MotoGP riders “deserve” a base salary based on danger, says top manager

Friday at the French Grand Prix, MotoGP riders express concern to Dorna Sports CEO Carmel Espelet during the Security Commission on the precarious nature of contracts in our time.

This was in response to the fact that Speed ​​Up excluded Roman Fenati from the Moto2 contract for just six races in the 2022 season.

Due to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and now the war in Ukraine, MotoGP plants and independent teams are trying to sign big money contracts for riders.

Sanchez – who is trying to negotiate a deal with the World in 2023 after Suzuki’s shocking decision to leave MotoGP in late 2022 – says riders deserve to sign contracts that include a minimum wage because “they are the stars of this world.”

“It’s big business,” Sanchez began.

“For me it’s like tennis, football and other great sports, part of this business has to be for the people who are the stars of this business.

“And MotoGP riders are the stars of this world. So, I think they deserve… I don’t know if Dorna, the producer, needs someone to pay the minimum base wage.

“I’m not saying to pay them Marquez Marquez’s salary, but the minimum base salary because they play with their lives.

“We sometimes forget, but they play with their lives. Some young riders, if you offer them 100,000 euros, they sign, or zero, and they sign. ”

In addition to discussing the introduction of a minimum base wage in contracts, the riders also expressed concern about the lack of protection they currently have, stressing the situation with Fenati.

Currently in MotoGP there is no racers association as in Formula 1 for racers, and there is no contract committee.

“We just talked about the minimum wage, because it will not affect the factory in particular,” said Alei Espargara, answering a question after the qualification in Le Mans, which was discussed in the Security Committee.

“All factory racers are out of it. But in private teams, racers risk their lives just as much – or even more – than factory racers.

“So you have to have respect. And everyone was very angry at the safety commission because of what happened at Moto2 when one rider was fired. Looks like we’re not protected.

“If you end a contract with your current team, you can’t move on to another if you have a contract.

“But teams can do whatever they want. This is unfair. It’s true that teams have an association that protects them, but we feel vulnerable. So it’s unfair. “