MotoGP #78 De tweede seizoenshelft is begonnen

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As predicted earlier this month, the MotoGP calendar is to expand even further for 2023. Next year, there are to be 21 races in total, with two new circuits being added to the calendar.

The news that Sokol in Kazakhstan is being added had been expected, given the announcement on Tuesday. The surprise is that India is to have a MotoGP round next year, with the expectation in the paddock that it would not happen until 2024. But MotoGP is to race at the Buddh International circuit at the end of September in 2023. There had been concerns over customs and tax issues importing equipment and bikes into India, but paddock sources indicate these issues have been settled.

To make room for India, the Aragon round of MotoGP has been dropped. The Barcelona race has already been moved to a September slot, to avoid being close to the F1 race there earlier in the year. That means there will only be three races in Spain this year, as a first step on the way to a future rotation, where there will be three races on the Iberian peninsula, alternating between the five circuits on the 2022 calendar: Portimão, Jerez, Barcelona, Aragon, and Valencia.

The expanded 2023 calendar has some curious gaps and compressions. The series kicks off on March 26th in Portimão, before heading straight off to Argentina. The US round follows in Austin, before MotoGP returns to Europe for Jerez, and then Le Mans. There is a three-week break after Le Mans before the first of three triple headers in June, where MotoGP will go from Mugello to the Sachsenring to Assen. After a week off, MotoGP then heads to Kazakhstan in July, for the inaugural race at Sokol, just outside Almaty.

After another three-week break, MotoGP returns to Europe for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. They then go to Austria, Barcelona, and Misano, before flying off to India and the Buddh International Circuit outside New Delhi. Motegi follows a week later.

The season then enters a grueling finale, with six races in seven weeks. The first triple header kicks off in Indonesia on October 15th, followed by Phillip Island and then Thailand. After a week off, MotoGP heads to Sepang, then a refurbished and revamped Qatar, before ending the season at Valencia on November 26th.

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The reason for going to Kazakhstan is simple: it opens up a new market for MotoGP in Central Asia, and the fact that the country is an autocracy(link is external) based on oil wealth means that unlike, say, Finland, the money to complete a circuit and pay the fee demanded by Dorna is not an issue.

Last week, Dorna also announced that work was underway to bring a race to India. Although Indian sources reported that a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the promoter, Fairstreet Sports, the Dorna press release is careful not to make any mention of agreements or contracts signed. Dorna has also previously signed Memoranda of Understanding with circuits in Hungary, Saudi Arabia, and the Circuit of Wales.

India is a territory Dorna is very keen to conquer, however. A massive market, both in terms of viewership and motorcycle sales, having a race in the country would be a huge boost for the series. The race is currently scheduled to be held at the Buddh International Circuit, not far from New Delhi, if it happens.

Previously, problems with customs and local taxation have made it difficult to organize a race in India. When F1 raced in India, local authorities classified the event as entertainment rather than sport, incurring huge import tax liabilities. That also caused the cancellation of WorldSBK's proposed round there. MotoGP will only be able to race in India if those issues have been resolved. Paddock sources indicated to me that there were a lot of other issues to overcome as well.

Although Indian media suggested that a race could be held as early as 2023, that will not happen. The earliest India could join MotoGP would be 2024, when a major shakeup of the calendar is expected, including a cut to the number of races held on the Iberian peninsula. Italy could also lose a race, if attendance figures continue to be as dramatic in 2023 as they were in 2022. Saudi Arabia is currently set to join the calendar from 2024 as well, with other countries also interested in hosting races. On the face of it, MotoGP is set to make a shift eastwards, out of Europe and into the Middle East and Asia.

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Op vrijdag 30 september 2022 17:19 schreef heywoodu het volgende:

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India, hoera! Dat zullen de nul aanstormende talenten uit India geweldig nieuws vinden

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Op vrijdag 30 september 2022 12:51 schreef Wouter2006 het volgende:
[ link | afbeelding ]

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10 races in 13 weeks to finish the 2023 season. And of course, that's actually 10 full-length races plus 10 sprint races.

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Op vrijdag 30 september 2022 21:12 schreef heywoodu het volgende:

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Gelukkig hebben we sprintraces, dus als je onderuit gaat maakt dat weinig uit, want geen enkele individuele race is nog echt belangrijk

Lang leve minder spanning

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Op vrijdag 30 september 2022 17:20 schreef heywoodu het volgende:
Dat het ten koste van Aragon gaat had ik even gemist

Op zich niet zo erg, drie races in Spanje is écht wel ruimschoots meer dan genoeg voor een WK natuurlijk.

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Op vrijdag 30 september 2022 21:11 schreef heywoodu het volgende:

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Gelukkig is het zo te lezen van Booth-Amos in 2019, toen hij voor CIP in de Moto3 reed, en dus is dit het goede topic

Wel een teringlijer van een monteur.

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The arrival of Sokol and Buddh means that Aragon had to make way. Not permanently, but as the start of the rotation which the Spanish circuits and Portimão are planned to make. From 2024, we should see three of the five circuits feature every year, the tracks taking it in turn to host a race.