Trackhouse Racing has officially entered the highly anticipated MotoGP grid starting from the 2024 season. With ambitions riding high for owner Justin Marks and his team, they have now partnered with Dorna Sports and Italian manufacturer Aprilia. Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez will lead the charge for the American stalwarts on the hot seats of Aprilia RS-GP with the entire crew expected to be announced soon.
An official announcement was made in Milan on Tuesday and streamed live for the fans to witness the mogul move by Justin Marks. Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola, and Dorna Sports Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta joined Marks on stage for the unveiling. Ezpeleta spoke about how this partnership with Trackhouse Racing is exciting with success expected to follow both on and off the race track.
Dorna Sports is excited about this venture partnering with Trackhouse Racing for MotoGP
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Justin Marks knows a thing or two about running a successful racing organization. It has been no secret that the North Carolina-based racing giants had set their eyes on MotoGP but this move was rather surprising for fans who expected a move somewhere in 2025. The American team owner is excited for the new venture stating, “Joining MotoGP World Championship is a very exciting moment for our young company…being able to expand to a global series like MotoGP is a massive step in scaling the company… Dorna and (we) are committed to bring something new and exciting to the championship.”
The Spanish Sports management company partnered with CryptoData RNF in late 2021, a tie-up that was dissolved by Dorna before the 2024 season and opening the doors for Marks and Trackhouse Racing. Carlos Ezpeleta said, “It’s a very special moment for us to introduce a new team into the premier class of MotoGP. It doesn’t happen that often, we are in a very sweet moment of MotoGP now with a lot of changes that were introduced in 2023 and now this is the most exciting thing happening for MotoGP 2024 for sure.
“For sure the States is a really interesting market for Dorna and MotoGP and specially for manufacturers which are a huge part of the sports. But besides that, it’s much more in the States.”
An amazing moment that so many people have worked so hard on to make happen.
Can’t wait to take the Trackhouse story global with @ApriliaOfficial and @MotoGP in 2024 and beyond! https://t.co/qUEZrRyy6J
— Justin Marks (@JustinMarksTH) December 5, 2023
As Marks likes to go about his sporting ideology, this new foray will be a project that will grow step by step. But how did it come about?
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RNF’s failure turned out to be the opportunity for Justin Marks and Trackhouse Racing
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With the 2023 season closing its curtains, Dorna Sports announced that they would not allow RNF to continue with them for the 2024 season. The statement released by Dorna highlighted “repeated infractions and breaches of the Participation Agreement affecting the public image of the MotoGP”.
This allowed owner of the Trackhouse Racing Justin Marks to capitalize on the void left out by RNF in his bid to enter MotoGP. RNF along with their title partner CryptoDATA had long outstanding debts which then saw Dorna Sports calling off their partnership and forging ties with the ambitious American motorsports company. At a point in time, RNF did feature the likes of Fabio Quartararo and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi.
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All things are now in motion. Justin Marks’ ambition is now a reality which certainly is a huge boost for MotoGP and engagement for American fans. An American MotoGP team doing laps on a track like COTA would be a sight to cherish and maybe this could well and truly become successful. However, expectations will need to be checked for the American outfit as the two-wheel circuit is a different ball game.