FIM regrets being ignored by the EU in its investigation

While the redemption of the MotoGP by Liberty Media has been officially validated by the European Commission, Jorge Viegas, president of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), wanted to react to the investigation procedure conducted by Brussels. In comments reported during a presentation on another subject, in Assen, he expressed his incomprehension and annoyance at the lack of consultation with the FIM, even though it is the only entity linked to Dorna by a contract for MotoGP races.

"They, that is, Brussels, the Directorate General for Competition, have decided to conduct a thorough investigation, did he declare. Normally, a procedure like this takes one or two months, but this one lasted seven months. They questioned almost everyone who has a connection to Dorna."

"To find out what they thought about this operation, whether it would reduce competition, impact TV rights, etc. But there is only one entity that has a contract with Dorna for these races, He continues. We're talking about MotoGP, right? And who is this entity? It's the FIM. So, can you believe that the Directorate General for Competition never contacted us?

FIBA, but not FIM

As a reminder, Liberty Media, already owner of the Formula 1, is now free to take control of MotoGP. The takeover, announced more than a year ago, was approved "unconditionally" by the European Commission after an in-depth investigation into competitive risks.

But for the FIM president, this procedure illustrates a lack of consideration for the FIM, a long-time partner of MotoGP. Jorge Viegas goes even further in his irony, discrediting the direction taken by the EU investigation: "They even asked FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, for their opinion on this matter! So, there must be something wrong. If they had asked me for my opinion, I would have had things to say, of course. But they never asked the FIM what we thought. It's a joke, but it's the reality."

Liberty Media has confirmed that the transaction will be finalized by July 3rd at the latest. Following this operation, the American group will hold 84% of the shares of Dorna Sports, which manages the commercial rights to MotoGP, WorldSBK and their supporting categories. The remaining 16% will remain in the hands of the current management, including the Ezpeleta family..

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