MotoGP will still have calendar clashes with F1 under Liberty ownership

Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta expects MotoGP and Formula 1 to work closer together on calendar creation under Liberty Media ownership, but clashes will remain.

Earlier this year, F1 owner Liberty announced it had purchased 86% of Dorna and MotoGP in a deal worth $4.2 billion, which is set to close at the end of 2024.

While Liberty has its own ideas about how to grow MotoGP, it has long stated it has no plans to strip the series of its identity amid fears from fans of it becoming like F1.

Both series have now revealed their 2025 calendars, with F1 set to race at 24 rounds next year and MotoGP provisionally at 22.

And while F1 released its 2025 schedule in April and MotoGP didn’t reveal its calendar until last month, there are nine weekends in which both series will clash.

In an interview with Spanish publication AS, Ezpeleta concedes that avoiding calendar clashes is difficult given how many races both series host now but this isn’t likely to change anytime soon under Liberty.

“It is very difficult not to overlap them because they have 24 rounds and we have 22, which take place between March and November,” he said about the calendars for F1 and MotoGP.

“There has always been good cooperation, and there will be even more now that Liberty Media is taking over the Dorna, but we will not be able to do without scheduling conflicts.

“Both F1 and MotoGP are currently taking each other's schedules into account when planning.

“We look at their calendar before we make ours, and now they look at ours before they make theirs. That wasn't always the case in the past.”

MotoGP is set to return to Hungary in 2025 at the new Balaton Park circuit, which is due to undergo upgrades to bring it up to standard.

The series is also set to return to Argentina following the race’s cancellation this year due to austerity measures taking funding away for the event.