Miami “logical” destination for second US MotoGP race

Liberty Media says MotoGP is continuing to evaluate options for a second race in the United States, with Miami emerging as a potential destination.

The US has long been viewed as a key growth market for MotoGP, with discussions about a second American round beginning long before Liberty completed its takeover of the championship last year.

MotoGP hosted three races in the country as recently as 2013, but the Circuit of the Americas has been the sole US round on the calendar for more than a decade now.

Following Formula 1’s commercial boom in the United States under Liberty ownership, the company is now aiming to strengthen MotoGP’s position in the market as well.

While no decision has been taken regarding where a future second US race could be held, Liberty CEO Derek Chang admitted the championship could head to the Miami International Autodrome, a temporary track built around the Hard Rock Stadium.

“We said it [before] and we’re going to continue to say it [again] that the US is an important market for MotoGP. So, we are looking at all avenues to grow our business here,” Chang said in an investor call on Thursday.

“It’s going to take time, just like it did with Formula 1, but we do see that there’s an appetite and that there’s going to be a market here. How we go about that clearly would be…We do have interest in adding races in the US. 

“Miami would seem to be a logical spot because there’s already a track there. There’s a lot of things that have to get worked out, whether it’s Miami or any other track, in terms of whether or not it works for MotoGP, and sort of the safety concerns and stuff like that where you’ve got different requirements than Formula 1 as well as what markets make sense from a commercial standpoint.

“But those are conversations that we will have with Miami, with other folks also in trying to scope out what the right locations would be for a US expansion.”

Chang said Liberty wants to bring MotoGP closer to the fans, and that inevitably would result in more city-based tracks being added on the calendar.

Earlier this year, MotoGP announced that it will drop the popular Phillip Island Circuit outside mainland Melbourne in favour of a street circuit in a more prominent location in Adelaide.

“On the MotoGP calendar, I do think that our stated objective is to get some of these races closer to cities where we can leverage off the infrastructure, whether it’s the airport and long-distance travel, for both ourselves as well as for the fans who are coming in internationally, and the hotels and the restaurants and sort of ease of access,” he explained.

“You’re seeing this with sort of the races we announced for next year, both in Buenos Aires and Adelaide. So, we’re already starting to make progress on that.”

Derek Chang, owner of Liberty Media, on the grid.

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

However, Chang stressed that the American media company is keen on respecting MotoGP’s heritage, suggesting that the series will continue to give due importance to traditional tracks on the calendar.

Chang’s comments come just days ahead of the French GP, with another record crowd expected at the historic Le Mans track.

“You also don’t want a wholesale change-out of all the races,” he said. “We have a long heritage here of races in many compelling locations. It makes a lot of sense to keep them there. They’ve been fixtures on the race calendar and they bring a lot to the sport and a lot to the identity of the sport.

“This year, I’ve already been to Austin, I’ve been to Jerez, and I am heading to Mugello and Assen later this year. I really want to get a good sense of what it feels like in the different locations because what we want to do is create a fan experience that is engaging, exciting, entertaining and accessible wherever we do it.

“So, there are a lot to be learned even on locations where we may not move but how to improve those. So, it’s a mix of all of that as we think about our calendar moving forward.”

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