MotoGP called “a sleeping giant” which is “primed for growth” in United States

MotoGP’s future in the United States has been talked up by Dan Rossomondo.

The MotoGP chief commercial officer, an American who previously worked for the NBA, is targeting major growth in the USA.

Much like Formula 1 has done in the Liberty Media-owned era, there is hope that MotoGP’s popularity could explode.

“This sport is primed for growth,” Rossomondo told CNN.

“It’s a little bit of a sleeping giant, and what we want to do as we approach this 75th anniversary is innovate and do different things on the circuit, and also do different things in terms of fan engagement, in terms of delivering products to fans.

“Our business is one where we want our core audience to feel like they’ve seen something special every day, but also to attract that new audience and get that new audience to be loyal fans.”

The 2024 MotoGP season sees the introduction of a new team, Trackhouse Racing, who are based in Nashville, co-owned by the rapper Pitbull and come from a NASCAR background.

The US TV rights have also switched to Warner Bros Discovery’s TNT Sports.

“[The new TV deal] is hugely significant for us,” Rossomondo said.

“For us, what makes it so special is that this sport is custom made for the American audience, so we’re thrilled about that.”

2024 is also the second season featuring a sprint race at every round.

“I have three children of my own – 14, 16 and 18 – and I know their attention spans, Rossomondo explained.

“Both of our products, our 45-minute race on Sunday and our 24-minute race on Saturday, are custom made for today’s generation of entertainment and sports consumers.

“What we wanted to do was create a product that people can use as a trial for our main race, so it’s been wildly successful, leading to over 20% global growth in our television viewership.

“The teams have embraced it, the riders have embraced it and it’s going to be continued at every Grand Prix this year.”

Technology will also be a key part of MotoGP’s future, Rossomondo explained.

“I say all the time, we have two gladiatorial figures – we have the riders and the teams – and they’re both pushing towards the limit,” he said.

“Now, we’ve done a lot and we continue to do a lot to ensure safety, and AI is useful in that space, so we’re constantly tracking where these guys are on the circuit, how the bikes are performing, all of our on-air graphics are generated by AI in a lot of ways.

“Things on the bike are ultimately going to make their way onto the street, but also for tech companies to just look at what we do in terms of delivering our races in a really technologically advanced way.

“AI is at the forefront of what we’re doing right now to try to figure out a way to make this sport even more attractive.”