Liberty Media’s MotoGP Takeover Won’t Solve F1 Clashes
Liberty Media’s takeover of MotoGP won’t see a reduction in calendar clashes with Formula One
For fans who enjoy both sports, expect quite a few calendar clashes as MotoGP and Formula One are set to race on the same weekend nine times in 2025.
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta expects MotoGP and Formula One to work closer together thanks to Liberty Media’s takeover of MotoGP which will come into force at the end of 2024.
Earlier this year Liberty Media announced it had bought 86 per cent of Dorna and MotoGP, in a deal worth $4.2 billion.
Formula One was first to introduce its 2025 calendar earlier this year with a total of 24 races set to be carried out, while MotoGP has since rolled out a 22-race calendar, including new rounds at Kazakhstan (was initially expected to host MotoGP this season) and Balaton Park, Hungary.
A total of nine clashes are set to take place and Ezpeleta admits its difficult to avoid staging MotoGP and Formula One on the same weekend due to the increased races in both series.
Speaking to AS, Ezpeleta said: “It is very difficult not to overlap them because they have 24 rounds and we have 22, which take place between March and November,” he said about the calendars for F1 and MotoGP.
“There has always been good cooperation, and there will be even more now that Liberty Media is taking over the Dorna, but we will not be able to do without scheduling conflicts.
“Both F1 and MotoGP are currently taking each other's schedules into account when planning. We look at their calendar before we make ours, and now they look at ours before they make theirs. That wasn't always the case in the past.”
Along with a much-anticipated return to Hungary for the first time since 1992, Brno will also make a return to the MotoGP calendar next season, as will the Argentinian round at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
