MotoGP, the elite motorcycling series, has today announced Red Bull Racing’s Kelly Brittain as its new managing director of global marketing.
She will take on the newly-created role for the 2025 season and head up the marketing and promotion arm for the competition.
Brittain will be based in Madrid, Spain, reporting to Dan Rossomondo, chief commercial officer of MotoGP's promoter Dorna Sports.
She currently serves as brand and communications director of Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Technology, a position she has held since 2021.
Before that, Brittain spent almost three years with global streaming platform DAZN as vice president of global brand and campaigns.
Brittain joined DAZN from O2, the telecoms company owned by Telefonica, after starting her career in brand marketing within blue chip organizations including Mitchells & Butlers and Samsung.
Bringing her vast experience in marketing and brand development, Brittain will be tasked with fuelling MotoGP’s ambitious growth plans.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, chief excutive of Dorna Sports, has said: “Marketing and promotion is our number one area of focus as we build this new era for the sport, putting both current and future fans at the centre of everything we do, and we know creating this new role and hiring a talent like Kelly will be a huge asset.
“MotoGP is a global property with a fanbase of 500 million, but we want more. The diversity in our audience will only be rewarded as we build our team to reflect different experience, backgrounds and expertise in our mission to expand this incredible sport.
“Kelly is a big asset for us, with a proven track record, and brings a lot to the table. Having got to know her during this process, we know she will not only bring professional excellence and experience, but also be a fantastic person to work with as we aim to make MotoGP a household name – everywhere.”
By the time Brittain assumes her new role, the series will be under the control of Liberty Media after the company acquired Dorna Sports earlier this year.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
However, Dorna will remain an independently run company and continue to promote MotoGP having recently agreed a long-term renewal of its contract with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) through 2060.
Dorna’s current contract was set to run until 2041 but has now been extended by 19 years, meaning that by 2060 it will have served as MotoGP’s promoter in seven different decades, having first tied up with the series in 1992.
Brittain has now stated: “MotoGP is one of the most prestigious brands in sport and I'm thrilled that I will be working with the team to elevate the sport and expand the fanbase globally.
“Everything starts with the fans; understanding why they engage and what this sport provides them. Our aim is to amplify this on a global scale to unlock brand growth, which includes driving MotoGP’s presence across different media, cultural spaces and demographics the sport is yet to reach.
“There are already fantastic foundations in place across fan engagement, CRM, social media, as well as the strong working relationships with the teams and promoters. Our mission is to build on this and break down any barriers to engagement and growth.
