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Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has given a glowing account of his maiden experience at a MotoGP event.
Wolff was in attendance for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello last weekend, marking the first time he’d had the opportunity to watch the world’s premier bike racing category in person.
The tragic death of Jason Dupasquier aside, Wolff soaked up the event – with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo winning the top-tier race to extend his championship lead – and vowed to return.
“I have never kind of managed to come to MotoGP because we have 23 races a year and the free weekends you don’t want to spend on a circuit – but that’s going to change now, I’m going to come more often,” Wolff said in a video on the MotoGP website.
“It’s unbelievable. On the straight, at the end of the straight the bikes are 340km/h and you can see that.
“You see the skill of the riders so closely and it’s very different to Formula 1 obviously but equally challenging.
“I think when you look at the racing from Moto3 up to MotoGP, there’s so many competitive riders, the race situation changes all the time, tyres play a role like in Formula 1 and that makes it exciting because it is very unpredictable and this is what the fan wants.”
Asked what he felt F1 and MotoGP have in common, Wolff added: “It’s fierce competition between teams and riders so it’s a real sport.
“The DNA is not diluted which is very important because it shouldn’t be wrestling, but on the other side, it’s always such great entertainment and a spectacle.”
The MotoGP season will continue this weekend with the Catalan Grand Prix in Spain.
Wolff’s F1 outfit will also be in action for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
