By the time you read this feature, a little bit of motorsport history will have been made. The 2024 MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix was the first in the series’ history to have been completed by a grid using fuels of part-non-fossil origin. As MotoGP celebrates its 75th anniversary, it’s a milestone moment a far cry from the first premier class grand prix completed on the Isle of Man back in 1949 by Harold Daniell on a 500cc Norton.
The world is swaying into a crisis point, as global warming is fast reaching a catastrophic point for humanity. That poses an ethical question for motorsport. As the director of technology at Dorna Sports – MotoGP’s commercial rights holder – Corrado Cecchinelli tells Autosport, “it’s clear that if the goal was simply reducing racing carbon footprint, then the maximum impact on event sustainability is to not hold the event at all”.
