Holding a Formula 1 and MotoGP race on the same weekend as a doubleheader event at Circuit of The Americas is “possible” but not likely, according to circuit chairman Bobby Epstein, although he sees the news of F1 owner Liberty Media’s pending involvement with MotoGP as a big step forward for the sport in the United States.
F1’s owners Liberty Media recently announced an agreement to purchase the commercial rights to MotoGP, a move that, if approved by the relevant authorities, would give it control of both the premier world championships in car and motorcycle racing. COTA is one of five venues — along with Silverstone, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Red Bull Ring and Lusail in Qatar — that currently hosts both F1 and MotoGP rounds, but Epstein doesn’t believe running both on the same weekend would be simple to pull off.
“I think there’s complications beyond what we see as the obvious,” Epstein said. “The first ones that come to mind are just the physical ones, but from the sponsor activation standpoint they do both bring different sponsors and different activations and manufacturers. We would be bulging at the seams from that standpoint.
“And also, you’d have to do a lot of changeover of track signage, the media center would bulge a little bit at the seams. But, it’s possible. I don’t know if it’s probable.”
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While the two series might not race alongside one another anytime soon, Epstein believes Liberty’s deal is a significant positive for MotoGP in the United States and that COTA should benefit as a result.
“We’re excited by it, probably more than anybody,” he said. “I think MotoGP has come to the U.S. and really not had a whole lot of attention paid to it and once they leave that’s sort of the end of it — that’s all you hear for another 51 weeks. So this is another fantastic thing to have, us not being the only flag waver of MotoGP in the U.S. And to give support to that series that we’ve had 12 years of commitment to, and really believe in it.
“I think it’s a fantastic competition, and it’s just waiting for more people to discover it. So for us, I hope we’re one of the biggest beneficiaries of that purchase.”
Epstein noted that Liberty’s involvement need only be behind the scenes to have a significant impact on MotoGP’s profile in the United States.
“I don’t think they have to change the sport at all, I think they just have to focus on shedding a little more light on it and giving it visibility,” he said. “Whether that’s from a direct broadcast agreement or through television or online or social, just the things you do to promote something, they’ve got the channels, I think. And I think they’ve got the ability.
“I don’t think they’re simply an investor in MotoGP, which may be very different for them. I think they’ve got a media empire attached to them.”
COTA is currently the only race on the MotoGP calendar across the Americas, but Epstein feels the fan base is not yet big enough to sustain multiple rounds in the U.S. alone.
“It just depends on how many fans there are. Right now there’s enough fans for one race, and even that’s not a sellout. The fans love it when they come, but not enough people know about it,” he said. “So it directly ties to can you get more people in the U.S. to be exposed to the sport? Right now there’s not enough fans for more than one race.”