GP of Finland – No MotoGP before the end of July following the postponement of the GP of Finland –

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No MotoGP before the end of July following the postponement of the GP of Finland

GP of Finland - No MotoGP before the end of July following the postponement of the GP of Finland -

The coronavirus pandemic leads to the postponement of the MotoGP Finnish Grand Prix, initially the tenth race of the 2020 calendar scheduled for July 12 … In the best case, the first races of the season could take place behind closed doors at the end of July… Explanations.

The organizers of the Grand Prix of Finland – which was to return to the Continental Circus for the first time since 1982 – announced this weekend the deprogramming of the event scheduled for July 10 to 12 on the new KymiRing circuit, at around 100 kilometers from the capital Helsinki.

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"The decision to postpone the Finnish MotoGP race is taken by Dorna Sports, holder of the rights of the discipline, and the owners of the KymiRing circuit in accordance with the instructions of the Finnish government", they explain as the country advocates the cancellation of any gathering of more than 500 people to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Dorna Sports has promised to announce the date of the future MotoGP Finnish Grand Prix as soon as possible," add the organizers. "The reimbursement of tickets already purchased will be implemented as soon as Dorna Sports formalizes the decision".

  • MNC of August 20, 2019:
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This decision is not only linked to the constraints of gatherings: to date, the route of the KymiRing has not yet been approved by the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) to host the Motorcycle Grand Prix! Only a few were organized there to validate the outlines of this complex which has just emerged from the ground … 

The approval, expected in the coming weeks after the final work, is also postponed due to the pandemic. And without homologation, impossible to organize the Grand Prix…

Closed races from late July to November ?

Finland was supposed to host the real kickoff of the 2020 season in early July, following the successive postponements of the Grands Prix and the. Its deprogramming means that at this stage, no race will take place before August since the GP of Finland was the only meeting in July. The next Grand Prix, the Czech Republic GP, is – for now – scheduled for August 7-9 in Brno…

However, it is not excluded that one of the previous races may be reinserted into the programming at the end of July, depending on the evolution linked to Covid-19. With this in mind, closed-door events – without an audience – are now being considered by the organizer of the Grands Prix Dorna Sports.. 

"For the moment, the most plausible scenario is behind closed doors: this is what we are considering because we unfortunately believe that it will be difficult to organize races with spectators", explains the boss of Dorna Sports to our BT Sport colleagues.

Races in small groups and reduced wages

"Our most optimistic scenario is to try to start at the end of July", continues the Spanish leader. "But it depends on two things: the first is that each country allows us to compete in the championship when the borders are open, and the second is the possibility of traveling from one country to another".

GP of Finland - No MotoGP before the end of July following the postponement of the GP of Finland -

"Depending on the situation, we may do two consecutive events on the same circuit before moving on to another. In Europe, there is also the possibility of traveling by car, so the situation is more playable. The scenario we are currently considering is to start in July and finish in November ".

Ezpeleta and the association of teams (IRTA) are working in this perspective to assess the number of people needed on the paddock to organize races without spectators, which would be around "1300 people".

  • MNC of April 9, 2020 : 

These people would be tested beforehand to verify that they are not carriers of the virus, then strictly checked on each race. Goal ? "Organizing races and showing them on television: that’s the most important thing", recalls the MotoGP treasurer who also suggests that the teams lower the salaries of their riders.

"I think it will not be a problem because it is a case of force majeure," he said. "Everyone can understand that what one legitimately earns by doing one’s job is quite another thing than staying at home", adds the boss of Dorna who also clarified that the employees of his company were also impacted.

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