Brno confirms no Czech Republic MotoGP round in 2021
UPDATE (February 3): Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has told : "There was a communication error: The 2021 Thailand GP remains in place."
It appears the Thai government plans to move the contract for the cancelled 2020 event over to 2021, and delay the start of the new five-year MotoGP contract from 2021 to 2022.
However with vaccinations yet to start in Thailand, and a strict 14-day quarantine in place for all arrivals (who must stay in government-approved quarantine hotels), the 2021 race remains far from certain at this stage...
Thailand looks to have become the first race to drop off the pr🌄ovisional 2021 schedule after the government opted to postpone thꦰe start of Buriram's next five-year MotoGP contract, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Instead of running from 2021-2025, the reports that the MotoGP contract has been 'switched' to 2022-2026. The license fee will remain unchanged at🔯 900 million baht (25 million euros) for the five-year period.
Dorna, which is yet to officially confirm the postponement, is said to have 'reiterated th꧃e company's commitment to the event'.
After joining the MotoGP calendar in 2018, the 2019 Thai round saw the highest spectator attendance of the season with 226,655 weekend fans, bringing in a total of '3.45 billion baht' (95 million euros). Last yearꦛ's round, like all the non-European events, was cancelled.
Although Thailand is the first event named on the 2021 provisional calendar set to rule out a race this year, Argentina and Texas are also highly unlikely to go ahead after both being postponed to an unspecified date later in the year. Brno, which was not included on the provisional canendar, but did have a date reserved pending resurfacing, has said it will not host world championsh𒆙ip races this year.
As in 2020, the fate of the flyaway races (with the exception of Qatar) is thou෴ght to be dependent on allowing the attendance of fan🍨s, for financial reasons.
This year's Thai M♈otoGP is du𓂃e to take place on October 10.
Provisional 2021 MotoGP Calendar – January Update | |||
Round | Date | Race | Circuit |
1 | 28 March | Qatar (Evening race) | Losail |
2 | 4 April | Doha (Evening race) | Losail |
3 | 18 April | Portugal | Portimao |
4 | 2 May | Spain | Jerez |
5 | 16 May | France | Le Mans |
6 | 30 May | Italy | Mugello |
7 | 6 June | Catalunya | Barcelona |
8 | 20 June | Germany | Sachsenring |
9 | 27 June | Netherlands | Assen |
10 | 11 July | Finland (Subject to homologation) | KymiRing |
11 | 15 August | Austria | Red Bull Ring |
12 | 29 August | Great Britain | Silverstone |
13 | 12 September | Aragon | Aragon |
14 | 19 September | San Marino e Della Riviera di Rimini | Misano |
15 | 3 October | Japan | Motegi |
16 | 10 October | Thailand | Buriram |
17 | 24 October | Australia | Phillip Island |
18 | 31 October | Malaysia | Sepang |
19 | 14 November | Comunitat Valenciana | Ricardo Tormo |
| Postponed Grands Prix: | |||
| Argentina | Termas | ||
| Americas | COTA | ||
| Reserve Grand Prix Venues: | |||
| Indonesia (Subject to homologation) | Mandalika | ||
| 2021 Pre-season Testing: | |||
| 5 March | Qatar Shakedown Test | Losail | |
| 6-7 March | Qatar Official Test | Losail | |
| 10-12 March | Qatar Official Test | Losail | |
MotoGP Editor
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the f🧜orefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
