MotoGP: Trump tariffs ‘not affecting’ US expansion plans yet

European ec♚onomies 𝓡have been grappling with US trade war chaos

2025 Americas MotoGP
2025 Americas MotoGP
© Gold and Goose

🐈Under incoming Liberty Media ownership, MotoGP has repeatedly spoken of its priority in expanding its presence in the United States of America.

MotoGP has a long association with the US through world champion legends such as Kenny Roberts Sr, Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson, as Ame꧋rican riders dominated through the late 1970s th🐷rough to the mid-1990s.

In the late 200♌0s and early 2010s when Formula 1 di𒁃dn’t even have a US Grand Prix, MotoGP visited the country at least twice.

Seen as a key market to help further grow the⛄ championship, comments have alre🔜ady been made about the possibility of adding a second US event to the calendar in the coming years alongside the race at COTA.

But an uncertain geop🉐olitical climate between Europe and the US as a result of President Donald Trump’s🥂 trade tariffs will cause problems for some of MotoGP’s main manufacturers and brands.

Dorna Sports’ chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta says the current trade war ‘hasn’t affected our plans’ to grow Moto🅘GP in the US, but admits the championship will have to be wary of the ever-changing geopolitical landscape.

“I mean, yes the US is a big target strategically for a number of reasons, but because it’s such an important market,” Ezpeleta said when asked by in an exclusive interview if Trump tariffs ൲were caꦍusing a headache for MotoGP’s US expansion plans.

“I don’t think, forꦓ now, that geopolitical fac꧟tor has affected us in our plans or in our strategy.

“It will of course if it affects the n🎉atural macroeconomic situation of the world and what normally happens in the rest of the world if there is recession or something.

“But I wouldn’t comment on those macroeconomic factors r♕ight now or political 🔯opinion.

“But, I mean, definitely a big target for us is to raise the sponsorship level o🐓f the teams and the championship, and that definitely comes by raising new audiences and attracting non-endemic sponsors to the sport.

“We’re doing that already and we’re happy to.”

Over the last few decades, MotoGP has been faced with major🔯 geopolitical problems, such as the financial collapse of 2008 and the COVID pandemic in 2020.

However, Dorna has been able to successfully navigate its way through theseꦅ difficult times.

“Definitely when you are ma♒naging such a global platform you are affected by a number of things: floods, pandemics, recessions and quarantines and everything. So, it happens,” Ezpeleta concl🦂uded.

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