A staple of American sports is the ‘Make Some Noise Meter’ on Jumbotron TVs inside their stadiums – a clearly-faked decibel level monitor that encourages the excitable home fans to whoop even more loudly, which is usually employed to put off the opposition on a third down or a free throw.
But you can’t fake the noise of fans at an outdoor racetrack, and from my vantage point on the inside of Turn 1 during COTA’s MotoGP round on Sunday, I could clearly hear the buzzed crowd making some genuine noise in reaction to some thrilling on-track action, lots of overtaking moves, and a significant faller.
This was the first race following the news that F1 owner Liberty plans to acquire 86% of MotoGP owners Dorna Sports in a blockbuster deal worth €4.2 billion, which it hopes to finalise by the end of 2024.
The Liberty deal meant that MotoGP’s annual trip to Austin’s Circuit of the Americas felt way more important this year. Not just because it’s now the only round on the Liberty’s side of the Atlantic, following Argentina’s demise from the schedule, but the acquisition means America now has a major stake in the game.
COTA is the only US race on the MotoGP schedule
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
There’s little doubt in my mind that the series has massive scope to grow in America – like an amusement park of possibility – and it can certainly learn from its F1 experience so far.
It might be a happy coincidence but NASCAR squad Trackhouse’s takeover of the former RNF Aprilia squad means it now has a team baring the Stars and Stripes, while Joe Roberts’ run to second in Moto2 on Sunday gives it the potential for a homespun big class star of the future once again.
Under Liberty, F1’s at-track attendance has sky-rocketed to the point that COTA owner Bobby Epstein was eyeing half a million people for its United States Grand Prix until last year’s surprise dip. Of course, COTA’s MotoGP crowd is way off its F1 attendance, so there’s much work to be done here.
I’d like to think that some of the things we’ve done to show the world the value and power of Formula 1, we can bring to MotoGP
Greg Maffei, Liberty Media CEO
Although this time Liberty doesn’t have its silver bullet of a docuseries lifting the lid of the exclusive world of F1 coinciding with a global pandemic and a captive audience that was in much need of entertainment, it knows the correct buttons to press…
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