MotoGP is undergoing a major transformation following Liberty Media’s purchase of an 84% stake in the series’ rightsholder Dorna Sports. While the actual day-to-day management of MotoGP remains in the hands of the Ezpeleta family, Liberty will be able to influence MotoGP’s strategic direction – and potentially help take the series to new heights.
Liberty’s experience in global sports and entertainment, most notably through Formula 1 and Live Nation (now spun off), makes the American media company well placed to oversee another international championship.
F1 circuit promoters have enjoyed improved fortunes under Liberty’s stewardship, with record ticket sales boosting revenues and making races more financially viable. It remains to be seen how circuits hosting MotoGP races can also benefit from the media giant’s expertise.
MotoGP’s calendar now rivals F1’s in size, with the 2026 season featuring a record-equalling 22 races. However, one key difference between the two championships is the hosting fee, with MotoGP still charging a fraction of its larger sibling.
While this makes MotoGP more accessible, the costs remain significant, meaning it is vital that hosting a grand prix remains a financially attractive proposition for circuits, with or without government support.
The Sepang International Circuit has been hosting the Malaysian Grand Prix annually since 1999 and has established itself as a popular venue for both riders and fans. Sepang’s position is also critical right now, as it is in the middle of negotiating a new contract with Dorna for 2027 and beyond.
Like several long-standing MotoGP venues, it faces increasing pressure to justify hosting costs in an evolving commercial landscape, but a new deal is expected to be closed at the beginning of the year.
Sepang Circuit Atmosphere
Photo by: Srinivasa Krishnan
Sepang CEO Azhan Shafriman Hanif believes that growing MotoGP will require a collective effort, and all stakeholders need to do more to bring fans closer to the sport.
“I think there are a lot of factors that can be further improved,” Shafriman told Motorsport.com. “It all starts with us as the promoter. Of course, Dorna, the team, the riders and so on will need to play a bigger role in creating sports and reaching out to the younger generations.
“I do believe that we have a very good product in MotoGP. What needs to be better is we need to open up more access to the fans, to the spectators that come over so that they can experience the money-can’t-buy experience that they can get when they come over to Sepang.”
For any circuit promoter, bringing more fans through the gates is the ultimate goal. However, Shafriman acknowledges that MotoGP’s reach must extend beyond those who are able to attend a grand prix in person.
MotoGP’s season launch event, the second edition of which will take place in Kuala Lumpur next month, is already an example of how MotoGP is attempting to connect with fans outside the circuit.
“There are one or two ideas that I floated to Dorna,” he said. “Hopefully, we can bring something new, something fresh, something that we have not seen before in MotoGP.
“One of the things that we discussed is basically how do we get people that cannot come over to the circuit to watch MotoGP. Of course, they have TVs at home. They have all the channels that they can view in terms of the race itself.
“But I guess we need to create more experiences outside of the circuit so that for those fans that could not come over due to several reasons and so on can follow MotoGP and watch them [races].”
Derek Chang, Liberty Media chief executive
Photo by: Alberto Crippa
When Liberty first acquired F1, it laid out its intention to turn each grand prix into a Super Bowl-style event. The idea was clear: a race weekend should be about more than just motorsport itself.
Sepang agrees with Liberty’s vision, believing it’s important to cater to the interest of casual fans that help make up the numbers.
“I guess the sport now needs to expand [to be] more than just the sport. It needs to come with entertainment,” Shafriman said.
“I do believe that bringing concerts, [marketing] activations and activities surrounding the event would help the sport to gain more fans that are not hardcore fans of motorsports,” he said.
“But these are the things that I think both Dorna and SIC would need to look into.”
Beyond MotoGP, Sepang is also pursuing a longer-term vision to develop the circuit into a broader destination. Already, several circuits around the world house factories and other facilities, but Sepang wants to expand to other areas outside of motorsport.
It’s an approach that could appeal to other MotoGP venues as well, especially circuits that own large areas of undeveloped land around their facilities.
“Well, I have big plans for the circuit itself. At the moment, we are looking at the five-year and the 10-year plan, the mid-term and the long-term plan for Sepang,” he said.
“We are talking to several investors to come in and to put in their assets here.
“We have huge land here to farm out. And hopefully, investors can come in and basically build the ecosystem around the circuit so that we can create this place as a hub for motorsports and also entertainment.
“Not only motorsports. There might be some other attractions like hotels or theme parks, so that when people come here, they don’t just come here for the motorsports event, they can do other things like retail and so on.”
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