A very long time ......... started in the late 70's by staying awake whilst the family slept as I snuck out to watch it on SBS in the wee small hours
I started watching because I liked bike racing with a very heavily motorsport oriented family and was fortunate enough that in Oz, a lot of bike racing was televised (as was car racing etc).
Never read a book on MGP until the Wayne Gardner biography (not the best choice) and read few books on the sport now.
I will respectfully disagree on much of what you say as for me, people need access to the sport to become hooked (agree that access does not mean physical but can be printed words as coverage yonks back was very niche driven).
As you say, controversies, jealousies etc do appeal to some, but they also have an opposite effect on others but I readily admit that todays fans need the controversies/jealousies/personality clashes where I come from an era of bike racing is about bikes, riders, teams and tearaways.
You're missing the point. People need physical access yes. That's a necessary precursor. But assuming that the digital age would by itself lead to an equivalent or near-equivalent expansion in the fanbase is incorrect. A heavily motorsport oriented family provided you that accessibility - the same isn't true for most people. They may have access to the same media resources but they're not in the same boat.
And its not that the controversy appeals to some, its that it provides a gateway for those residing outside that motorsport culture. They may not understand or appreciate the racing in the beginning but the drama is something that everyone gets, that everyone can
feel.
For example, I avidly follow Moto2 (in fact, I'm disappointed its not discussed more on the forum), no drama, minimal controversy, just good clean racing. But MotoGP was my gateway to Moto2 & Moto3 and I might never have followed MotoGP, if I hadn't been hooked in by the human story behind it. Had I run across a Moto2 race on TV before that, I'd probably have given it a few seconds and then flipped ahead because it would have been meaningless - a sport I don't understand (distance measured in seconds?!!) and not knowing any rider, have no incentive to understand.
Since I'm making confessions, may as well make one more. I have bit of a soft spot for Alex Marquez. Not because of his racing, or his personality or his family connections but quite simply because he's the first Moto2 rider I ever heard of (because of his brother obviously). While I'd been following MotoGP for a while, I didn't watch my first Moto2 race until 2015 (before working backwards). His was the only familiar name in a line up of two dozen unfamiliar ones and (as is human nature) I was rooting for that familiar name to do well (he didn't but that's a different story). In time, you get familiar with the other riders and you can appreciate them, the race and the event as a whole.
That familiarity is what Rossi brought to the sport. Or Dorna did via Rossi. It doesn't matter either way, point is it opened the doors to a generation of fans (and riders). Spanning countries. Spanning continents, come to think of it. And whatever unpleasantness & fanaticism there may have been on the way, it was transitory; that bigger picture is, in my opinion, what really matters.
As for DORNA's growing the sport, well I have said for a long time, the golden goose has given them somewhat of a false dawns they have not had to look at alternate markets or income streams, but now as the end of the goose nears they still have not yet seemingly realised the risks that they have built and encouraged.
That Dorna has not done enough to encourage growth in newer markets is fact, but a fact that exists on its own. I suspect it would been true even if Rossi hadn't entered the picture. They may have started climbing it earlier but they'd have a much much bigger mountain to climb (given the large Rossi fan-base in Asia).
You misunderstand what I was getting at which is that Rossi has been afforded an opportunity that no prior riders were afforded (some careers cut short through injury) where Rossi is the first of an era of less 'sever' (poor choice of words but by comparison) injury and better medical advancements that lengthen the possible careers. Basically, he survived and good on him which has allowed him an opportunity that no other 38 year old (to date) has been afforded as they have not gotten this far (will other 39 year olds be afforded top flight machinery in years ahead? - time will tell)
Perhaps. He received a lifeline in 2013 which maybe another rider won't have. That said, he proved himself in all subsequent seasons. For other riders, if they can deliver on competitive machinery at 38, they should have a competitive ride till they're 40. How many can do it? Time will tell.
Lorenzo will be an interesting one to watch for. I don't think Pedrosa's going to make it to 2020, he's just been battered too much. Dovizioso too will probably have to make room for a younger rider.
