Okay, I'll dive right in here. I see the same thing happening with motogp (from what I've read on here at least) as it did with F1, money and the business of it all gets in the way of the actual sport and the racing the fans tune in for. In fact the racing becomes almost a secondary thing which is really wrong. It's a sport people, not a business and the sooner they remember that and get back to the 'show' rather than profits and so on the better.
I know, you have to have money involved and you need to make a profit in anything for it to work, but if it's a sport, surely the fans and their enjoyment matter, if they don't put bums on seats and buy the, often over priced merchandise, or even just tune in to watch, what's the point?
The counter argument is that properly devised sports are always entertaining and always able to generate large sums of money. Since Roman times, sports have filled the Colosseum.
When sports are confined to the individual, the sporting model is very simple. An individual competes and pushes the envelope of human performance until genetics dictate otherwise. Individual sports; therefore, have a natural ebb and flow. However, the value of sports seems to increase when individuals also co-operate in a competitive environment. Team sports were born. Teams become organizations, and since properly devised sports are naturally profitable, these organizations eventually become corporations, more specifically competitive entities that outlive the individual. Sporting organizations, like manufacturers or sports clubs, no longer follow the ebb and flow of individual competition. An advantage exploited in the present pays dividends in perpetuity, which fundamentally alters the economic system surrounding sports. Instinctive, unreasonable competitiveness is at odds with organizational competition.
So what we have are a bunch of very poorly designed sports and sporting systems. The promoters point out that the competitors are generally indifferent to the systemic issues within the sport and intransigent regarding systemic changes, thus, the promoters build their empires with marketing gimmicks, like cult of personality or media format changes.
In the end, the salient observation is made by Barry the snooker/darts promoter--'I don't want competition'. The great competitors do not actually relish competition. Great competitors relish victory. The trouble is that the strengthening effects of competition are very widespread. Both society and the individual are better off in competitive environments, but the benefits are often quite subtle and nuanced. Victory has a very narrow micro benefits, but the benefits are easily understood by everyone. If value and profit are driven by something so narrowly defined as victory, the contest and the related economic system will both collapse.
Competition is the focus of sport and the real value-driven activity. If I compete and lose, I'm better off than if I sit on my ... (assuming self-preservation). If I compete and win, I'm better off than if I sit on my .... Sport will thrive as long as it is based on competition. Victory-based endeavors have no sustainable benefits. If I compete and lose, I'm worse off. If I compete and win, I'm better off. It is up to the competitors and marketers to make sure that unreason doesn't influence decision-making. Unfortunately, the forbidden fruit of victory-based competition is irresistible. Short term gains are potent b/c losing is no longer a positive outcome. Long-term problems are inescapable. Eventually, the competitors abandon the sport, and victory is impossible or victory has no value.
Examine MotoGP's changes through this lens. Dorna are basically trying to equalize the bikes and technology so the rider makes the difference. If the formula is 80/20, then it follows the ebb and flow of the individual sports model and competition will always be present. This is a severe limitation of MotoGP's theoretical growth prospects, but you can see how much safer it is than fighting the MSMA who are evangelists for the victory-specific model of sports. Victory-driven motorcycle sport has brought the Japanese very potent short-term gains, but the revenues for racing and the repli-racer market are now generated by selling cruisers, nakeds, and scooters on loose credit. The implosion has begun.
