I disagree with Carmelo Ezpeleta, MotoGP's iron-fist-wielding overlord, a lot. In fact, I've called him out for his poor decisions so many times in the past two years, I've lost count, as the man loves to put his foot firmly up his own backside. The same goes for his son Carlos.
But even a broken clock is right twice a day, and I've found myself agreeing with what will be a monumentally divisive take on the series' expansion. Honestly, it's already caused quite a bit of infighting on RideApart's own Slack, as there are those in agreement and those absolutely not. What am I talking about, you ask?
Well, at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas this weekend, Ezpeleta was cornered by reporters and asked about Liberty Media's acquisition of MotoGP, to which he responded with positive thoughts. But he also said that, like the Vegas race, MotoGP could, theoretically, add a street circuit to the calendar. And, folks, I'm here for it.
Speaking to DAZN, Ezpeleta stated, "We have no problem with racing on city circuits or not; the only thing we need are run-off areas," adding that, "It’s difficult to have them here [Las Vegas], but there are some Formula 1 city circuits that we could use … When we started in 1992, our commitment was to improve safety, and we have succeeded. This is something we are not giving up on. But Mandalika, for example, is theoretically a city track. So, if there is a track between the streets, but with run-off areas, we’re there.”
Now, I know exactly what y'all are going to say. You're going to say "They're too dangerous!", "They're too unwieldy", "They don't make for good racing!" and to which I'll say one name, the Isle of Man TT. The TT, to me, is the best motorcycle race on the planet. It's the one I desperately want to attend. And it's the one I desperately want to run. Maybe not at race pace, but if they'd let me have a bike and hit the track on a warm-up day, you'd best believe I'd be there in a heartbeat.
Call me, Isle of Man TT organizers...
And yes, I understand the dangers and risks involved in that race, but I'm not saying a MotoGP race has to race on the mountain course, though that would be rad as hell. No, I think it actually wouldn't really make for a great race for fans or spectators or even those watching on TV. But a street race, something that follows the same race course as a Formula 1 race, wouldn't be a bad idea, especially with the newfound synergy between the two.
Imagine if you ran the same street course as F1 race, i.e., Monaco, Baku, Melbourne, etc, you'd have the space you'd need due to the cars being plus-sized (a point of issue for many Formula 1 fans, myself included), plus, if you held a double-header between the series', it likely would be an easy swap for safety barriers, since you'd have some already put in place. And, if the tracks allow for run-off areas in high-speed corners, you could make them even safer.
But here's where I want to remind you that motorsports, no matter what, is a dangerous activity. Yes, you do your best to mitigate those dangers, but it's inherently dangerous. It's why MotoGP's top talent are constantly getting sidelined for multiple races because they high-sided or crashed into each other or run over one another. It's why Jorge Martin has basically missed the entire freakin' season.
I'd be all for watching a street circuit MotoGP race. Which one? I don't know. But there are a lot of options available, and hopefully, one will show up. That said, tell me how much of an idiot I am in the comments below.
