Why do MotoGP™ riders have their names or nicknames printed on their butt patches? It’s a question some of us don’t know the answer to – or maybe never even thought about. Well, ESPN have delved into who set the trend alight – and why.
Speaking to Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and motocross legend Jeremy McGrath, nicknamed ‘The King’, ESPN explores how the latter’s sponsorship deal with Fox Sports changed the butt patch game – especially in 1997. “That's when that really became a real artistic thing because it was no longer those block letters cut out and kind of made to look like something, they were actually like art,” said McGrath.
In MotoGP™, Valentino Rossi was doing the same. The now iconic, multiple-coloured ‘The Doctor’ printed on the butt patch of the Italian will remain a true emblem of the sport forever. “It's funny because I'm friends with Valentino, and he was a huge fan of mine, so I'm not going to say that I take a little credit for that, but I'm kind of going to say I take a little credit for that,” jokes McGrath to ESPN.
Investigating the correlation between Rossi’s rise and the revolution of TV broadcasting, and the influence of major sponsors like Repsol, Red Bull and Monster, ESPN and Quartararo explain that nowadays, the rider’s butt patch is one of the only places they can still show off a bit of their personality.
“For the image of the riders, [the butt patch] is important, but not really for the sponsor,” Quartararo said. “I think this is pretty nice from every team to leave this space to the rider and show off a little bit of their personality.”
Head to ESPN (link in first paragraph) to read the full article.