MotoGP race is now on for new city-based circuits
With six more MotoGP track contracts up for renewal this year or next, the scene is set for a huge shift in venues to match the new era of 800cc racers.
The recent announcement of Australia’s round moving from Phillip Island to the parklands and streets of Adelaide is just the beginning of some intense behind-the-scenes negotiation.
According to AMCN’s research, the track contracts due to expire over the next 18 months are Mugello in Italy, UK’s Silverstone, Spain’s Aragon, Sepang in Malaysia, Austin in the US and Portugal’s Portimao.
New MotoGP owners Liberty Media are already on record as saying they want to move races closer to city venues.
This is one of the main reasons the Brazilian GP at Goiana has been revived after an absence of four decades. Renovated and renamed Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna, it is located in Goiania, Goias, approximately 20km from the city centre. It’s less than half an hour by freeway, and hotels and rental apartments are within 6km of the track.
Its location has similarities to Sydney’s old Eastern Creek GP circuit of the 1990s, although Goiania has a population that is more the size of Adelaide.
Goiania had previously hosted three motorcycle GPs before its return, the most notable being 1987, which Wayne Gardner won to seal his historic world title.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (formely Dorna), stated recently: “We are moving towards holding races closer to cities. Goiania is a permanent circuit in the city centre, and next year we’ll be going to Buenos Aires, which is also a permanent circuit in the city centre. That’s the way forward.”
The Argentine circuit switch is to Autodromo Oscar y Juan Galvez, located 20 minutes from Buenos Aires international airport and 30 minutes from the city centre.
Argentina is slowly recovering from an economic crisis, with inflation dropping from 20 per cent back to below 10 per cent, but even so it seems a bit of a gamble to commit further to this country. Then again, Liberty Media is pursuing a policy of expanding into neglected markets – and South America, with its huge population, is one of them.
Looking at some of the tracks where contracts are expiring gives much food for thought.
MotoGP’s American owners aren’t likely to axe the Texas COTA circuit, despite the fact it only attracted 125k fans last year. It is just 30 minutes from Austin, a city of over one million. Liberty may even add another US venue.
Ezpeleta attended last year’s Las Vegas F1 race, held on a temporary city circuit. A three-day event, it was attended by a sellout crowd of 300,00 and is one of F1’s glamour rounds. The US has a population of 350 million, so potential is there for MotoGP to add another round.
One issue is the number of races held in Spain. The 22-round calendar is unlikely to be extended, so to add another could see the demise of Spain’s Aragon event as the country already hosts four MotoGPs and it only got 112k spectators last season.
The UK’s Silverstone race attendance dropped by 20,000 to 99,000 fans, not much more than Phillip Island’s tally. So there must be some hand wringing going on in the UK at the moment.
It’s hard to see Portugal or Malaysia being axed; their attendances exceeded Indonesia’s Mandalika round, which is the prototype of MotoGP’s ‘street’ approach.
However, Mugello could be the next shock decision. Valentino Rossi might be ‘the Master of Mugello’ but, like Phillip Island, it is an old-school circuit with some safety concerns.
These first came to a head in 2018 when Ducati rider Michele Pirro survived a 350km/h get-off at Turn One during practice, raising concerns about the track’s combination of high-speed corners and the fairly close proximity of barriers.
Mugello had 166,000 fans attend last year but accommodation has to be booked a year in advance. During race weekend it can take 30 minutes for shuttle buses to cover 5km and taxis are unreliable and hard to book. Add up continuing underlying safety concerns and the nightmare of track accessibility for fans and you see there isn’t much potential to increase attendance. So another iconic and much-loved circuit certainly looks to be in the firing line.
MotoGP’s new focus on expansion is just starting and some brutal decisions will be taken by people concerned more about the marketing potential than the history.
TOP 10 MOTOGP ATTENDANCES IN 2025
- Le Mans, France 311,797
- Sach, Germany 256,441
- Buriram, Thailand 224,634
- Jerez, Spain 224,420
- Brno, Czech Rep 219,441
- Termas de RH, Arg 208,979
- Assen, Netherlands 200,104
- Sepang, Malaysia 190,977
- Barcelona, Spain 187,086
- Portimao, Portugal 183,102
Devil in the detail
Last year MotoGP achieved record growth. Its global fanbase surged 12 per cent to 632 million, while race weekends hit a record-breaking 3.6 million attendees. The season broke nine attendance records, including the 311,797 at Le Mans becoming the most attended race in MotoGP history. Television audiences grew globally by 9 per cent on average at each GP, with Sprint viewing jumping 26 per cent. MotoGP’s social media presence continued to rise with followers passing 60 million.
Compare this to F1’s record-breaking season. Its global fanbase reached 827 million with a record attendance of 6.7 million, making it the fastest-growing sport in the world. The British GP at Silverstone led with 500,000 fans in attendance, followed closely by the Australian GP with 465,000. It’s easy to see why Liberty Media was so keen to move the Australian MotoGP round from Phillip Island to Albert Park.
