MotoGP riders insist championship is home for the “best” regardless of nationality

Several MotoGP riders have expressed their disapproval against capping the number of Spanish and Italian riders on the grid in the coming years.

In a recent interview, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta suggested that there should be a limit on the number of entries from Spain and Italy to enable a more diverse field of riders. While the MotoGP chief has always insisted that the premier class should be the home for the ‘best riders’ and maintains the stance to this date, there are now some nuances in his thinking as commercial factors come into play.

“The best should be there, but it is easier to be better if you are Italian or Spanish. It should be like the Olympic Games, three Americans go, and if you are the fourth American, you don’t go, even if you are better than those from other countries,” Ezpeleta was quoted in a recent interview.

Autosport put Ezpeleta’s quotes to the current crop of Spanish and Italian riders and gathered their opinion on the situation.

“How many British or Anglo-Saxons are there in F1?’ asked Raul Fernandez, who recently secured a new two-year deal with Trackhouse.

“I don’t think it’s a question of nationality, surely we Italians and Spaniards are better because of how difficult it is for us to get here. Surely, if we were of another nationality, we would have more help in terms of junior championships.

“In Spain, it is very difficult, personally, what I have experienced is a lot of work and struggle to get to MotoGP, without forgetting the sacrifices of the family.

“Apart from that there is the issue of what the factories want. If you go to, for example, Honda and tell them that they have to take three riders of this or that nationality, they will tell you that they don’t put 50 million into a project so you can tell them which riders they have to put in.

“What you have to see is that the riders sacrifice a lot and what you have to look at are the results. It’s a pity that a rider like [Moto2 points leader] Sergio Garcia, with what he has fought for and is doing, doesn’t have a place in MotoGP, so why do you have to work so hard? It’s frustrating, if you can’t make it, what are you going to try for?”

Honda’s Luca Marini also believes that Spain and Italy offer better opportunities for budding riders to build on their potential, which is why they are so well represented on the grid.

“You have to understand why the level of the…