Many observers are wondering if 2026 will be the year of Liberty Media, the one in which the Americans will put their stamp on MotoGP. The takeover was completed months ago, but so far there are no major changes in sight. "They bought the house, but they haven't gone to live in it yet," declares ironically Livio Suppo, the longtime paddock manager and current racing consultant for the Italtrans team. His eye is on (even the minor classes) and what should be done for the future. Dorna, for the moment, has laid its hands on Moto3, there is nothing official, but from 2027 there should be racing with the same engines for all, that of the Yamaha R7.
Livio, let's start right from Moto3: do you like this change?
"I don't have the data to say whether I like it or not. I am in favor, not only in Moto3 but also in Moto2, not only of a 'single-engine', but of a 'single-bike' because it is the only way to reduce the costs of the championship and because those bikes, once used in the World Championship, could be used in the European and national championships. Until we go back to racing in national championships with the same bikes as in the World Championship, it will be difficult to prepare younger guys. Now the path is Junior Moto3, World Moto3 and then Moto2, but from European Moto2 only a few, if any, special cases come in. The example is Daniel Munoz, who we signed, he has some experience in the World Championship because he did some replacements, he was racing in the European, but if he hadn't done those replacements it probably wouldn't have occurred to me to take him either. That's because the performance gap there is between Moto2 Junior and World is such that it's hard to bet on a rider coming from that championship."
Is there a lot to be done?
"Sure. We were talking about the future Moto3, it's not official yet, but the engine choice doesn't seem to me to be the most appropriate. Ducati has a single-cylinder 650 that makes 77 hp as standard, it's lighter and smaller, in my opinion it would have been better suited to make a youngster's bike. Also, I hope they don't use the R7 chassis as well, figuring that out is key. If Moto3 was raced with modified production R7s, it would be a Fantozzi-type mistake ( laughs), but if it became a Moto2-like bike, with a prototype chassis, then it would make sense. In fact, I would have an idea."
Which one?
"As there are at the moment mainly two chassis manufacturers, if I were the International Federation I would give one Moto3 and the other Moto2. All this to decrease costs: the competition between Boscoscuro and Kalex to the general public is not interesting, but the teams every year have to spend a lot of money on upgrades, while the material from the year before would still be usable."
The idea of separate paddocks between MotoGP and other classes had also been mooted.
"As I understand it, it was skipped, but actually the two paddocks are already separate entities. It seems to me that we are focussing on things that are not fundamental. I'm also referring to the rumor of wanting to put Moto2 and Moto3 in pits like the MotoE ones, that's not anything major. That is not what changes the attractiveness and visibility of the two classes. I give an example, now the first two or three teams of Moto2 and Moto3 have a place in the pit lane, we had it at Mugello, but the garage was 3 and a half meters wide, the mechanics couldn't work. Better then to have a dedicated area, it's not what changes anything, the important thing is who wins the races."
What is the way to give more visibility to the smaller classes?
"The basic mistake is thinking of giving more visibility, instead we need to give more sustainability to these classes. It makes no sense for a Moto2 team's budget to be around 3 million euros with a contribution from IRTA of a few hundred thousand euros. Already MotoGP is struggling to attract big sponsors, think of the smaller classes, but that is not going to change. When I started this job, 125 and 250 had the tobacco companies and the manufacturers behind them, that's not the case anymore."
This also falls on the riders.
"Top riders in Moto2 earn relatively little, that's okay if it's an investment you make to get to MotoGP, the problem is that many riders in Moto2 and Moto3 have to bring in money. If the technical and logistics costs were lower, it would be better. I'm not making anything up, in Formula 1, F2 and F3 are 'single-make' and visibility is built on the riders. Antonelli came to F1 and was already famous, but how many people know which team Antonelli raced with? That team stands because it has agreements with F1 manufacturers and teams that invest in young talent to develop them. We, on the other hand, invest a lot of money only on racing. Italtrans invested a lot of money to grow Moreira and now he's gone. If there were not the Moto3 and Moto2 facilities to grow riders, who would race in MotoGP? The fundamental role of the minor classes is to grow the young riders, then the strongest ones will go to MotoGP and the less strong ones to Supersport and SBK. That's exactly what happens in cars."
Would you agree to decrease the number of races?
"Absolutely yes. It doesn't make sense to run 22 races with Moto2 and Moto3 teams because the logistics - I'm talking about travel, hotels and so on - affects the budget monstrously, we're talking about more than 700 thousand euros a year. The non-European races have increased and so have the costs of flights. It makes me laugh when I hear people still talk about how 250 used to be, to this day there is no interest on the part of the manufacturers to invest in these classes, so there is no point in continuing to be sentimental about it. I agree that the 250 was a spectacular bike, but the world has changed. In addition, there is another problem."
Go on...
"The main show is MotoGP, but it is not a show with a capital S, in the sense that it remains a sport that tends to be only for the fans. It's still a long way from attracting the masses of spectators of F1, which I hear criticized but to which the numbers bear out. The level of sponsorship between the two championships reflects the level of overall interest, that's the main problem. The minor classes should be part of a global vision, also trying to have riders of different nationalities in MotoGP. It should be up to the federation to bring some order, because in our world it seems to me we continue to live the present thinking about the past and without having a clear vision of what it would take to make the future different."