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- Trackhouse, which also fields a NASCAR Cup Series team, will be the lone American team in MotoGP series.
- It will be based in Noale, Italy, where it will be a factory team of motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia.
- The addition of MotoGP to the Trackhouse portfolio is the latest move for a Trackhouse organization that turned heads with its ground-breaking Project91 program in NASCAR.
Justin Marks clearly is not afraid to think outside the box when it comes to his racing operation.
Marks, owner of the Trackhouse Entertainment Group which fields Trackhouse Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, announced today that Trackhouse will field a motorcycle team that will race in the FIM MotoGP World Championship, beginning in 2024.
The team will be the lone American team in MotoGP series and be based in Noale, Italy. It will be a factory team of motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia.
Drivers and sponsors for the Trackhouse MotoGP entry have yet to be revealed.
“This is a monumental moment for Trackhouse Entertainment Group,” said the 42-year-old Marks in a press release. “It has been in the ethos of Trackhouse since the very first day to put in the work, have the vision, and deploy the enthusiasm and passion necessary to build one of the most valuable motorsports entertainment companies in the world. Our entry into the MotoGP World Championship is another step in the execution of that vision.”
The 75-year-old FIM MotoGP World Championship is the premier motorcycle racing series in the world with eleven teams each fielding two riders. The 2024 schedule includes 22 races in 19 countries. The season begins on March 10 in Qatar.
MotoGP visits the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on April 14.
The addition of MotoGP to the Trackhouse portfolio is the latest move for a Trackhouse organization that turned heads with its ground-breaking Project91 program in NASCAR. That program features international drivers competing in one-offs for Trackhouse in Cup Series races. Project91’s biggest success story was Shane van Gisbergen’s surprise win at the inaugural Chicago street race this past summer.
NASCAR team owner Justin Marks is expanding his racing operation to include MotoGP.
Formula 1 great and 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen is another driver who has raced for Trackhouse in NASCAR. The Trackhouse Racing NASCAR entry counts entertainer Pitbull as a co-owner.
Trackhouse Entertainment Group is the owner of Trackhouse Racing’s NASCAR team, which operates out of Concord, North Carolina. Marks, who has raced in NASCAR and currently races in the Trans Am Series, formed Trackhouse Racing in 2020 and began racing in NASCAR the following year. It purchased a NASCAR charter from Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021.
Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez are the team’s current full-time NASCAR Cup drivers, and van Gisbergen plans on a part-time schedule with the team in 2024.
Marks hopes that the addition of MotoGP will give Trackhouse a bigger footprint on the world motorsports stage.
“We feel that MotoGP is perfectly positioned for massive growth in the coming years not only in the United States, but internationally,” Marks said. “It has all the ingredients necessary to continue its rise to global prominence: a thrilling on-track product, aspirational stars, unmatched fan and partner experience, and an environment that’s fan-friendly and welcoming.”
Mike Pryson covered auto racing for the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen Patriot and MLive Media Group from 1991 until joining Autoweek in 2011. He won several Michigan Associated Press and national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for auto racing coverage and was named the 2000 Michigan Auto Racing Fan Club’s Michigan Motorsports Writer of the Year. A Michigan native, Mike spent three years after college working in southwest Florida before realizing that the land of Disney and endless summer was no match for the challenge of freezing rain, potholes and long, cold winters in the Motor City.
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