MotoGP’s chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta insists the championship will never compromise on safety amid Liberty Media’s desire to race at Formula 1’s Miami GP venue.
Last week, Liberty CEO Derek Chang described the Miami International Autodrome as a “logical” location to expand MotoGP’s reach in the US and bring the series closer to fans.
However, those remarks did not receive universal approval, with the temporary circuit having been designed specifically for four-wheel racing and featuring limited run-off zones. Although the location around the Hard Rock Stadium leaves room for various changes, the proximity to walls in the current layout could pose serious concerns in MotoGP.
Speaking during the French Grand Prix, Ezpeleta said that any plans to race in Miami remain a long-term possibility rather than an immediate priority, as he stressed that rider safety will continue to remain at the centre of MotoGP’s approach to the calendar.
“I think what Derek said is it’s a logical step to consider Miami,” Ezpeleta told select media including Motorsport.com France. “Since the deal with Liberty Media was announced, everybody probably assumed that we would consider that because there are some circuits in Formula 1 which can be considered, but there are others which, of course, cannot be considered.
“What is clear to us is that there’s never going to be a compromise on the safety elements. FIM has made a huge progress in terms of circuit safety in the past decades and this will only continue to improve.
“Miami is one of the conversations that we’re having but again, right now, we don’t want to build the expectation of something happening in Miami because we’re really also focused on growing MotorGP in the US and specifically the Austin race. We feel that the event itself has a lot of potential.
“So, of course, we’re considering new options but it’s not sort of an immediate thing.”
Dorna CSO Carlos Ezpeleta
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
City-centre races
Chang’s comments about Miami came a few months after MotoGP announced that it will move the Australian GP to a revamped street circuit in Adelaide, replacing the long-standing permanent venue at Phillip Island.
Ezpeleta reiterated that a grand prix on Adelaide’s public roads is only made possible by unique circumstances, indicating that the race doesn’t signal a broader shift towards city-centre racing in MotoGP.
“There is this noise about city circuits and what we’ve announced in Adelaide, which we’re really excited and really happy about,” he said.
“It is a very individual specific thing that can be done in Adelaide. “The solution for Adelaide is a very specific solution because of the space that they have around the park, the willingness that they have to make what’s going to be an amazing circuit in downtown.
“We don’t see half the MotoGP calendar going into new city centre circuits anytime soon or maybe never, because it’s very sort of a specific solution for a city, which we are really excited about, but we don’t see that being the target everywhere.”
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