MotoGP: Exclusive interview with TNT Sports commentator and former BSB and WorldSBK champion Neil Hodgson

The British Grand Prix produced yet more fantastic racing on the circuit, but again struggled to attract fans to the event as attendance figures dropped. TNT Sports commentator, and former BSB and WorldSBK Champion, Neil Hodgson admits that the situation is bleak right now.

Weekend figures dropped from 117,867 to 99,328, whilst Sunday numbers fell from 42,529 to 40,518. It’s a significant drop from the record 2013 event, which saw 156,006 people go through the gates across the weekend. 73,456 people watched the Grand Prix on the Sunday that year.

MCN sat down with Hodgson at Silverstone to discuss the future of the event, as well as Pecco Bagnaia’s struggles and the rise of Alex Marquez.

The Silverstone attendance figures are down again. Is it becoming a lost cause?

“It does feel that way. I think some people who have had bad experiences in the past have stopped and said, ‘well, we’re not coming again’. Of course, we already only have a certain amount of fans that come to race meetings.

“It makes us all sad. We want our home Grand Prix to be jam packed with a great atmosphere, and for everybody to do well from it. It feels like we’re at the wake right now…”

The racing is good, so it must be the venue…

“The only other track, I guess, would be Donington. If you think about spectating down Craner Curves and watching the bikes go through there! We race at the Sachsenring, and you cannot believe how close the barriers are around there.

“If we can race there, we can race at Donington. Absolutely, we can. I love Silverstone by the way. To ride, it’s awesome.They put a lot of effort in as well. They do try, but it’s just that the fans seem to have had enough of it. They say it’s a car track, amongst other clichés.”

We could do a MotoGP-BSB weekend…

“That’s a great idea! Why not? What have we got to lose? That idea actually came up last night at dinner and we were all in favour of it. There’s room to do that here.”

Moving on to Pecco Bagnaia. At Ducati UK’s event on Tursday evening, the Italian looked dejected as Marc Marquez was telling you about his own season so far…

“I felt it as well. It’s hard. I’ve been in the shadow of a strong teammate in more than one season and had to do those PR events. I felt for him, and I thought about my questions carefully so to not be negative with him.

“Any footage you saw of Pecco in the second half of the Sprint race, you could see he was struggling. He couldn’t get it to turn. You cannot argue with what you could see, and it looked like an old Ducati from 6-8 years ago.

“The thing is, Marc is on that bike as well. Look, we know the facts, and the facts are that Marc Marquez has destroyed every single teammate he’s had, and this year is no different.

What can Pecco do?

“He has to forget about Marc. He has to stop worrying about it and try to build some momentum in order to battle for second in the championship. Remember, he’s only beaten Marc when Marc has beaten himself on those two occasions. I really like Pecco, he’s a good guy, and I genuinely didn’t expect this at all. I thought Marc would beat him, but I thought it would be a lot closer than we’ve seen so far.

“By the time we get to Mugello, let’s say Marc does the double at Aragon, he’s going to be so far ahead of Pecco that he can ride behind his teammate a couple of times and lose seven points over a weekend. Of course, he won’t though. When Marc gets a cushion, he’s even faster because he will risk as he has the cushion to be able to crash. He will risk everything to take the glory.”

What does this do for Pecco long-term?

“He has his two-year deal for now, but at this point next year if you’re Pecco or his manager, you know Ducati won’t get rid of Marc for 2027 so you begin searching for your next best option. And who wouldn’t want Pecco if you’re Honda or any other manufacturer?

“He’s a two-time MotoGP champion and has plenty of experience. He’s a very sensitive rider, one who is very good at developing a bike. Look, racing careers are hard. You’re either up or your down and it’s tough out there. You just wouldn’t want to be Marc Marquez’s teammate!”

Alex Marquez is thriving. Does he deserve more respect?

“He absolutely does! I would have put a lot of money on him not doing what he’s doing right now. He’s the big surprise for me. Apart from Le Mans, he’s looked rock solid. He’s crashed a few times in practice whilst flirting with the limit, but all in all, he’s been outstanding.

“He does deserve more respect. I was speaking to a friend of mine who’s into bikes, and he said he didn’t even realise Marc had a brother! That sums up what it must be like to be Marc Marquez’s brother, even when you’re a two-time world champion in your own right!”

What’s changed for Alex this year?

“He has the GP24, but the main thing for me is that he doesn’t have Marc in the garage anymore. He’s removed the thing that we’ve just been talking about. On the exact same bike last year, it did his head in. Marc destroyed him.

“The Gresini team is amazing with the family atmosphere, and they produce a good bike. As soon as he got on the bike, he liked it and was fastest in Barcelona. Confidence is a wonderful thing. The last three tenths are between your ears and it’s all rosy for Alex right now.”

TNT Sports and discovery+ is the home of MotoGP in the UK showing every practice and race live. Find out more here