Marc Marquez has believed that attracting a younger generation of fans is vital for the future growth of the sport.
Marquez admitted that Liberty Media, the current rights holders of MotoGP, needs to make current riders into household names to draw in younger viewers.
He highlights the past success of MotoGP when riders like Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, and Casey Stoner were the center of attention.
“Of course, I’m happy with that news because what they did in Formula 1 was super big and it was a huge difference,” he said.
“So, they are the specialists of course, but the target is to appeal to those young generations, to create big names here in MotoGP like for example in the past when it was Valentino [Rossi], [Dani] Pedrosa, [Jorge] Lorenzo, [Casey] Stoner – all big names who appealed to more people.”
“This will be a matter of investment, investment in MotoGP and investment in growing the show. All these things will arrive in the future.” Marquez added.
In a major move earlier this month, Liberty Media secured a controlling 86% stake in Dorna Sports, the company behind MotoGP, in a €4.2 billion deal. The acquisition is expected to be finalised by the end of 2024.
While Liberty Media has taken control of MotoGP, their strategy for future growth remains to be seen.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro is cautious about blindly copying Liberty Media’s F1 strategy for MotoGP, but admitted the promise the acquisition holds.
“We need to wait, we need to give it time. I spoke with Carlos Ezpeleta last week by telephone, he called me, and what he said to me was we have to be patient, it will take time to see what direction we have to take.” Espargaro said.
“It’s not that you can copy everything that Formula 1 did with Liberty, it’s a different sport. But it looks promising.” Espargaro added.
