Why are motor sports not in the Olympic Games?

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 saw the debut of a new Olympic discipline with break dance. This recent addition of International Olympic Committee emphasizes the priority of the latest steps taken by the organization in this regard: connecting with younger audiences, new trends and urbanization of the most relevant sports program in the world a little more. Another example of this idea is the inclusion in Tokyo 2020 of disciplines such as skateboarding, surfing and climbing.

Due to these developments, and given recent boom of Formula 1 thanks for the effect Drive for a Living and the similar path seems to be taken today MotoGPwhich at the end of the year will be purchased by Liberty Media if the antitrust review of European organizations is not distorted. Motor sport has a huge interest in the lifelong public and with a new wave of young fans, it is precisely the spectrum that the IOC intends to continue to capture. Why, then, do motor sports and, especially, their main categories still not appear in the Olympic Games?

Olympic recognition

Although this seems like a far-fetched approach, the truth is the same FIM as the FIA They have taken steps in the past to comply with all the requirements of the IOC and will be able to be heard in the face of a hypothetical request for the creation and access of motor sport to the Olympic Games. The International Motorcycling Federation gained official status in Sydney 2000, while the FIA ​​did the same in London 2012. Both signed the Olympic Charter, and therefore they are governed by the same anti-doping regulations and basic rules as other sports and Olympic federations present, for example, in Paris 2024.

Jaques Rogge, the former president of the IOC, was one of the last to speak clearly about the future of motor sport at the Olympic Games. “The concept of the Games is that They are a competition of athletes, not equipment. Therefore, and with great respect, they will not be included in the Olympic program,” he said in 2012 from Silverstone, the circuit hosting the Motorcycle World Championship this weekend. No one knew that since then it has rained heavily and the panorama has changed .

It should also be noted that in many current Olympic disciplines, from sailing to swimming, through cycling, golf or tennis, also uses differential equipment capable of making a difference. That should not be the main obstacle, and because of the intense and dangerous waves of surf in Teahupo’o, neither should the high risk posed by disputing the discipline itself.

eSports, the first attempt

Although it is not exactly the same, the IOC has taken up the gauntlet and has been working with the FIA ​​for several years to evolve the integration of motor sports into what can be its platform. more equal and safe: the videogames. In 2021, they released the OVS (Olympic virtual series) in collaboration with Great Tourism. That first step grew last year, when in 2023 the OES (Olympic eSports series), including motorsport through Gran Turismo 7.

The next step will come next year, at 2025when the first eSports Olympic Games after a 12-year agreement between the IOC and the government of Saudi Arabia, which will host the event every two years (that’s the intention at least). There will be a body again, simulation motor sport.

The previous ones

The first and only time motor sport was part of the Olympic Games was in its first visit Paris in 1900. They came to argue 14 tests which the IOC has not yet officially confirmed to this day, but neither has it excluded or completely removed their Olympic status. That event coincided with the celebration of the Universal Exhibition, and there was even a category for electric vans that manufacturers such as Renault participated in. There are car and motorcycle races, although the details are few.

Later on 1936the British pilot Betty Haig took gold in the Olympic Rally ending in Berlin, and in 1972in Munich, the experience was repeated with a familiar name among the winners. Jean Todt, The former president of the FIA, took the event as co-pilot aboard an Alpine A110. Both experiences, it should be noted, were held in the days before the start of the Games.

The example of the ‘Race of Champions’

The main concern among drivers and manufacturers, in addition to the organizations involved, is about the equality of performance of used vehicles. In this sense, a single brand test This would be the most logical thing, even though it may conflict with the contractual and commercial relationships that tightly tie the hands of most pilots.

Another option is, perhaps, to establish a very strict construction of motorcycles or single-seaters, or simply paint them with the necessary colors to satisfy all parties. To some extent, the example of Race of Championscreated in 1988 by Michele Mouton and Fredrik Johnsonshows how interesting a competition between the best drivers from different disciplines is.

In its time, the Race of Champions has left behind great rivalries between aces Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Loeb, Jorge Lorenzo and Sebastian Vettel, etc. Other two-wheeled stars also participated, such as Travis Pastrana and Mick Doohan, despite the fact that the discipline was contested in four-wheeled vehicles. In other words, it has been possible to do this in a context of fewer resources than some Olympic Gamesand with the will and drive of the FIA ​​​​and the FIM, a framework can be created to make possible the landing of the main motor stars in one of the biggest, if not the biggest, world showcase of the sport.