From a global perspective, and certainly a British one, F1 is always going to be the king of motorsports. As of August 2018, British drivers account for seventeen world titles – five ahead of Germany – having also produced no less than ten different championship-winning drivers.
No other nation has managed to produce more than three, and it is a stat that looks set to stand the test of time. F1 racing has always been a great commercial draw, but that has not stopped the sport from entertaining a constant state of evolution.
Now, in the age of DRS zones and futuristic in-car HUD, the instinct for survival once needed in F1 racing has now given way to technical skill.
The race is seemingly won and lost long before the cars hit the track, with the usual suspects from Ferrari and Mercedes always being odds-on to reach the podium.
For those that want excitement and unpredictability, F1’s lifespan is going to become ever shorter if the status quo of Mercedes' Formula One dominance continues, and thus alternatives may be sought.
Although GT, touring and stock car racing events generally offer more in the way of surprises, the less streamlined histories behind them will always be a hindrance in their quest to justify a wider presence on television.
Other events like endurance racing and WRC events arguably have the greatest sense of individuality, but they are very niche tastes.
As such, the attentions of those starting to feel jaded with F1 racing may defect from cars to bikes, in their quest for fossil-fuelled entertainment.
Formula One To Be 'Unseated'?
MotoGP is unquestionably F1’s counterpart in the motorbike racing world. Many tracks used for F1 now double as part of the MotoGP calendar, and unlike F1, riders can be ‘unseated’ at the slightest misjudgement.
Though there are favourites in MotoGP as there are in F1, the predictability factor is reduced by this most obvious of changes.
For those that like fairy tales, especially those that involve a young rider’s very tangible climb to the top, MotoGP also offers a greater sense of reality below the top tier of the sport.
While greater efforts are now being made in Formula driving to publicise and add glamour to F2 and GP3 events, there remain some doubts as to the relevance they have to F1.
In Formula driving, a driver has ‘it’ or doesn’t, and while institutions such as the Ferrari Driving Academy may have a good deal of ability where nurturing talent is concerned, there is still a general consensus that only those born to be the best will be so.
In Moto racing, Moto3 and Moto2 races take place on the morning and early afternoon of the main MotoGP event itself.
Sharing a paddock with the best riders on the planet is an inspiring experience, which eclipses that of a junior Formula driver watching on a screen.
Though three Moto races is roughly equal to one F1 race, with just an hour’s break between each event, there is also a very real sense of commitment from the viewer.
While this can also put off those less attached to their televisions, its growing absorption abilities are in no doubt.
Rossi: An Icon, But A Nuisance
To become a true global phenomenon that is equal to F1, there must be real title contenders from countries other than Italy or Spain every year, without fail.
While the 21st century has seen non-European riders win the big one, two great rivals have conspired to prevent that – largely to success.
In the 2000s, Valentino Rossi was very much the Michael Schumacher of MotoGP, winning title after title, having also become the first ever rider to win titles in four different CC divisions.
If the 2000s belonged to Rossi, then arch-rival and Spaniard Marc Marquez is undoubtedly the man of the 2010s.
He is seen by Rossi fans as a usurper, and with Marquez moving up the ‘world title’ stakes alongside Jorge Lorenzo, who entered September as odds-on favourite, Spain is now the definitive powerhouse of MotoGP.
Where British audiences are concerned, there was no incentive to pay much attention to MotoGP until 21 August 2016.
On that day, British drivers John McPhee and Cal Crutchlow topped the podiums, respectively, in their Moto3 and MotoGP events at Brno Circuit.
Crutchlow’s triumph ended over three decades of winless hurt for British MotoGP riders, and though it had little bearing on the title race, it will be seen as a defining day of the sport, if it ever does gain an equal footing with F1 on the shores of Britain.
Stardom And Accessibility Key To Success
Though viewing figures are always open to manipulation and misinterpretation, there is an ever-growing belief that F1’s viewing figures have been in decline for several years, while MotoGP continues to grow.
However, MotoGP must better market its drivers to take advantage of whatever ‘power shift’ the more objective race fans believe to exist.
The brutal truth is that everybody can recognise a picture of Lewis Hamilton. Yet, show a picture of Cal Crutchlow to anyone other than an ardent MotoGP fan, and there would be many a scratched head and vacant expression.
Within MotoGP, the personalities needed for greater commercial success are there, as is the public interest on the other side of the television screen. Now all that is needed is a powerful catalyst in the wider media to market it in the right way.
Everybody wants to douse themselves in Champagne atop the podium in illustrious locales like Monaco or Monza after climbing heroically out of a cockpit.
Yet, when a man from somewhere as innocuous as Stevenage is repeatedly shown doing so, the lifespan of the magical ‘fairy-tale’ factor fans first enjoyed after his 2008 title win is automatically set to be a long one.
An Opportunity Missed in Britain?
That is something MotoGP advocates across the world would do well to project within their riders of their respective native countries, firstly to a national audience, with a view to expansion pending success and talent.
Britain is no exception in that regard, but the clock is ticking on the initial sense of magic created by Crutchlow’s breakthrough win of 2016.
Crutchlow is from Coventry, a working-class city that is dwarfed by neighbouring Birmingham, but literally rose from the ashes after the Second World War.
From that came a man who broke a thirty-five-year curse, doing so despite having inferior machinery, winning with only his skill and guile on the track.
Yet, the opportunity to use that narrative, with a view to giving him the same exalted status as Hamilton – then in the midst of losing his F1 title to Nico Rosberg – came and went with barely a whimper on a wider scale.
It is that sort of accessibility that British advocates of MotoGP must ingrain into those same impressionable audiences if any sort of parity with F1 is to be enjoyed in the future.
While silverware is an obvious factor in the creation of heroes within any sport, the back-stories and their contributions to the flag they bear are raw material enough to make it work.
*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*
