Jake Dixon’s victory in the Moto2 race at Silverstone last Sunday was a moment for the home fans to enjoy. But as he encouraged the crowd to produce an even louder cheer to accompany only his third victory in the series, it was also a moment to assess Britain’s relationship with MotoGP.
Perhaps there was good reason why Dixon was underwhelmed by the crowd’s first attempt – he couldn’t hear them. Four weeks earlier, 164,000 people watched Lewis Hamilton’s incredible Formula 1 victory at Silverstone, smashing the venue’s single-day attendance record.
But just 42,529 turned up for MotoGP on Sunday, despite the championship enjoying bumper crowds at tracks such as Le Mans and Jerez earlier in the season. So why the poor attendance? There’s a number of factors.
As of Saturday night, unsurprisingly given the low attendance, tickets for Sunday were still available with prices starting at £110 for adults for general admission. That gave access to selected open-air grandstands, general viewing areas and the fan zone. It’s expensive when you consider that Premier League tickets start at around £40 for a roll-up rate.
The argument is, though, that you get access to a full race schedule, plus a concert and off-track entertainment. The price is also half that of an equivalent general admission Sunday ticket for the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Another element is that the date of the MotoGP race fell in the summer holidays, meaning families could be away. MotoGP will avoid this scenario next year by bringing the race forward to 25 May, but this unwisely pitches it against the F1 Monaco Grand Prix and Indy 500, and immediately before the start of the Isle of Man TT.
Another suggestion is that the coverage is behind a paywall. Broadcaster TNT holds the UK rights, meaning those who want to watch it are required to pay for a subscription.
While the deal brings money into MotoGP, it is potentially limiting its audience. That said, Sky F1 has a similar deal in place, and that has not caused a drop in F1 attendances, although Channel 4 does provide a free-to-air highlights show.
Maybe the most significant matter, however, is the lack of British talent in MotoGP – and that doesn’t look like changing any time soon. This is Dixon’s seventh season in Moto2 and, at 28, he looks unlikely to add to the two MotoGP starts he made on a Petronas Yamaha in 2021.
The Spanish system is not only biased towards MotoGP, but the economic mechanics are there to support young racers
So why are there no British riders in the top tier? The problem is that the UK’s youth system is geared towards the British Superbike Championship, and the Spanish equivalent points to grand prix racing.
Of the 27 riders who have raced in MotoGP this season, 12 of those come from Spain. If you look at the World Superbike series, it boasts six British riders. Former MotoGP rider Michael Laverty is hoping to redress that balance through his Moto3 team, MLav Racing.
“The problem is our youth structure is not built to send riders to the MotoGP path, which is the Talent Cup, Red Bull Rookies, Junior GP and into Moto2,” says the Northern Irishman. TNT commentator Gavin Emmett agrees.
“If you go through the Spanish route, it means you have to have a support network in Spain: a chaperone, schooling, all these things that come into play,” he points out.
“There’s no denying that a series like the British Talent Cup allows young riders to showcase their talent, but the reality is they are already a couple of years behind their European counterparts because of the training and network they have in place. And even if there are one or two British riders who go to Spain, they are up against 100 kids who have been doing it on their doorstep. They are at home and can go to school and don’t have to decamp the whole family.”
The final element is money. As Laverty explains, the Spanish system is not only biased towards MotoGP, but the economic mechanics are there to support young racers, whereas the financial support is not there for British riders looking to progress.
“We have had a good crop but they ended up getting lost because of funding,” he says. “What we are doing at the moment will create some potential riders, but it’s a slow process to get them there.
“That has been our whole focus for the past three seasons since we started the team. We are trying to create as much as we can. We get a little assistance from Dorna [MotoGP promoter] for what we call the British Talent Team – that supports two riders, but not in its entirety. We have to cover a decent portion of that budget.
“More widely, the Spanish companies step in and sponsor the riders because this is a national sport in Spain whereas it’s a niche sport in the UK. In Spain you drive down the road and see Marc Marquez on a Repsol billboard; they have so many superstars who are household names, whereas that’s not the case in the UK.”
Despite Laverty’s best efforts to unearth new talent, it looks like it could be some wait before we see more British riders in MotoGP, which is why we should enjoy Dixon’s moment.
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