There was a time when the premier class, what is now MotoGP, was the preserve of the British, some brave Italians like Agostini and some other small exceptions. We are talking about many years ago, of course, but closer in time (already at the end of the ’70s and until the doors of the 21st century) it became the playground of Americans and Australians.
Spanish pilots dreamed of one day reaching the premier category, and those who dared to try their luck did so with very few resources, such as Carlos de San Antonio, Fernando González de Nicolás or Juan López Mella, among others. But times changed, Dorna arrived during the 90s, they began to promote motorcycling like never before, they created a powerful Spanish Speed Championship and ended up changing the history of the sport.
Because we must remember that, with the victory of Pedro Acosta, there are 17 Spanish riders who have achieved a victory in a MotoGP race. The first arrived in 1992 with Crivillé and for the rest of the decade only Puig and Checa joined that list.
It was from Sete Gibernau first, but especially with Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo, when the Spaniards began to add more and more victories, and as we got closer in time until today, even more so. This idyllic situation for Spanish motorcycling, which already has a total of 221 since ’92 and 13 world titles since ’99, is a headache for the championship promoter.
Precisely the good work done by Dorna means that MotoGP now has a difficult issue to solve. And Spain has been the great power of motorcycling for almost two decades, and not only in the premier category but also in the access categories. This situation encourages Spanish pilots to rise naturally, and they are leaving no room for the rest of the nationalities. And of course, when you sell a global product that can end up being a serious problem.
The great powers of yesteryear are not even represented in MotoGP today
So much so that the great powers of yesteryear such as the United Kingdom, Germany or the United States do not have any drivers in the premier category, while Spain has nine drivers in 2026. And there will be another nine again in 2027, because although Rins and Viñales will not be there, Holgado and Guevara arrive. And David Alonso also comes up, although he races under the Colombian flag, he has dual nationality.
This situation is what caused Manu González to be left without a place, because there were already too many Spaniards. And also, the only Australian on the grid, Jack Miller, is leaving for WSBK. So the possibility of him ending up at KTM has vanished in favor, precisely, of his teammate Senna Agius, who will be the new Australian on the grid.
Nationality has not been worth it to Brad Binder, which leaves South Africa without representatives. So we will have nine Spanish drivers and six Italians. That is another of the big problems for Dorna, that between the two countries they only leave room for the two Frenchmen, a Colombian, a Japanese, a Turk, a Brazilian and an Australian.
It is the great challenge that faces Carmelo Ezpeleta, who in Austria recognized: “We must guarantee a balanced grid of competitors. Our MotoGP group is investing a lot in the sport because we want – and must – grow. It is our task to convince partners of how our business works.”
Carmelo already achieved it once with Spanish motorcycling, but then the results have not been repeated due to many promotional cups created, and the Spanish and Italians have continued to dominate. And, unlike F1, in motorcycling talent still makes the difference, and brands and teams want the fastest drivers. And, things in life, these are usually Spanish or Italian.
