Calendars – Towards a MotoGP calendar with 22 Grands Prix from 2022 –

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Towards a MotoGP calendar with 22 Grands Prix from 2022

Calendars - Towards a MotoGP calendar with 22 Grands Prix from 2022 -

The CEO of Dorna Sports, promoter of MotoGP and holder of its rights, announces that the programming of the Grands Prix is ​​heading towards a format of 22 races per season between 2022 and 2026, against 19 this year and 20 planned for 2020. Explanations.

What a long way since the first season of the world motorcycle Grand Prix championship in 1949 and its calendar which had only six events, mostly contested on road "circuits". It was not until the 1960s to reach ten annual meetings, then twelve until the mid-1980s.

  • MNC file:
  • MNC file :

The growing popularity of the championship and the requests made by other countries to host a Grand Prix regularly lead to the addition of a new destination, a source of additional income for its promoter: the milestone of fifteen dates will be reached in 1987, before remaining frozen for a long time. at sixteen dates. 

The now spreads over 19 races all over the world: from Texas (United States) to Australia via Qatar and Argentina, not to mention the main Europeans (England, Germany, Spain, France, Italy) , the must-see Japan – where three out of six MotoGP manufacturers come from! -, as well as Malaysia and Thailand with their enormous appetites for motorized two-wheelers.

This already busy schedule – according to several teams and their drivers – will climb to 20 races next year with the return of a Grand Prix in Finland, on the new circuit. of ice of Kymiring. The number of races is officially fixed at 20 maximum until 2021, but will resume its increase the following year, says Carmelo Ezpeleta !

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The Spanish manager of Dorna Sports is already planning a program of 22 Grands Prix from 2022, in agreement with the manufacturers and the teams. One of these two additional events will most certainly take place in Southeast Asia, where stakeholders have many converging interests…. 

On the one hand, the manufacturers are selling more and more motorcycles there, on the other the promoter appreciates that the public comes in droves to attend the MotoGP races: the proof with the immense popular success of the first GP of Thailand last year (!)

Negotiations with Indonesia and other countries

"We have a contract with Indonesia and are in discussions with other countries, but I can not announce anything before the conclusion of the agreements", advances Ezpelerta, which is also in contact with Mexico which would like to organize a Grand Prix on its urban circuit "Hermanos Rodriguez", on which the Formula 1 cars have been racing since 2015.

Calendars - Towards a MotoGP calendar with 22 Grand Prix from 2022 -

"Obviously, the calendar cannot be unlimited and we have agreed with the manufacturers and the teams that the maximum number of races for the period between 2022 and 2026 will be 22 races", specifies the MotoGP treasurer, who also indicates that Portugal wants to re-enter the championship with its spectacular Portimao layout.

Yes, but here it is: impossible to satisfy all the requests without sacrificing existing appointments, unless you opt for a rotation system for the countries strongly represented in the programming. Follow our gaze to Spain, which currently has four Grands Prix with Aragon, Barcelona, ​​Jerez and Valencia !

"The only way to accept new countries would be to reduce the number of races where we have the most," confirms Ezpeleta. (…). "We cannot concentrate almost 25% of the races in one region, so we think that the best solution is to rotate between the Grands Prix of the Iberian Peninsula: each circuit would have three races every five years".

Three races over five years on the Iberian circuits

"We talked about it with Portugal and they agree on this principle, even if they would obviously prefer to have one every year", continues the Spanish leader, who assures on the other hand that the two Italian races (Mugello and Misano) would not be affected by this alternation.

Calendars - Towards a MotoGP calendar with 22 Grand Prix from 2022 -

"We could do it another way, ask who can give the most money, but we won’t," said Ezpeleta. "We will first discuss with everyone to see who is or is not interested in this solution".

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The other track considered would be to reduce the number of official tests – before and during the season – to compensate for the addition of new races: the traditional post-race tests in Valencia (Spain) – where the riders discover their new bike. for the first time – could in particular be deleted to ease the end of the season. This idea is defended by several pilots, worried about this continuous increase…

Calendars - Towards a MotoGP calendar with 22 Grands Prix from 2022 -

"It’s not just for us," said KTM rider Pol Espargaro. "But also for all the families who work on each race, it means more races and therefore more time away from home".

"But if of course I want to spend more time at home, I also ask my boss to ride more to develop the bike," admits the Spaniard. "KTM is not in the position to say that we want less testing because we need it".

For Quartararo, the more it rolls the cooler it is !

Maverick Viñales pleads for a reduction in the number of tries, in order to be able to breathe and "rest his body". The Yamaha official says he enjoys "a lot of riding" and appreciates the idea of ​​having more races, but that fewer test days "would be a good thing". Same story with his teammate Valentino Rossi, dean of MotoGP at 40.

Calendars - Towards a MotoGP calendar with 22 Grand Prix from 2022 -

And what does young rookie Fabio Quartararo think, splashing all over the MotoGP planet with his talent for his first season among the elite on a private Yamaha? For the driver from Nice, the situation is simple: the more he can drive on his M1, the better !

"I like to ride these bikes, that’s what I love more than anything in my life," he explains with the enthusiasm of his 20 years. "Riding in tests, in FP1, in Q2, in the warm-up: I have fun like a child! For me, they can do 22 races with the same number of tests".

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