Tazio Nuvolari, one of car racing’s all-time greats, was a factory Bianchi bike racer in the 1920s before winning car grands prix with Alfa Romeo in the 1930s.
Then there’s Charles Leclerc, Mark Webber, Kevin Magnussen, Jacky Ickx, Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Emerson Fittipaldi, Patrick Depailler, Gerhard Berger, Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell. The list goes on and on and on…
So, what about the Hamilton rumours? And, firstly, why now?
Perhaps it’s part of Liberty Media’s move into MotoGP. The American sports-marketing company knows that MotoGP is woefully underrepresented on the global media scene and the best and quickest way to tackle that is by bringing big names like Hamilton into the championship, so perhaps this was Liberty talking with Hamilton: why don’t you buy a MotoGP team and we will help you do it?
Liberty F1 president Domenicali, 15-time motorcycle champion Giacomo Agostini, former F1 driver Gerhard Berger and (far right) Pramac team owner Paolo Campinoti at the Isle of Man TT
Pramac
Liberty’s F1 president and former Ferrari F1 boss Stefano Domenicali is another keen motorcyclist, who has spectated at the TT. He attended last month’s Italian MotoGP round at Mugello and you can be sure he wasn’t there just to watch the racing. He would’ve been laying the groundwork for Liberty’s (still to be approved) takeover of the championship.
Hamilton is said to be considering buying the Gresini MotoGP team, although there’s no firm evidence of this and it’s not even sure that Gresini wants to sell. Teams own their grid slots as part of a franchise system established by current rights-holder Dorna some years ago. If Liberty does get the go ahead to assume control of MotoGP it will most likely raise the championship’s profile, which will increase the value of teams, so why would Gresini want to cash in its chips now?
How much would Hamilton have to pay if he does want to buy a MotoGP team?
By F1 standards, very little. The cost difference between the two sports is vast. A MotoGP team’s value would be formed from its infrastructure and the perceived value of its grid slots. A look at sponsorship values might give us some idea: title sponsorship of a competitive F1 team can cost around £40 million per season, whereas you can be title sponsor of a factory MotoGP team for around £4 million.
That’s where Liberty may be able to help MotoGP, because the paddock needs more money. Most indie MotoGP riders are earning no more than a few hundred thousand, which isn’t a just reward for competing at the top of a global sport and taking bigger risks than just about any other sportsperson competing at that level.
