Dorna, the organizing company of the MotoGP World Championship, World Superbikes (Wsbk) and MotoE, among others, it closed the 2023 season with record revenues of €460 million, 15% more than the previous season, reaching an unprecedented figure, as explained by Enrique Aldama, financial director of Dorna Sports.
For championships, MotoGP It is the main economic engine of Dorna Sports, generating around €430 million of the total, which is equivalent to almost 95%, while Wsbk reported €30 million of income in 2023.
The manager points to the entry of the Indian Grand Prix, which increased the races on the 2023 calendar to 20, and the improvement in the income attributed to the commercial area as the main reasons for the increase in Dorna’s business volume. “The strong impact is derived from the circuits, with the entry of India, and from the commercial area; “We have sold better this year,” admits Aldama.
Another determining element to improve pre-pandemic records is the celebration of sprint races in MotoGP (races with half the number of laps than a usual GP and held on Saturday). In 2023, the MotoGP World Championship introduced this type of racing with the aim of making GP Saturday more attractive. Aldama recognizes that “having a system with a shorter, but aggressive race, makes the product more attractive” and adds that “before, the races officially occurred on Sunday.”
All of this led MotoGP to close the 2023 season with 2.9 million spectators on the circuits. The Shark Grand Prix de France, held at the Le Mans circuit on May 14, attracted 278,805 spectators between the free practice on Friday and the races on Sunday. Of these, more than 40% gathered at the circuit on May 16 to see Marco Bezzecchi take victory.
Behind them, the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring circuit and the Valencia Grand Prix, in Cheste, close the top 3. The German track opened its doors to 233,196 fans, while, at the Valencian circuit, up to 195,889 people watched the fight for the MotoGP championship between Jorge Martín and Franceso Bagnaia.
The objective of Dorna aims to increase attendance at the circuits to three million people in 2024. However, it seems complicated after the organization canceled, on January 31, the Termas de Río Hondo Grand Prix due to the crisis in Argentina, leaving the number reduced. 2024 calendar at 18 GP (the Aragon Grand Prix also falling). Aldama acknowledges that “it is complicated, although we will try.”
Among the short-term plans of the MotoGP World Championship manager was to land in Vietnam and the Philippines in 2024, although finally the circuits of both countries will not see the MotoGP roar this year. The financial director explains that “the negotiations have not gone so quickly, so they could reach the calendar in 2026.”
In Europe, Aldama recognizes that “There are interested circuits, like Hungary, and there could be some change” and adds that “we are in conversations and one or two always arise that may be of interest, which means that what we do is rotate with other places, like Spain, where having four circuits is a privilege, but you must also have an international vision. ”.
The competition has three main sources of income: promoters, broadcasting and commercial agreements. The media area, which mainly includes the sale of image rights, represents 38% of the total turnover, while the circuit fees and the commercial area (in which Dorna charges any unrelated sales with sale of audiovisual rights) represent 35% and 25% of total income, respectively.
Among the main objectives of Dorna Sports is to pass, for the first time in its history, the barrier of €500 million in turnover in 2024. Aldama emphasizes that “it is not something easy, although we hope to grow in the commercial area and focus in average to achieve it.”
Dorna, which has Bridgepoint Capital and the Canadian Pension Fund as major shareholders, was founded in 1988 and is based in Madrid, Spain. Carmelo Ezpeleta has been the current CEO of the company since 1991.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
