Moto2 and Moto3 have been two hotly debated topics recently. Or better said, the centre of some interesting rumours. MotoGP Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta joined the comms box for Moto2 FP2 in Japan to talk about a few of them, so ICYMI, here are the best bits on pretty much… everything.
“I think that everybody knows how important Moto2 and Moto3 are to the World Championship and it’s probably fair to repeat it more often because there seems to have been a huge amount of rumours in the last few weeks,” says Ezpeleta. “Some of which have impressed me. Like, ‘Wow, that’s a new one! You don’t hear that very often.’ Things like not racing at every event, racing on Saturdays… I mean, completely unfounded.
“We repeat continuously both behind closed doors and to the fans how important Moto2 and Moto3 are, and what an asset they are to the Championship. To have the stars of the future pointed out and introduced to the fans so quickly too. Moto2 and Moto3 are, and will continue to be, an intrinsic part of the championship. In MotoGP as an ecosystem, we are proud to say that no other motorsports property invests so much into their pyramid, ensuring the sport gets bigger and bigger and more kids are practicing the sport. We’re very proud of it.”
MotoGP race weekends = packed full of action for fans. That’s a big end goal of everything the sport has been working on in recent years – and something that makes Moto2 and Moto3 even more pivotal. The quality of the racing, for those already obsessed with the most exciting sport on Earth, speaks for itself too.
“Moto2 this year has been exceptional, some of the racing has been the best in the class’s history”, continues Ezpeleta. “Moto3 is almost like a safe bet on close action and a huge proportion of MotoGP fans will be up early on Sunday to watch the whole show. It’s a full weekend of action and entertainment and we’re not looking to change that in any way. There are, of course, some things that will happen behind the pit boxes, some arrangements physically in the paddock, which will also imply investing into better and more equal facilities for Moto2 and Moto3 onsite, but that’s not going to change what the fans see on track, the rider development, and seeing these kids step into the championship when they’re 17/18 and working their way through the ladder into the top class. That’s going to continue to be there.”
“[…] MotoGP races are 45 minutes on Sunday and with broadcasters, partners and especially for the fans at home and on site, they want that full programme building up from Moto3 to Moto2 to MotoGP, so it’s a full weekend of entertainment. That’s as clear as it gets.”
Another key point of late has been the talk around titles. Marc Marquez has just won his seventh MotoGP World Championship, and the sport has focused on that – seven titles in MotoGP. That doesn’t mean his 125cc and Moto2 crowns have been invalidated, or removed.
“World Championships are World Championships, and world titles are world titles.” Ezpeleta says plainly. “All the ones that have been granted will continue counting, it’s just how you go around the wording and the specifics. There’s been a change in tendency because of how the championship has evolved into what it is now, bigger than it’s ever been and more important, globally, than it’s ever been. Right now it’s clear that riders in Moto3, their ultimate target is to get to MotoGP.
“Before you’d have riders who were very successful in one class and not move into the bigger capacity classes, but that’s not the reality now. It’s hard to pinpoint a year where that stopped. We continue to have MotoGP Legends and they will continue to be MotoGP Legends. We have the newly created Hall of Fame for the biggest names in the sport’s premier class. But they are not exclusive of one another.”
The topic came up again talking about the Road to MotoGP, and that pyramid the sport has invested in to widen access – globally.
“Moto2 and Moto3 are not just feeder classes, they are World Championships that are part of the Grand Prix global championship. The other classes, Talent Cups, yes they’re feeder classes and they don’t have a key commercial purpose above serving as a platform for riders. There is a very strong distinction between Moto2 and Moto3, and the rest of the Road to MotoGP.
“This is something we continue to look at and invest in because we’ve done a lot in the past as well. Our approach has changed from 15/20 years ago, like, ‘Ah let’s pick the best kid from this place and try help the rider all the way up…’. No, I think right now MotoGP has grown sufficiently globally that our strategy is more like, ok let’s be the facilitator in making sure the regulations, the technology, the machinery that’s used in every single step is unified to give kids around the world better accessibility and as equal a chance as possible. With Spain and Italy, it’s not that they’re just born better, more of the kids are practicing the sport younger, they practice more, the weather is good, there are lots of circuits, lots of kids, and that has an effect where kids around the world are disadvantaged or have to move to Spain or Italy at a very young age and that’s not where we want it to be. It’s a big area of focus for us, it’s one where we’re trying to tidy it up, try and have as many championships on the right machines around the world. Hopefully if things go well, in Moto3 or the JuniorGP World Championship, you have different regional championships that are feeding into these classes and kids can stay at home as long as possible.”
So what about the future on track? With big changes announced for 2027 in MotoGP with the arrival of new bikes, Ezpeleta teased a few announcements coming for other classes too.
“We have some exciting announcements coming soon before the end of the year. It’s no secret we’ve been looking at changes and evolution to Moto3 specifically. If you look right now, more a mathematical analysis, with the new age limits and how tall kids are getting nowadays – except for myself – you can see there’s a consideration that has to be made for Moto3.
“I would say that the gap between Moto2 and MotoGP is probably where we want it to be, but the gap between Moto2 and Moto3 a little too big. There’s some exciting news coming in the future. It’s targeted at making the sport bigger, and making Moto3 and Moto2 better, and making more opportunities for kids around the world – whether it’s in this paddock or others around the world in national series. We take that into very high consideration. As we invest into MotoGP and the sport and making the stars of MotoGP bigger, that does not exclude that we’ll continue to invest in the other classes for their presence in the paddock to be better for it to be more equal, to raise the standards across the Grand Prix championship.
“We look forward to many more years of three classes within the Grand Prix championship, three classes of great racing, high standards, the best motorsport possible out there. By no means are we considering diminishing Moto2 and Moto3, of course even less so getting rid of someone’s world titles, or Moto2 and Moto3 not racing on the same days or weekends as MotoGP.”