During the Barcelona GP weekend, rumors spread in Formula 1 circles in the Netherlands, as well as in the MotoGP paddock, regarding Stefano Domenicali taking over the position of Chief Executive Officer at Dorna, in place of long-term CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, following the takeover of Dorna Sports S.L. by the US Liberty Media group, which also owns the Formula 1.
.
However, this news quickly turned out to be untrue. Why would Domenicali (no relation to Ducati CEO Claudio) voluntarily retire from the booming Formula 1 business, which he has been running for Liberty since 2021 as CEO and successor to Chase Carey. His predecessor had taken over from Bernie Ecclestone.
Stefano Domenicali, born in Imola in May 1965, has been a manager and motorsports executive in the industry for many years. He was Formula 1 Team Principal at Scuderia Ferrari from 2007 to April 2014. From 2016 to 2020, he was CEO at Lamborghini for the Volkswagen Group. Since 2021, Domenicali has been in charge of the Formula 1 agenda as CEO.
Despite all the successes, the MotoGP events are a sideshow compared to the global Formula 1 hype, with four GPs in important markets in North America (Miami, Las Vegas, Texas and Montreal/Canada), as well as Mexico and Brazil in Central and South America. A job as Dorna CEO would, therefore, be a clear career downgrade for the undisputed F1 manager.
What's more, Carmelo Ezpeleta and Stefano Domenicali have been close friends and have been exchanginb ideas several times a week since 2021, when it comes to the creation of the World Championship calendar, track changes, contracts with race track operators and promoters, and so on.
The Spaniard and the Italian have an excellent understanding that is based on mutual respect. At a meeting during the MotoGP event in Portimão in 2022, the idea of a joint Formula One/MotoGP super event on the same weekend was even mooted. Silverstone was to be the location because it has two start/finish areas, two paddocks, two pit facilities, and two separate media centers.
However, the plan could not be fulfilled because the automobile British Grand Prix is sold out, and issues such as signage advertising, TV times, and naming rights can hardly be reconciled. Not to mention the amount and fair distribution of revenue to Liberty and Dorna.
With the help of Bernie Ecclestone, Dorna took over the commercial rights in motorcycle GP racing from the FIM for 1992. Bernie had already disempowered the FIA in the 1980s by getting the majority of the teams behind him and ensuring, for example, that only the eight cars from Ferrari, Renault, Alfa Romeo, and Osella competed in Imola in 1982. Ecclestone's eleven FOCA teams (Brabham, McLaren, Toleman, Theodore, Williams, Tyrrell, March, Ligier, Ensign, Arrows and ATS) left the paddock on Thursday.
Ecclestone was still involved in the MotoGP business himself in 1992, as a partner of the teams, factories, and Dorna. With an investment of 25,000 Pounds, he founded Two Wheel Promotions (TWP) that, according to the agreement, had the right to negotiate the contracts with the organizers and create the GP calendar.
After the 1992 season, the business-minded Ecclestone sold TWP for 52 Million to Dorna, whneRichard Golding was its CEO. After that deal, Golding lost his job, and Carmelo Ezpeleta replaced him for 1993. For many years, Carmelo always worked closely with Bernie Ecclestone, whom he still regards as an ideal teacher and close friend.
Whether a successor to the 78-year-old Carmelo Ezpeleta will actually have to be found and appointed as Dorna CEO after 2024 is still a question.
At the moment, it is by no means clear that Ezpeleta will retire as CEO. The reports about a possible replacement are “completely wrong”, Ezpeleta explained after the Catalunya GP in an exclusive interview with GPOne.com. He also added that no changes are planned for Dorna's higher echelons.
“I'm still strong, assertive, and determined to continue working,” Ezpeleta assured. He does not want to give up his life's work just yet and is negotiating this compromise with Liberty Media. “Everything that's been written about this subject in the last few days is completely wrong”, Ezpeleta added.
Liberty Media plans to take over Dorna for a price of USD 4.2 Billion. The final step to the purchase is to get approval from the European Commission, hopefully before the end of the year. According to Greg Maffei, Liberty Media's CEO, this is the "only remaining legal obstacle", but he expects it to be resolved by the end of the year.
Massimo Rivola, who took over as CEO at Aprilia Racing in Noale in January 2019 - and transformed the manufacturer from Veneto from a hopeless latecomer to a title contender within three years - was mentioned in Barcelona as a candidate to succeed Ezpeleta at some point.
Rivola ended the seven-year joint venture with Gresini's private team for 2022 and secured two MotoGP grid positions for the Aprilia Factory team with Dorna. In 2022, exactly 20 years after Aprilia's MotoGP debut, Aleix Espargaró achieved Aprilia’s first victory in the premier class and the Spaniard battled Pecco Bagnaia and Ducati for the world title until the fall.
But that was not all: In 2023, Aprilia equipped a MotoGP customer team for the first time, although the concessions were lost after the 2022 successes, and the support of the new RNF customer team with Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernández entailed a considerable additional logistical effort.
However, Rivola still has some “unfinished business” at Aprilia Racing. Although Aprilia was the only manufacturer, besides Ducati, to win a race in the premier class in 2024 (thanks to Viñales), its rival, KTM, has now taken second place twice in a row in the MotoGP Constructors World Championship. The supremacy of archrival Ducati has not yet been shaken by Aprilia.
Yet, Rivola - who worked for Ferrari and Toro Rosso in Formula 1 before he joined Aprilia - has other priorities at the moment. He was now focusing on the debut of World Champion Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi on the factory team during the Barcelona test on Tuesday, watching Aprilia's new addition, Ai Ogura, the 2024 Moto2 World Champion, in the Trackhouse customer team.
MotoGP, Ezpeleta: “I'm still strong, assertive, and determined to continue working”
At the Barcelona GP, Stefano Domenicali was mentioned as a possible successor to Carmelo Ezpeleta, but the 78-year-old isn't planning to retire.

