In recent years, the prestige of MotoGP seems to be fading. Valentino Rossi's retirement is considered to be the main reason for the decline in popularity of MotoGP.
However, the opinion that the prestige of MotoGP fell because Valentino Rossi retired is not fully agreed by Paul Denning, Yamaha Racing boss in World Superbike.
According to Paul Denning, there are many things besides the Valentino Rossi factor that make fans' interest in enjoying MotoGP races decline.
As quoted from MotoGP, The former Suzuki boss in MotoGP compared MotoGP and WorldSBK now, with the gap between the two championships narrowing.
Nonetheless, at a time when MotoGP has fallen in popularity, the World Superbike championship has managed to attract the attention of racing fans.
First, there is the matter of rivalry, with WorldSBK providing an interesting spectacle thanks to the rivalry between three riders, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Jonathan Rea, and champion Alvaro Bautista.
MotoGP also has Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia fighting until the end of the season, plus Aleix Espargaro.
However, the spice of friction between these competitors is less intense in MotoGP because the riders get along too well.
Whereas in WorldSBK, although the riders get along on the podium, in front of the media the three of them criticize each other and make the situation heated.
"I don't know Aleix or Fabio, but they are good guys. However, after the race, Fabio apologized to Aleix and his apology was accepted. Maybe they should have fought hotter to attract attention?" Denning said as quoted by Motorsport-Total.
"With a rivalry like this, you won't get the maximum attention," he explains.
Denning's opinion is clearly relevant, because in previous eras there were Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, and Casey Stoner who made MotoGP interesting with their respective feuds.
Hardly any riders vacation together or smile together after their rivalry.
Even two decades ago Rossi's feuds against Max Biaggi or Sete Gibernau also made the name MotoGP soar.
Another problem is that overtaking potential is rather difficult in MotoGP at the moment, unlike World Superbike, those who often watch both can certainly compare.
"Overtaking is an important aspect of WorldSBK racing because you can overtake another rider and immediately counterattack. That's why we can see three to four overtakes between two riders in one lap," Denning continued.
Regarding the bike, MotoGP is certainly still more interesting with its technology, it's just that WorldSBK is more exciting about the race.
"It's not so easy for MotoGP riders to do it because of technical limitations. So from a purely excitement point of view, World Superbike races are more interesting," he explained.
As is known, MotoGP has difficulty overtaking due to the turbulence effect caused by the aerodynamic components of the bike.
That's something that doesn't exist in WorldSBK but makes the racing even tighter.
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