Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has spoken publicly for the first time about the company’s planned acquisition by Liberty Media, expressing his confidence the multi-billion dollar deal will be rubber-stamped before the end of the year.

The Spanish firm, which has held charge of MotoGP and associated grand prix classes for 32 years, is in line to be integrated into Liberty Media after the American enterprise agreed to purchase the majority stake in the company currently held by Bridgepoint.

As it stands, the $4bn deal will ultimately see MotoGP, WorldSBK, MotoE and other series’ operated by Dorna join Formula 1 in Liberty expansive sporting portfolio. 

It is an opportunity Ezpeleta has welcomed, citing Liberty Media’s track record for increasing awareness of its various assets.

“Last week we made a special announcement that Liberty Media has come to an agreement to have a plus-80% share of Dorna,” he explained during an exceptional press conference called ahead of this weekend’s 2024 Grand Prix of The Americas.

“The agreement is expected to be completed at the end of the year, subject to the approvals. During which time we will continue with our current shareholders structure.

“Even after the agreement, Dorna will continue to operate as an independent company, based in Spain, and with our current management. We are extremely happy about the agreement and being able to share the news with the world. 

“We are very excited to be able to work with Liberty Media once the process is complete. This is an important step in the evolution of MotoGP, Liberty Media has an incredible track record in developing sports. 

“As a fan of MotoGP and F1, I am enthusiastic about welcoming more and more fans every day, so we can share the excitement of the sports together.”

However, while an agreement has been reached between Liberty Media and Bridgepoint, the deal will be subject to scrutiny from European competition regulators, a process that is expected to take several months and could ultimately lead to the deal falling through.

Despite this, Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta remains bullish about a positive outcome before the end of the year.

“It is something that our current shareholders are working together with Liberty Media on and it is something we expect to be closing at the end of the year. We are very confident that it will go very positively and be finalised within 2024.”

While Liberty Media has been credited with instigating huge growth in F1 since becoming commercial rights’ holders in 2017, for now Dorna declined to provide detail about any sweeping changes in the sport.

“The agreement will not be finalised until the end of 2024 and I think fans will only have things to look forward to,” Carlos Ezpeleta continued. 

“Liberty doesn’t think the sport needs any fixing and we agree with that, we have an amazing sport that we built together with all the stakeholders in the paddock and I think we will work together on a lot of things that we have initiated the last couple of seasons. 

“Big changes to the format that we have already commenced, thus trying to increase the visibility and awareness of the sport globally whilst trying to satisfy all of our traditional fans and our traditional markets. 

“A lot to look forward to, but there will not be a lot of big changes that will affect our current fans.”