Thai MotoGP opener had it all, but off-track tensions rise in team & series stand-off

The season-opening Thai Grand Prix was a fine example of why MotoGP should not get ahead of itself. All the talk of new deals, new bikes and new circuits for 2027 and beyond overshadowed the build-up to a weekend that, in the end, proved the series in its current guise still generates plenty of tension, drama, talking points and a hint of controversy.

The world championship is supposed to be formulaic and in the firm grip of Marc Márquez and Ducati (yes, there were signs that the reigning No1 will again be the ultimate reference in what was his first grand prix since October 2025). It is also still supposedly choked by the twilight phase of the technical rules that have made overtaking difficult and suppressed rider improvisation in favour of aerodynamic efficiency. This was not quite the case at Buriram, where Aprilia underlined its credentials for last-gasp 1000cc glory, Pedro Acosta reaffirmed his feisty profile at the start of his third term in the premier class, race direction came under scrutiny and some of the riders on the grid showed that they are brilliantly mad when given another vehicle to abuse (in the case of the Tuk-Tuk parade ‘challenge’).

Incidents on track meant there was no need to add padding to the Thai narrative. Nevertheless, there was an obsession with the future in Buriram 2026. Reactions to the Adelaide city centre parkland for the 2027 Australian Grand Prix were a talking point, as was the spin of contracts and rider/team changes for 2027 and 2028 that had begun in earnest a month earlier with the news that 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo, who has only ridden for Yamaha since he entered the MotoGP class in 2019, was jumping into HRC’s backyard next year, and 2024 world champion, Jorge Martin, would be his replacement following his ousting from Aprilia in favour of 2022-2023 champ Pecco Bagnaia.

Fans and journalists expected press release confirmation of a few of these moves and other transfers in Thailand, and while conjecture boiled with almost all aspects of the paddock set-up in high-30s temperatures, it was all quiet on the eastern front. There was a reason for the radio silence.

MotoGP still needs to establish a foundation for the next five-year agreement between promoters – MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group – and the manufacturers and teams. The 11 squads on the grid are holding out for a greater share of MotoGP’s profit margins and burgeoning revenue potential in lieu of Liberty Media’s €4.2 billion (£3.65bn) acquisition, and in recognition of the essential ‘cast’ role they play for the series.

On the other side of the table, MotoGP SEG’s requests to the teams revolve around more investment and more professionalism towards better promotion. One stipulation is for more staff, another is that brands provide several running ‘show’ bikes (this is no small task but it is a decent idea as the Grand Prix prototypes require several race mechanics to start and maintain the machinery).

Several journalists raised these topics with MotoGP SEG CSO Carlos Ezpeleta during a Friday morning roundtable. The Spaniard spoke candidly on four key issues:

On leaving Phillip Island: “As a MotoGP fan, of course I know how special the layout is. The reality is that the challenges are quite insurmountable – just getting there, staying there… People don’t see the fact that from the last five or six years, on three of those Fridays we’ve had meetings with the riders to see if it’s even possible to race.”

On Valencia’s future as season finale: “Contractually, we are not obliged to close the season there next year.”

On expanding to more than one US Grand Prix: “Right now there is only one track in the whole country that is homologated for MotoGP use. I think we have a lot of work to do in the US.”

On the future of Moto2 and Moto3: “There is — as of now — absolutely no push to reduce the number of races that Moto2 and Moto3 are competing. Absolutely not.”

Ezpeleta cuts a determined, strong-willed figure at the helm of MotoGP SEG, even if his father Carmelo remains the championship’s spiritual figurehead. Aged 35, he has worked his way through the organisation’s ranks, including a spell as sporting director where he helped introduce the long lap penalty. He is now the link between Liberty’s controlling interest and the day-to-day workings of the championship.

I got a clearer sense of his character during a visit to MotoGP SEG’s Madrid office in 2024, while researching a chapter for my book Motorcycle Grand Prix: Insider Stories. Growing up under the shadow of nepotism seems to have forged rather than hindered him; he speaks with the confidence and conviction of someone who has absorbed decades of high-level sports promotion from the inside. It’s a rare and formative education.

Ezpeleta wields considerable power, not only because he can spread his focus into sporting, commercial and promotional areas of MotoGP SEG but because he talks to many people. And in a confidential and secretive (but also gossipy) environment like MotoGP, knowledge is a valuable currency.

The Spaniard knows how to relay the party line, but also with strains of reality. “Everybody is extremely excited about the sport, and nobody wants to leave,” he told Motor Sport. “On the contrary, people want to come in.”

MotoGP SEG has been contributing to teams’ coffers for a number of years with financial support for riders’ salaries and freight costs. They might want more, but MotoGP SEG is also asking them to step up as well. “It was only after the Liberty Media transaction that things sort of got reassessed,” he admitted. “Everybody [the teams] wants to be part of success…but if they want that, then they need to be proactively part of that success.

“Even above our business growth for the last three decades, we have continuously increased our contribution to the teams without being contractually obliged to,” he added.

“I think there is incredible interest for the future of the sport, specifically next year with the new bikes, the new tyres, the rider market,” Ezpeleta explained. “Everybody is eager to see the outcome of that…but I think we are in a really strong position: both the teams and ourselves. What we clearly see is that the value of all these eleven teams is growing significantly. Much more than the league level itself,” he said, in recognition of alleged investment interest that has been circling MotoGP outfits for almost a year.

MotoGP SEG has recruited new staff and constructed fresh marketing campaigns, but it also needs the teams and brands to join the party and think upwards and outwards for growth and more eyeballs; to be more modern and marketable and really exploit their MotoGP presence. “I would add that there is a clear ‘under new ownership’ but also a clear idea of what MotoGP wants to do and what its vision is, and we’re very happy that the teams and manufacturers want to be a part of that,” he commented. “It involves a lot of things, especially outside of the racing and that is what we want to see happen.”

The teams’ bargaining position is not too rigid. It’s common knowledge that the factories are already deep into the pricey development of the 850cc bikes to fit the simplified rulebook from 2027-2031. Paddock chatter already has 50% of the grid locked into the next two-year contract cycle; the Chinese whispers that allowed the Quartararo news to be leaked and published. Naturally, MotoGP SEG knows its domain, and manufacturers simply cannot afford to sleep when it comes to enticing the talent for their expensive projects.

The two parties appear to be locked into a respectful stand-off, but tensions are building elsewhere with teams complaining about the organisation and communication behind promotional exercises like the 2026 season launch and the Tuk-Tuk Challenge. Both events were outwardly successful with their objectives but the fraying diplomacy behind the scenes does not bode well for maximum cooperation and collaboration moving forward. The Tuk-Tuk spectacle was almost scrapped by the teams due to their reluctance to put their riders into a sketchy track situation.