SBK imitates Formula 1 and says goodbye to umbrella girls: the same directive ready for MotoGP too?
There Dorna has taken the decision to align itself with what has been done by Formula 1 for a few years: starting from the 2023 season, the umbrella girlsthe so-called “umbrellas”, the image girls who accompany the drivers on the starting grid they will no longer be present.
The first rumors circulated on the paddock of the Argentine Grand Prix at the San Juan circuit and were then confirmed by the organization. The decision, as mentioned, will begin to take effect only from the 2023 season: this means that the last two races of the season will still see the umbrellas alongside the drivers.
A choice that follows the philosophy desired by Liberty Mediacompany that owns Formula One, in order to highlight the value of the woman, which should no longer be seen as an object positioned next to the male drivers on the starting grid. And that could now also arrive in MotoGP.
No more umbrella girls in SBK like in Formula 1: soon also in MotoGP?
We can say that the decision triggered some of the same reactions that had been seen among pilots, enthusiasts and professionals of the premier class of four-wheeled motoring.
On the one hand there are those invokes respect for “traditions” and of an old way of understanding sports competition, on the other hand we applaud the decision of no longer relegate girls to the role of “object woman” on a running track.
The fear on the part of those who do not share this choice is that Dorna may decide to extend the decision also to MotoGPthe last motoring class of this popularity which in fact still implements this ancient tradition.
The feeling actually is that it’s only a matter of time before the same thing is announced for the 2023 season of the World Championshipprobably coinciding with the last stage of the season, which will take place in Valencia this weekend and could give us the return of an Italian world champion since the time of Valentino Rossi.
Formula 1 had made the decision to ban umbrella girls in 2018, the first year of the new era run by Liberty Media. At the time, the managing director of the competition had explained that the use of grid girls was no longer in line with current social norms since this is a tradition that is no longer appropriate with the contemporary world of Formula 1.
A philosophy that was evidently also picked up by Dorna, albeit four years late. Recall that in Formula One the umbrellas have been replaced by a greater presence of VIPs, performers and guestsin order to exploit the great popularity regained by the top car category in recent years.
It is therefore probable that in SBK we will go in this direction as well. Inevitably, the same fate seems reserved for MotoGP.
