Another year, and another poorly-attended MotoGP British Grand Prix.
Coming directly after the incredibly popular French Grand Prix, with Claude Michy delivering yet another masterclass in event management, this year's Silverstone race was always going to look a little flat in contrast.
But with attendance down by almost 20% compared to 2024, and with race day crowds having almost halved in the past decade, the low crowd numbers should provide a wake-up call to Silverstone, Dorna and the other organisations involved in the event.
Three members of The Race team attended last weekend's race. Here's their take on what the issues were and what can be done in future to fix them.
Logistical issues aplenty
Oliver Card
On track, the British GP delivered poetry in moto, littered with every spectacle and emotion needed to delight fans and attract new audiences. However, beyond the track limits, the effects of the date change were being felt at every tier of the motorcycle racing ecosystem.
Speaking to the UK division of one of the motorcycle manufacturers in the fan zone, they had felt the impact of the date change from a commercial perspective. With a shrug, they admitted their hospitality felt "significantly quieter" this year as the usual influential industry leaders had better offers from Formula 1 and the Monaco GP.
If you are a high-net-worth individual, when presented with an invite to sun yourself in the French Riviera at one of the must-attend events of the year, the rain-flecked gusts of Silverstone lose out to the call of the yachts.
Event suppliers had their own less glamorous logistical issues. Due to the significant challenge for set-up and disassembly, a regular pre-pitch tent supplier had its hand forced by the date clash situation and, in the end, opted to supply its services for the Isle of Man TT, a safer bet for business. Usually it would cover both, so losing MotoGP income means one fewer revenue stream for it in 2025.
Due to the reconfiguration of the fan zones and the lower anticipated crowds, fewer food and beverage suppliers were brought on board this year. Despite the 18.5% drop in attendance, fans we spoke to encountered "much longer queues" for ordering refreshments. Queuing might be a national pastime in the UK, but there is a limit.
Viewers around the world were treated to a spectacular race, but the TV footage showing empty grandstands (mostly set up for the F1 crowds in less than 40 days' time) diluted the ambience. Off the back of Le Mans, with its boisterous renditions of La Marseillaise from its record-breaking crowds, the thin spread of 40,518 fans over 600 acres at silverstone on Sunday was detrimental to the atmosphere.
If you’re a casual or broadminded motorsport fan, your Sunday schedule is up against two of the most iconic races. Despite the MotoGP starting at 1pm BST and F1 starting at 2pm, the red flag pushed the MotoGP race further into clashing with the build-up to Monaco.
Even if you are a more dedicated motorcycle fan, Silverstone regularly produces great racing, but butting up against the Isle of Man TT seems the greatest conflict. For many bikers, TT is religion, a divine island that hosts everyone from those looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience to an essential annual pilgrimage.
It could have been capitalised on; a joint partnership between the two events could have created 'the ultimate biker road trip' allowing European fans to use Silverstone as a stop-off before making their way to catch the ferry at Heysham. Elsewhere in the world of motorcycles in the UK, the Bike Shed Moto Show in London divides the potential bike community further.
Marketing is key. Use it or lose it
Megan White
Another year, another fantastic British GP. Brilliant racing, a stellar circuit, and a favourite for so many of the riders.
But once again, the impact fell somewhat flat. Heading into the track on Thursday, it was obvious that the circuit was expecting lower numbers, with a message from the Highways Agency suggesting 80,000 were forecast across the weekend.
Though that number ended up being slightly conservative, with the actual total at 99,328 over the weekend, it really hit home once the crowds did arrive. The fan zones were smaller, many grandstands were closed, and the car parks were quiet. With just 40,518 fans on Sunday, that is 25% of the number that Silverstone attracts for F1.
Sure, they're different propositions, and yes, F1 is experiencing a massive boom of late, but there's no reason MotoGP couldn't return to the roughly 70,000 people it was attracting 10 years ago, and marketing is a huge part of it.
The lack of British riders is something people like to point to as a factor but, given the amount of Valentino Rossi merchandise I saw at the circuit, I don't think it's as big an issue as some suggest.
The race just isn't promoted, by the broadcaster or by the championship. I saw very little social media hype being generated, and received barely a handful of emails about the event compared to the deluge about its four-wheeled counterpart.
Walk down your local high street, and you'll probably see a poster on a bus stop or a billboard advertising Sky Sports F1. But TNT Sports just doesn't seem interested in doing the same for bike racing, instead focusing its efforts on football.
MotoGP shouldn't be hard to market: the racing is great, there are some brilliant personalities, and the shorter format means it's a bit easier to find time across a weekend than an almost-two hour F1 race.
Hopefully, the move back to an August date for next year - away from the Monaco GP and Indianapolis 500 - will help, but the biggest way to change the race's fortunes is a huge push on promotion, from Dorna, Silverstone, and the broadcaster.
Ideally, the championship would return to free-to-air TV longer-term, but that might be a bit optimistic in a time of big-ticket deals and smaller budgets for public service broadcasters.
With just one year left on the circuit's contract, it could be a case of use it or lose it - and that really would be a shame.
Looking to the future and how to fix it
Simon Patterson
I haven't spoken to a single person I know who was in the crowd at Silverstone and thinks they had a better day out this year than in previous years, such was the disappointment of the 2025 British GP to many.
Yet while that might sound very doom and gloom, it's not an unfixable issue, should the people behind the sport decide to take action for 2026.
First and foremost among the complaints was the cost of attending. But, as other events at Silverstone and other races on the MotoGP calendar have shown us, it's not the sticker price of tickets that's the issue - it's the perceived lack of value for money when you buy them.
Go to Le Mans for the French GP, and something interesting you notice in town in the evenings is that there's very few bike fans in the city centre despite the size of the event. Why? Because there's an absolutely action-packed schedule that keeps people at the circuit all weekend long.
Rider appearances on stage plus stunt shows, live music, multiple support races and a huge main-straight spectacular on Thursday night all fill your weekend - so while ticket prices might be no different, you get a lot more for your money.
Last year, Monster Energy was title sponsor at Silverstone - and made a lot of things happen as its athletes flipped bikes, drifted cars, and generally put on a show. Thursday had the Day of Champions, the charity fundraising gala that brought in hundreds of thousands of pounds before it was cut by Silverstone for cost reasons.
It was notable in 2025 that the single biggest presence in the fan area was the British Army's recruitment stand rather than any brand more obviously associated with motorbikes or racing.
That's something that will hopefully be fixed by the change in date back to August for 2026 (given the TT clash) - but it's also an area where Silverstone is going to have to invest rather than simply paying lip service to it like it did this year.
The same applies to adding extra races to the schedule. Surely a British Superbike support round is doable, instead of only the National Superstock series? With BSB drawing a huge fan audience every weekend, both in person and on TNT Sports (which also broadcasts MotoGP in the UK), it seems only sensible to try to make both happen at once like we see in Australia or the US.
Mind you, TNT Sports also has a role to play in helping to make the race better. There was a distinct lack of hype in the build-up to Silverstone this year. No spectacular pre-event where Marc Marquez rides a MotoGP bike through central London, no one riding onto the pitch at halftime in a Premier League football match, and certainly no live broadcast pre-event show from Silverstone like Canal+ did from Le Mans.
There's obviously issues with the British GP, ones that (based on 2025 crowd figures) bring the whole event's future into question. But they are fixable.
More on offer when you're at the track and more awareness from casual fans that the race is happening will go a long way towards reversing the decline - but these things need to happen sooner rather than later.
