Why MotoGP's handling of the Qatar Grand Prix could alienate an entire generation of fans

This is an awkward time to write a column about the Qatar Grand Prix, which is scheduled to go ahead this weekend for round 20 of the 2026 MotoGP season. 

Here are a few key facts as of Tuesday morning in Europe. Yamaha has pulled its four bikes out of the controversial race. The riders are united in their desire not to go to a region of conflict. They're trying to resist - and there's a chance of a skimpy grid as their many injuries miraculously fail to heal. Employment relations are being strained. There's also an election coming up on Tuesday in the USA and it may have implications for the entire Gulf region. 

Meanwhile, the MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (MGPSEG), which runs the championship, is under the pump but digging in. It's resolutely committed to making its circus fly to a questionable part of the world. It's threatening any essential players who won't comply with hardcore sanctions. 

There's a lot that can still unfold before the first scheduled track session on Friday. With a power struggle going on that some have likened to a revolution, it's a tricky time to form a worthwhile opinion about what's happening on the ground. So today I'll stick to a broader point that seems safe to make already: MotoGP's reputation has taken a serious knock in the light of the Qatar GP madness.

With their contracts, allegiances and interests, many of the hundreds working in the MotoGP paddock are cautious about what they say out loud about the race going ahead. But public opinion is a different matter. Just look at our comments sections. Let's just say it's rare to find such unanimity on the internet!

It's easy to understand why the public is lining up to throw barbs at MGPSEG and, by extension, Liberty Media. It's hard to think of a precedent for any sport being so pig-headed about calling off an event. And when the popular perception (correctly) is that the bosses are wilfully putting money ahead of human concerns, that's a really good way to make people loathe you.

Particularly in the current climate. 

Yamaha's four MotoGP riders have been given an unexpected weekend off

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Yamaha's withdrawal from the race has now offered up a perfect hero character in the story, making for an easy good-versus-evil plot ordinary folk can rally behind. MotoGP's response to the announcement, which was pretty confrontational, will have sealed its casting as a villain. 

While the primary reason for the Japanese corporation's Qatar exit may be to do with its own insurance, contracts and financial concerns, Yamaha's absence will be widely perceived as a moral stand. Not only will it be seen as a principled beacon of piety resisting the wiles of the double-headed, money-crazed Ezpeleta snake, but one that is using its power on behalf of the powerless. Yamaha's riders no longer have to go on strike, you see, because their employers took care of the situation. 

Apart from anything else, all this is terrific PR for Yamaha in an otherwise miserable MotoGP year. It's amusing to recall Jack Miller talking about his Pramac Yamaha team 'looking like w***ers' after the sprint race on Saturday. 24 hours later, confirmation that Pramac wouldn't be going to Qatar well and truly shifted the w***er status elsewhere!

Who still remembers the rider strike at Misano in 1989? Not many: it's just too long ago now. One day, Losail in 2026 will also be too long ago

What MGPSEG appears not to have understood, or doesn't care about, is that sending people to an area of conflict is a highly emotive topic any fan can relate to. Arguments about race formats and promotional appearances, which formed the prelude to this far bigger confrontation, don't register outside the sport in quite the same way. But sending working folk to a highly charged location despite grave concerns? People will bond over that. Just like the riders have, in fact.

If there was anything such as a honeymoon period since Liberty Media's takeover of MGPSEG, it's over now. With this episode, however, it may yet play out, the new(ish) American owner has shown its true colours and made itself distinctly unpopular. But will it make MotoGP unpopular by extension?

For the casual fan who doesn't have the time or inclination to dissect all the power dynamics, surely that danger is real. Those who don't know their Dornas from their IRTA's will just remember that this is the sport that cared so much about its bottom line that it went racing during a war.

Does MGPSEG care about having as many fans as possible in the stands? Its regular crowing about record crowds suggests it does

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

But will unpopularity really matter to those running the show? That is the biggest question bubbling beneath its behaviour. In an algorithmic world, being loathed by millions doesn't always mean you're off the stage. Just ask Andrew Tate. Villains still get eyeballs. Maybe this new, young audience we keep hearing about is more interested in being outraged than switching off? Maybe this is all part of a cunning Liberty plan? I'd be lying if I said I knew for sure.

Speaking for at least one generation, however, I do feel sure that this episode could be another shove towards the door for those who care about the sport. Because it's a callous reminder that, actually, MotoGP is not even pretending to be a sport any more. And that must surely be a final straw for some. 

Again, that eventuality may be factored into some genius masterplan on the part of the bosses in Spain and America. Those with the bigger picture in mind will know that the next wave to discover the MotoGP 'property' (is that the right corporate word?) may not even catch a whiff of the Qatar controversy. That this too will pass into history.

Who still remembers the rider strike at Misano in 1989? Not many: it's just too long ago now. One day, Losail in 2026 will also be too long ago. And the sheer volume of races and content will bury it much faster than scandals once were. But at least one generation of fans will not forget. And that crowd may have turned its back on MotoGP for good.

Lights, cameras, contracts...MotoGP will lose a lot of money if it doesn't go to Qatar

Photo by: KTM Images