MotoGP tested the water at the Outernet with a ‘watch party’ of the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of June. It claimed a 20,000-figure tasted some of the racing from Assen for an activity that even F1 hasn’t tried. “I’m not going to try and pretend that 20,000 people turned up for MotoGP because that wasn’t the case but the reason for doing these events in the heart of big cities is because you get that natural footfall,” explained MotoGP Group communications director Michael Gibson. “I felt a lot of people were intrigued by what was in the Outernet that weekend. MotoGP is so amazing to see live; it’s impossible to replicate but the visuals, the content, the surrounds brought the action to life.”
The press conference helped underline Ogura’s dry sense of humour and reluctance, while Bezzecchi’s understated charm and Acosta’s wackiness were clearly the main draw for the demographics of the group of fans inside. Gibson was not exaggerating when he said the event had a “different energy” even if it meant sacrificing some specialist media interest due to the distance from Silverstone where the paddock was gathering. “You know, a lot of what we see in sports now is about activation, mass participation, big media moments, and putting your brand next to that. So, for MotoGP this was an investment, an opportunity to capitalize on something that’s happening here. There is a media market in London which isn’t just national, it’s international. Also to a fanbase, which we know exists in London, but also lots of new people experiencing MotoGP for the first time.”
Press conference was opened to a wider range of media, at a high cost to organisers
MotoGP
Red Bull KTM Tech Team Principal Guenter Steiner backed the approach. “We just need to bring more attention to the sport,” he said back at Silverstone. “I think you have around 600,000 here for F1 but you have a lot of British drivers and that would be one thing: to have a British rider. I think it [growth] will take time. I think we can get the number up because the UK is a big country for motor sport but we have to work on it and give it more awareness. We did a lot of press yesterday in London to get the message out. We should not doubt ourselves and tell people what they will miss if they don’t come.”
The Outernet was costly. It was the second biggest outlay for the company outside the official season launch (which took place this year in Kuala Lumpur). It is unlikely to be a one-off as MotoGP targets 20+ Grands Prix in 2027. “The chances are high,” Ezpeleta confirmed, “as we continue to push and do more things in downtown cities and make it easier for people to become MotoGP fans or interact with MotoGP.”
“We’ve signed a two-year extension for the British GP. We think there’s huge potential here”
MotoGP is already looking at places like ‘Cosm’ in the United States that produces immersive experiences for other sports and movies at sites in Los Angeles, Atlanta and, pertinently for the USGP at Austin, in Dallas. But for all the strategy and enthusiasm MotoGP is aware that the razzmatazz cannot dive past the racing. “This is a serious sport where you do have press conferences for a reason,” says Gibson. “So, you’ve got to think about balancing the credibility with the opportunity. The one thing I think we need to do is make MotoGP more accessible with the proximity to the riders, their reaction, their bikes and so on.” Probably 90% of events that sit around F1 or major football tournaments are led by commercial partners and is a trend that MotoGP hopes to join and will help the coffers.
There was — and there wasn’t ‚ an elephant in the room at the Outernet. The press conference arguably needed the buy-in of the series’ top athlete and reigning world champion, Marc Márquez, but the 33-year-old said on Friday at Silverstone that the trek to the Outernet asked a bit too much. “I understand that a six-hour event on Thursday is not the best for the performance of physical condition of a rider and, in the end, I attend you [the media] in the same way here at the circuit,” he said, a little sheepishly but also defiantly.
“It makes total sense that he wants to focus on returning to full health and compete in this year for the championship,” Gibson offered, diplomatically. “It’s understandable, he is a great ambassador for the sport and of course his appearance enhances any event…but we can’t always rely on him and yesterday showed interest extends beyond any single rider.”
Pedro accosted: fans got a chance to meet their heroes
MotoGP
“It was nice to spend time with the fans and not everyone has the chance to come to the paddock on the weekend,” said 21-year-old Acosta. “Also, we only come once a year to the UK. I thought it was quite cool.”
As seen with the brief post-Valentino Rossi era, MotoGP needs to boost and leverage more than one asset and wider promotion has to be a combined effort. “I think the more that we do things like this, the more the paddock get used to it, the more the riders get used to it, the more they enjoy it, the more we build together,” Gibson adds. “Then all of a sudden we have an ecosystem that is looking at how do we connect the circuits with the cities?”
The end goal? “Hopefully the ripple effect is a lot more people are engaging with the sport, more money coming in in terms of commercial revenue, more partners. And that’s how it grows.”
The British Grand Prix pre-event press conference was more than just a media call. “Look, I think there’s lots of learnings,” Gibson says when asked if he ranked it as a success. “The coverage that I’ve seen has been different to what I think MotoGP would have had if we just came to Silverstone and did the press conference here. It’s an investment, as much as anything. It’s a way of showing we’re committed to this market. We’ve signed a two-year extension for the British Grand Prix. We think there’s huge potential here, both from a media point of view, but also a fan base.”
MotoGP’s fastest UK route might just have been re-laid from the edge of Oxford Street.