MotoGP will roar at the Circuit de Catalunya with an annual return of 125 million

Montmeló will continue to vibrate with the engines of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. At least, those of MotoGP bikes until 2031. The Govern and the company organizing the competition, Dorna Sports, have formalized the agreement for the continuity of the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix beyond the current contract, which ends in 2026. Thus, the infrastructure will continue to host the competition, which will generate a return of about 125 million euros annually.

With the agreement, the circuit secures the race from 2027 to 2031, which will be close to 40 years at the infrastructure, where it has been held since 1992. The agreement has been closed in a competitive context among various circuits, as Dorna is considering reducing MotoGP competitions on the Peninsula, and also marked by another factor apart from this renewal: the struggle for Formula 1.

For the bikes to continue racing at the Montmeló circuit, the Generalitat will pay Dorna a fee of between 12 and 14 million annually, which will be updated over the years, as explained by the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper. "The fee and the investment that has to be made generate a very positive return for the citizens," defended the also president of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in anticipation that the competition will generate these 125 million annually.

Overall, according to the minister, the infrastructure generates around 500 million euros a year in return, taking into account automotive activities but also the commercial and tourism sectors. Of this total, MotoGP represents a quarter, as he emphasized.

The Catalan circuit has secured MotoGP for another five years due to its historical involvement, its management, and the organization of the solidarity tournament organized two weeks after the cancellation of the race in Valencia due to the DANA: "Barcelona has earned it," assured Dorna CEO, Carmelo Ezpeleta. The Barcelona sports executive, who highlighted his connection with the circuit, remarked that "Barcelona-Catalunya has a contract until 2031 without rotations and will be there because it deserves it."

Race for F1

The agreement has been made official without diverting attention from Formula 1 and its continuity on the circuit, with a contract currently until 2026. For the Govern, the negotiation is marked by two maxims: optimism and, above all, discretion. According to Sàmper, daily work is being done on this matter, in the same way it was done with MotoGP until reaching the agreement, but without making noise.

"It has gone well for us in MotoGP and it is the only way for it to go well for us in F1," he stressed about the negotiation, which has been accompanied by gestures that have transcended offices, in a competition with other circuits that, more than a speed race, is an endurance race. It is no coincidence that Passeig de Gràcia became a race track in the summer where F1 single-seaters circulated for the first time, with the aim of bringing the competition closer to Barcelona residents and visitors. In addition, the circuit is immersed in a modernization project, in which it will invest 50 million until 2026.

In addition, the renewal of MotoGP and the negotiation for F1 occur at a time of changes in the circuit's management, after Fira de Barcelona has taken over through Fira Circuit, with the aim of maximizing the uses of the infrastructure. The contract, with an initial duration of two years, foresees a payment of nine million by Fira in 2025 to manage the circuit, plus a variable of 25% based on income.

To maximize the utilization of the infrastructure, the new managing company will take it beyond motor sports: it proposes to diversify the circuit's activities, with the possibility of hosting congresses, events, and concerts. It will do so with the desire that motor sports remain the protagonist, with agreements such as that of MotoGP, which has also been applauded by the president of Fira de Barcelona, Pau Relat. According to the also president of Fira Circuit, the agreement entails "a responsibility that challenges us, the circuit managers, a Fira Circuit that has managed the track since January and does so with excellence."