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MOTOGP: An Hour with Carmelo Ezpeleta (Part I)
Written by: Dennis Noyes   
12/14/2008
Borrego Springs, CA
 
(Photo: Brian J Nelson) ยป More Photos

Written by Juan Pedro de la Torre (MOTOCICLISMO)

Translated and prefaced by Dennis Noyes

This interview was conducted by Juan Pedro de la Torre, Sports Director for Spain’s leading specialist publication, MOTOCICLISMO, and reveals the thinking and vision of Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta on the current situation in the MotoGP class. In the course of the one-hour interview which was transcribed and then translated carefully from Spanish to English, the most powerful figure in contemporary motorcycle racing deals directly with the problems of controlling costs, limiting the importance of electronic rider aids, and answers the criticism that recent MotoGP seasons have been lacked the excitement of close racing and final-lap overtaking.

Most interviews with Grand Prix riders, team bosses, and executives are conducted in English and, although Ezpeleta is fluent in English, the true flavor of his thinking and the intensity of some of his responses are best expressed in Spanish. Occasionally I have added some parenthetical clarification but more to identify persons that Ezpeleta and de la Torre refer to without name.

Under Ezpeleta, the premier class of Grand Prix racing has evolved and grown. If we look only at this country we see that at the last 500 GP race at Laguna Seca in 1994 less than 17,000 people showed up on a beautiful day. Now Laguna is filled almost to capacity for the USGP. And this year a Sunday crowd of 90,000 watched MotoGP at Indianapolis in spite of gusting wind and heavy rain. And this is true around the world (with the exception of Qatar) where grandstands are filled to the flags.

Obviously, whether you agree with everything he says or not, Carmelo Ezpeleta has taken Motorcycle Grand Prix racing to levels that few in 1992 (Dorna's first year as rights holder) would have dreamed possible.

Here follows the complete text by Juan Pedro de la Torre:

An hour of conversation with Carmelo Ezpeleta, always direct, clear, and blunt, reveals the views of
the MotoGP promoter about the current championship situation.

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna, analyzes the current MotoGP situation. Against those whose voices that speak of the excessive importance of electronics in racing, Ezpeleta maintains, firmly and with logic, that MotoGP is the maximum expression of motorcycle sport.

JP: What is Dorna´s evaluation of the 2008 season?

CE: “Well, I think it was a good season. The tracks, except when there was heavy rain, have increased in spectator attendance. The season went well on the sporting side; I think it was a good season. The fact that Di Meglio (of France) won the 125 title is good news because it means that riders from more countries are able to win championships. In 250 there was a good fight; we saw good races and a deserving champion who did a good job. In MotoGP it seemed that Rossi won easily -- I say “seemed” because I don’t believe that it was like that. Rossi worked the championship very well and I think it was a great season.

"The people can say that the races were or weren’t so enjoyable. That to me…well you know what I think, that the races could be more exciting but that they are sufficiently interesting. And I don’t believe that the electronics are what makes the races more or less enjoyable. This theory is based on the fact that there have been no last-lap overtakings since Elías' win in Portugal (the penultimate race of 2006)…Okay. Well that must be because the riders at the front are different, but behind them there are battles to the final lap. If there are battles for the other positions, why not for the leading positions?

"It is because the riders make the difference. If it were all about electronics there would be the same differences among the first group, the second group and the third group… We have asked the factories if they want to study a way to resolve the electronics question and they have said no, and I have no other option.”


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