JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – MotoGP motorcycle racing event is considered starting to lose its prestige and being abandoned by the audience.
In some races this year, such as at Portimao and Jerez, the number of spectators is drastically reduced compared to last year. In fact, when the race was held at the Mugello Circuit, it was known that only half of the tickets had been sold for the 2021 season.
Not a few also think that the popularity of MotoGP is said to have begun to be defeated by the Formula One (F1) event.
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Dorna Sports has recently taken steps to increase the popularity of MotoGP, one of which is implementing the MotoGP Sprint Race in the 2023 season.
The silence of the MotoGP audience in recent years could not be separated from the retirement of Valentino Rossi, who became the main character in the motor racing event.
Former MotoGP racer Jorge Lorenzo also commented on the current condition of MotoGP which is slowly being abandoned by his fans.
Quoted from ASLorenzo said the decline in MotoGP prestige was caused by the attitude of the riders. According to him, currently all rider MotoGP looks like friends, even though it is the battles on the race track that attract the audience.
“The relentless battles make a crowd of spectators. Now they all look like friends,” Lorenzo said ASMonday (29/8/2022).
The former Yamaha rider revealed that MotoGP in the last few years was different when he was still a rival to Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez.
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He said that at that time interesting actions on the track often occurred every race weekend, such as the 2015 Sepang incident where there was a fierce duel between Rossi and Marquez, or at Jerez in 2011 which involved Stoner and Valentino Rossi.
“Now they all seem like friends. Quartararo doesn’t talk to Bagnaia like I do with Rossi. Pecco doesn’t talk to Martin like Valentino did with Stoner,” he said.
However, Lorenzo added, during the Mandalika MotoGP, some rider enough to show the action of rivalry during the race. As happened between Quartararo and Miller, where they accused each other of being too aggressive when driving.
“So the rivalry still exists, with an image that prioritizes sportsmanship above all else,” he said.
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