Places for races: inside the circuits and services at the beating heart of motorsport

Introduction
CIRCUITS
SERVICES
About
WE WANT TO BE THE DESTINATION FOR
ANYTHING MOTORSPORT-RELATED.”
LEFT: Dale Ballentine, Motorsport
Tickets’ chief executive
BELOW: Motorsport Tickets has seen a surge
in sales within the US market
TICKETING
An important but often forgotten part
of the operation of motorsport circuits
is ticketing. Part of international media
and technology company Motorsport
Network, Motorsport Tickets has spent
over 16 years building a reputation as one
of the go-to ticket sellers for motorsport
events and experiences.
“We are essentially a ticketing agent
for motorsport events all over the world
– our biggest being Formula One, not
surprisingly,” says Dale Ballentine, chief
executive of Motorsport Tickets. “Our
biggest revenues come from Formula
One, but we’re at the moment working on
diversifying that as much as possible.
“So, essentially, our business is we
work with circuits, promoters, teams,
series to market their tickets.”
Despite Formula One being the most
profitable championship for Motorsport
Tickets, the company also sells tickets for
MotoGP, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the
World Endurance Championship (WEC),
the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
(DTM), the Isle of Man TT, Superbikes,
the British Touring Car Championship
(BTCC) and Formula E.
Although Motorsport Tickets’ main
market is the UK, the business has grown
in popularity elsewhere, with Formula
One’s recent popularity surge in the US
driving ticket sales. Additionally, other
prominent markets in Europe that engage
heavily with motorsport make up the bulk
of the remaining customer base.
“The nature of the business means
that we’re primarily UK - 65 to 70 per
cent of our business is in the UK,” says
Ballentine. “Then, 20-odd per cent is
the Netherlands. And then after that,
Germany, France, Italy, the US and
Australia are our next biggest markets.”
As expected, Formula One may be the
series for which most tickets are sold,
but global motorcycling series MotoGP
is gaining in popularity. However, the
impact of the Covid-19 pandemic posed a
difficult challenge for Motorsport Tickets,
as many series cancelled events or opted
to run races behind closed doors, not
allowing any spectators to attend.
“MotoGP is the second biggest that we
have,” explains Ballentine. “Unfortunately,
coronavirus has had a bigger effect
on MotoGP. Formula One, at least we
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