Qatar GP – MotoGP promoter coughs but resists cancellation epidemic! –

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MotoGP promoter coughs but resists cancellation epidemic !

Qatar GP - MotoGP promoter coughs but resists cancellation epidemic! -

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, affirms his willingness to organize the 19 remaining races of the MotoGP 2020 calendar despite possible restrictions linked to the coronavirus. The promoter of the Moto Grands Prix says he is determined… failing to be totally confident. Explanations.

Good start for the: Moto3 and Moto2 are competing for their first practice sessions tonight on the Losail circuit. What about MotoGP? Alas, the top category is "" due to the coronavirus, which also results in the postponement of the second race in Thailand to !

  • MNC of March 5, 2020 : 
  • MNC of March 1, 2020 : 
  • MNC file : 

The real kickoff of the season is for the moment postponed by a month with the GP of the Americas on April 5. Unless the United States decides by then to imitate Qatar and quarantine anyone from a country at risk such as Italy or Japan, two nations over-represented in Grand Prix without which no race can take place.

"I don’t see us racing in Austin (Texas, Editor’s note), at least not on the scheduled dates," said Ducati Corse general manager Luigi Dall’Igna bluntly of the GP of the Americas. "It seems rather reasonable that MotoGP will start in Argentina." Either April 19…

Faced with the doubts and the many issues raised, the promoter of the MotoGP Grand Prix, Dorna Sports, reassured his troops and MotoGP fans during an exceptional press conference on the Losail circuit (Qatar).

A plane from Nice to save MotoGP in Qatar !

"First of all, I would like to salute the Qatari authorities for their close collaboration in the face of the constantly evolving situation […] During the weekend, we in fact learned that certain nationalities would have difficulty in reaching Doha", remembers the Spanish leader. 

Qatar GP - MotoGP promoter coughs but resists cancellation epidemic! -

"To be honest, it was even considered to leave a charter from Nice with people from the paddock living in Italy, while respecting a certain fairness given the limited number of seats. But the restrictions increased on Sunday evening with the in place a quarantine for anyone who has stayed in Italy for the past two weeks: our plan B has become unworkable ".

"Luckily, the Moto2 and Moto3 categories were already there for the test, so we were able to maintain their races", rejoices Carmelo Ezpeleta before ruling out the hypothesis of a possible postponement of the scheduled MotoGP round. in Qatar.

"The MotoGP race in Qatar is canceled and it’s clear," he said, "but since they have already spent the money to come here, all the MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 teams will receive their payment".

GP of the Americas: "we are waiting until the last minute" 

"Regarding the next race, for the moment we don’t know anything more," admits Carmelo Ezpeleta. "We are waiting until the last minute to send all our equipment there, in case the situation changes. It is true that we have considered moving the GP of the Americas at the end of the year and swapping it with a Spanish event, but it was far too short to afford such a change ".

  • MNC of March 5, 2020 : 

"This Thursday we were able to announce the thanks to the cooperation of the government of Aragon which agreed to advance its sleeve by a week", notes with satisfaction the promoter who seems to be undergoing changes and to act accordingly on a daily basis. .. like everyone else, in fact !

"I don’t know what the future will be like"

"At this stage, no problem for Argentina either," said the Spaniard, confirming the organizers of the South American Grand Prix. "But afterwards, I don’t know what the future will be like …" 

Qatar GP - MotoGP promoter coughs but resists cancellation epidemic! -

"Either way, we have enough options open to us to try to address the various issues. Then we’ll go to Europe and see. The tense point is that the authorities are starting to limit large gatherings or certain nationalities ".

Remember that in France, gatherings of more than 5,000 people in a confined environment are prohibited. The prefectures also have the authority to suspend any event deemed to be risky. In our, the organizer of the GP of France is however positive about the maintenance of the event on May 17 at Le Mans (72).

  • MNC Interview : 

"We remain subject to the laws in force in the country where we are going," recalls Ezpeleta: "if a law forbids us to do something, we have no choice. On the other hand, if there are no restrictions , we will continue by taking the necessary measures and respecting equity for all in sport ".

13 races minimum

Although Carmelo Ezpeleta is careful not to refer to it, his main fear is that the coronavirus will strengthen and further limit travel and events. France should, for example, soon go into stage 3, which means preparing "for an active circulation of the virus throughout the territory"…

Qatar GP - MotoGP promoter coughs but resists cancellation epidemic! -

Good news, however: the number of infections is starting to decline in China, the country of origin of Covid-19. But bad news: the foci of contamination are increasing everywhere else, probably before starting the same ebb. In the meantime, very smart who can predict whether or not an event will continue…

"Contractually with the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), there must be 13 races. But our goal is to do the 19 remaining races if we can", continues the promoter of the Grands Prix who casually leaves the door open to the possible cancellation of seven Grand Prix out of the 20 originally planned !

"It won’t be a normal championship"

“But in the worst case, even with even more cancellations, we have plenty of time. Maybe we will run in countries where it is warm at Christmas, but we will do everything in our power. role is to organize races and we will do races ", he says.

"Our objective with the FIM and the IRTA (association of Grand Prix teams, Editor’s note) is to continue working together – as we always have done – to ensure that as many races as possible are held in the best possible conditions ".

"Of course, it won’t be a normal championship. But we are ready to face it. Final message to the MotoGP community: please don’t be fooled by the rumors!" Concludes Carmelo Ezpeleta.

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