The CEO of Dorna confessed that it is a “great honor” to receive an award from the APDM at its Annual Gala on January 29 in Madrid
MADRID, 22 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The CEO of Dorna Sports, Carmelo Ezpeleta, declared himself “absolutely convinced” that the Spanish rider Marc Márquez, eight-time world champion, will be competitive again this coming season with Ducati, and warned that from 2027 does not “honestly” believe that Spain can maintain four grand prizes.
“Marc Márquez is one of the best drivers in the history of motorcycling. Being able to have the possibility of him being in the lead and fighting again will be another incentive. Obviously he is 'missed'. I am absolutely sure that Marc will be competitive,” he said in an interview with Europa Press in reference to the signing of the man from Cervera by the Italian manufacturer.
In this sense, he considered that the Honda and Yamaha teams have been “a little behind” because, according to him, the COVID-19 pandemic had a “much stronger” impact in Japan than in Europe. “It had nothing to do with it. Japan stopped completely and work continued in Europe and that has caused differences that have returned the concessions to allow them to make up for lost time,” he said.
“I am sure that, one, they will return and, two, that it is fair because Honda and Yamaha did the same in their day. When they won the World Championship they were generous enough to be able to give concessions that allowed the other brands, first Ducati, and then Suzuki, KTM and Aprilia, to be competitive again,” he added.
After more than 25 years as the 'patron' of world motorcycling, Carmelo Ezpeleta and the company that manages the MotoGP World Championship, Dorna Sports, will be recognized at the VIII Annual Gala of the Madrid Sports Press Association (APDM), which will be will be held on January 29 at El Beatriz Madrid Auditorium.
“It is a great joy and a great honor. The truth is that I feel very identified with the Madrid Press Association and anything that comes, as in this case, recognizing what we may have done during these years is a reason of satisfaction and pride,” he commented.
Carmelo Ezpeleta stressed that he was “very proud” of being Spanish, although he admitted that in his beginnings, as happened to other great men in national sport such as Ángel Nieto, Severiano Ballesteros or the recent four-time champion of the Dakar rally Carlos Sainz, he was a “handicap”, and He congratulated himself on the fact that a Spanish company is organizing the Motorcycle World Championship.
“Now, after 30 years of management, we are recognized throughout the world, I would even say almost more than in Spain. The possibility of managing a sport globally like Dorna has been doing since 1992 only has a similar case in Formula 1. That It makes us feel very proud because a Spanish company is leading a sport of the importance of motorcycling,” he highlighted.
FROM A VAN TO A BOEING
Originally, Dorna members were 12 and they traveled by van. Currently, half a thousand people work, they travel by Boeing 737, they have a turnover of nearly 500 million euros and their market value is “much higher” than 2.4 billion.
“Apart from specific difficult moments such as the pilot accidents in the World Championship, which definitely marks us, from the organization's point of view the most difficult moment was clearly the pandemic because we didn't know what was going to happen,” he recalled. about a stage in which Dorna 'saved' the 'paddock' by guaranteeing payments to the mechanics and held a World Championship with 14 races.
Ezpeleta stated that he is “lucky” to be friends with most of the drivers on the circuit and acknowledged that serious accidents or deaths are a “very tough issue” and the only thing he has not gotten used to. “I have the images of Marco's father saying goodbye to his son in my head and I don't want to forget them,” he lamented.
After the coronavirus and with the return of the public to the circuits, Dorna considered making changes such as the format of the races to the Sprint on Saturdays. “At first, people didn't understand it very well, but I think that at the end of the year it has been an absolute success. We have increased audiences both on television and in other media as well as directly on the circuits,” he stressed.
THE “LIMIT” OF 22 GRAND PRIZES
Ezpeleta was satisfied with the new markets in Asia that the championship has opened with the grand prix in India, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. “They are not exotic countries but large consumers of motorcycling and where the motorcycle has a radical importance in the normal life of its inhabitants. The limit is 22 grand prix because we believe it is fair and the agreement we have with the manufacturers and teams “, he pointed.
He considered that motorcycling is a global sport and that to maintain its exposure the calendar must begin in March and end in November. “More races I honestly think we should not do, but less would not be correct either. In Spain, we have an agreement with a possibility of rotation. This year they will all be there and, from there, after the 27th I honestly do not think we can maintain 4 great prizes in Spain,” he announced.
It is not a utopia to host a Formula One and MotoGP grand prix on the same circuit and weekend. “With Stefano Domenicali, with whom I have had an extraordinary relationship for many years, we have been considering it for a long time. It is not easy, but we cannot get it out of our minds. If it is possible, we will do it,” he suggested.
The great results of the Spanish pilots in recent years are believed to be a logical consequence. “Ángel Nieto paved the way that the others have followed. At the time when there were only Americans and Australians it was because the Japanese brands absolutely dominated the World Cup and for them the American and Australian market was very important. Since the beginning of the World Cup in 1949 they have always There have been Italians at the top. Then there was a time of English, Germans, Saxons and no Spaniards until Cañellas and Nieto. Now it happens that the brands, since what they want is to win, give the motorcycles to those who are more used to it,” he explained.
Regarding the team project in the MotoGP World Championship supported by the Spanish technology company Finetwork, Ezpeleta reiterated that he must acquire “any of the existing teams” because Dorna is not “increasing the number of teams in any of the categories because the 'paddock' does not allows it.” “We don't have any more space in the paddock at the moment,” he stressed.
THE WORLD WORLD OF ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLES “VERY FAR”
In 2024, the fuels that will be used in the MotoGP World Championship will be 40 percent non-fossil fuels until reaching one hundred percent in 2027. “We are acting as a spearhead together with the constructors and gasoline manufacturers of a decarbonization of gasoline normal. At the same time, we are experimenting with the 'E motorcycle', completely electric,” he noted.
The application of an ESG program in the paddock and the change from the three Boeing 747s to 737s, “which consume less and have more capacity”, to transport the nearly 3,000 people and 260 tons of material, including a hundred of motorcycles, are other sustainable measures to achieve a “more decarbonized” World Cup.
“Utopia, a MotoGP World Championship for electric motorcycles? There is nothing to Utopia, but at the moment it is very far away. I am more in favor of trying to 'zero pollution' through synthetic gasoline. The 'E-moto' motorcycles of now are not “They have nothing to do with those of five years ago. And if one day hydrogen is possible as a solution, we will look at what we can do, always with the help of the manufacturers,” he concluded.