Big rise in BBC MotoGP audience

The number of MotoGP fans tuning into watch live coverage on the BBC has swelled by 21 per cent during the first seven races of 2008.

Largely thanks to the arrival of double World Superbike champion James Toseland and the return to winning ways of Valentino Rossi, nearly 1.5m viewers watched last weekend’s Catalunya MotoGP.

That was five per cent on the same race last season as Toseland and Rossi both fought their way through the pack to finish sixth and second respectively.

TV audiences are on the increase across Europe, according to statistics released by Dorna today.

In Spain, TVE boasted an average audience of 3.65m, with an audience share of 37 per cent as Dani Pedrosa dominated the Catalunya race. This share was the highest percentage for all major sports events on Sunday in Spain, even with Rafael Nadal claiming victory in the French Open tennis final and Formula One presented live from Canada.

The audience reached its peak when factory Honda rider Pedrosa crossed the line for his second win in 2008, with 4.73m watching at that time.

Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo’s success has seen TV figures in Spain increase by 20 per cent compared to 2007.

Three successive victories for Rossi also swelled viewing figures in Italy to a massive 8,34m for the Cataunya race. That was 800,000 more than tuned in for the same race a year ago when Rossi lost in a thrilling tussle with Casey Stoner.

Coming on the back of Rossi’s stunning home success in Italy, the Catalunya race had an audience share of 46.18% watching on Mediaset’s Italia 1 network.