What Las Vegas Grand Prix Organizers Learned from 2023

What Las Vegas Grand Prix organizers learned from the 2023 race is just part of this week’s Business of Motorsport Roundup. You will also get analysis of Dorna’s landmark MotoGP deal, who’s blaming who over stalled NASCAR charter negotiations and the latest team news and motorsport sponsorship developments plus much more.

Motorsport Industry News

Formula 1

Las Vegas Grand Prix

With plans to feature an ice rink, Ferrari Challenge support race and more general admission options this year, Las Vegas Grand Prix organizers are aware of the issues from last year and promise to learn from them for the 2024 race.

“We spent unnecessary amounts of money on marketing last year to kind of get the hype and get everything going, which I think served its purpose. But when we did the post-race analysis, we realized that the majority of activity happened from 100 days onwards.” Read more about how they have approached this year over at Racer.

General Motorsport Industry News

MotoGP

Dorna has agreed a new long-term deal with the FIM that will see it remain as MotoGP’s promoter until 2060. The contract, whose length is unprecedented in nature, will also see Dorna retain the promotional rights for the World Superbike Championship, MotoE, JuniorGP World Championship and the new Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship. With this contract, Ben Hunt of Autosport wonders if this is the perfect shot in the arm for Liberty.

“By extending the licence agreement with the FIM, Dorna has secured its own future and boosted the profitability of the existing company, which is significant given Liberty Media’s takeover. In essence, it has made itself a stronger business. For Liberty Media too, the acquisition of the rights by Dorna matches its own vision for the MotoGP.”

Read more of Ben’s analysis here.

With NASCAR heading to Mexico and potentially Europe next, IndyCar has made no secret of their desire to return to Mexico in the future, especially considering the hot commodity that is Pato O’Ward. But Jack Benyon of The Race thinks that IndyCar has better things to take care of before they even consider racing in Mexico.

“A new charter system is high on the agenda, with teams being given paperwork to read over about the new franchise system that will hopefully give owners something of value for their investment. With budgets rising, now would not be the time to force teams to spend a significant sum on a short-term calendar investment when cash is king and in short supply for many of them.”

Read his complete analysis here.

While some speculate as to whether a NASCAR charter agreement is imminent, Denny Hamlin directly blames NASCAR in the “stagnant” charter negotiations.

“One side will have to wake up and be reasonable,” he said. “That’s all.”

So, the natural next question was, which side?

“Not ours,” Hamlin said.

Read more in Forbes.

Quick Takes on the Business of Motorsport This Week

What Las Vegas Grand Prix Organizers Learned from 2023

Motorsport Law Roundup

A look at some of the legal and regulatory issues and analysis in Motorsport this week

Alpine F1 Nose Cone

This week, Motorsport Prospects legal contributor Anirban Aly Mandal analysed UK Companies Law data to determine if Renault has plans to sell its Alpine Formula 1 team. Read his analysis and conclusion here.

Somewhat related to the Alpine analysis above is the pending legal case between the FIA and Hitech Grand Prix, the race team headed by new Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes. According to Joe Saward’s latest Green Notebook, Hitech is due to receive a fair bit of compensation from the FIA in a settlement of the case.

“Oakes and his backers felt that this was unfair as they believed they had a better project than Andretti. This led to quiet legal action, ostensibly because the FIA rejected the bid on the grounds of finance. Hitech, it is said, argued that as the FIA must not be involved in any commercial decisions relating to F1, it cannot do what it did. In order to stop another omelette falling from the sky on to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his advisors, it was agreed that the matter would be settled using a confidential arbitration process so that Oakes could argue for money and no-one would know much about it.”

Read more about the case and the rest of Joe’s news here.

The FIA International Court of Appeal will rule on the appeal made by the factory Ferrari AF Corse team after it unsuccessfully challenged the decision of the race stewards to restart the Spa 6 Hours on 11 May beyond the scheduled finish time of the race and therefore the provisional results of the third round of the 2024 WEC. The protest was rejected by the stewards, but Ferrari’s factory Hypercar team exercised its right of appeal the following week.

Batti Pregliasco, team manager of the AF factory Hypercar team, told Autosport at last weekend’s Austin round of the WEC: “Why are we making an appeal? Because we want to understand if this can happen again because it can affect sporting matters.”

Read more here.

Looking to race your car in the United States? PRI explains the U.S. Customs requirements to bring a race car into the United States.

“It is critical that racers based abroad understand the laws governing bringing a race car across the U.S. border to compete on the track. To follow is information on the requirements of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency (CBP), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to import a race vehicle into the U.S. Given that the EPA and NHTSA require you to obtain their approval prior to bring your race vehicle into the U.S., it is recommended that applications are submitted (processes outlined below) to the agencies a minimum of 30 days prior to the date you plan to go through U.S. Customs. Please note that the following does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information purposes only.”

Read all the details here.

Sanctions imposed by Japan on Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 scuppered any chance of Daniil Kvyat racing in Super Formula.

“As a Japanese team, we are unable to employ him,” TGM boss Kazuhiro Ikeda said. “He is able to get a visa and enter Japan, but he is not able to work [and receive a salary]. The team cannot pay him directly, and he feels that if he is unable to be paid, then there is no point in him coming here. That was the biggest problem. I asked him to discuss it with his sponsors, but the hurdles were too great.”

Read more at Autosport.

Finally, the FIA has released a statement declaring that all 2024 Formula 1 front wings are currently legal and have shown to be compliant with the governing body’s tests.

“The FIA is examining front wings at every event with numerous checks (conformity of surfaces, conformity of deflections) with respect to the relevant F1 Technical Regulation. All front wings are currently compliant with the 2024 regulations.”

“Since the Belgium Grand Prix, the FIA has acquired additional data during FP1 and FP2 sessions to assess dynamic behaviours through an FIA-mandated video camera which captures areas of the front wing which are not visible through the official FOM cameras. This exercise will continue at least up until Singapore to ensure every team will have been running the mandated FIA camera on different types of tracks (low, medium, high and very high downforce). This will ensure a large database allowing the FIA to draw the most objective picture of the situation and quantify differences between the various dynamic patterns observed on track.”

Motorsport Sponsorship & Partnership News

Here are the latest motorsport sponsorship deals, partnerships and related analysis that were announced this week

Business of Motorsport
Business of Motorsport
Business of Motorsport

Team & Manufacturer News

Here is a roundup of the latest team news from around the world of motorsport

BWT Alpine F1 Team Motorhome
What Las Vegas Grand Prix Organizers Learned from 2023
Business of Motorsport
Business of Motorsport
What Las Vegas Grand Prix Organizers Learned from 2023
Mark Boudreau
Author: Mark Boudreau

Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.