of Liberty hires, people from outside of the sport, a fresh set of eyes.”

Part of that Liberty influence was on display ahead of the British Grand Prix, as the pre-event press conference took place in London at the Outernet. Pringle believes this concept should be expanded further for the British Grand Prix, taking MotoGP on tour around the UK to help boost visibility.

“It can’t hurt, can it? Let’s have half a dozen [riders] in London,” he said about the Outernet event. “We should do the same with F1. We need to make the big international race events at Silverstone a week-long national conversation. And the thing about bikes is, they are a lot easier than cars. So, you probably could fire a rider to Birmingham and a rider to Manchester and a rider to Liverpool, and try and take it out a little bit on the road for the week before.”

Silverstone’s 2027 date is yet to be confirmed, but it believes the current August slot works perfectly in the wider sporting calendar.

“From a general sports point of view, there’s quite a nice window; it’s post-Wimbledon, post-F1, post-summer tournament stuff, be that World Cup or Commonwealth this year,” Pringle said. “It’s a cracking date. We always worry that people are on holiday in August… well, some people are, and some people aren’t. We’ve got some immovable dates in our diary, this seems to work. So, let’s stick with this one and PR the arse off it!”