Motorsport Magazine has an extensive interview with Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta concerning efforts to begin MotoGP racing this year.
Ezpeleta would like to begin with several races in Spain, including back-to-back races at Jerez. The races would be closed to fan attendance – TV broadcast only.
The current goal is to have the first race at Jerez near the end of July, with several races within the confines of Europe in order to limit traveling during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ezpeleta had this to say:
“In principal the first scenario is to start at the end of July and concentrate on making races in Europe, moving around a maximum of five countries, with 10 to 11 races. At some circuits we will have two races on consecutive weekends. Then we will stop for one week and then change circuits.”
More problematic, according to Ezpeleta, is the scheduling of races outside of Europe … with greater travel distances, greater costs, and more difficulty avoiding quarantine requirements upon arrival. We expect Dorna to make a formal announce regarding their MotoGP scheduling plans in roughly two weeks.
I kind of hoped that this time would encourage people to to get their own kicks. But I see very little traffic other mountain bike trails. A little less than usual actually.
What I find kind of humorous if that the propaganda addicts no longer fear the boogie Muslim as much as they seem to fear some unknown boogie cabal of invisible men, or worse yet women, with an ever changing adgenda. Those guys really need to get out more. Belief in a flat earth is skyrocketing.
Mick, you nailed it out of the park. Most of those outfielders will have it sail right over their head, not knowing what you said. I wonder what it’s like to have Boogie men chasing me all of the time? Social media has created a outlet that allows the dark recesses to abound. FDR said it long ago, “You have nothing to fear but fear itself”. How true.
On the other hand, I dug my bicycle out of my garage for the first time in 20 years and took it for a spin. The damned thing tried to kill me but it was fun. In the time that it hung from the rafters, I’ve owned 6 motorcycles. I may have looked like the witch from the Wizard of Oz but I know no Boggie man can catch me if I petal really hard.
You know the term, it’s what they say when you have hit the nail on the head—— “conspiracy theory”.
I look forward to some live racing as soon as possible. I cannot tell you how many of the old races I have watched over the last month or so. Live racing is what we all look forward to seeing. Having things the way they were would be best of course. I have been to two races in the US over the last couple of years. The experience is like no other. However, if you really want to get into the finer points of the races there is nothing better than LIVE TV. Bring it on!
As Mickey says, “virtual racing ain’t getting it.” Why would anyone want to watch someone play a video game//???
Would be great to see the racing again. Even if all the races are in Europe without fans, at least we will be able to watch our favourite sport again.
This whole situation is beyond absurd and no way accidental. The world is turned upside down for a virus that has turned out to be barely worse than the flu. The human race has dealt with such things for thousands of years without fundamentally changing how we socially interact/congregate etc. This is not about the virus.
Seems like you have a different take on history TimC. I think we have changed how we interact fundamentally each time the human race has faced a pandemic. Even when we had poor knowledge of biology. NPR did an excellent piece on the Spanish flu and compared two cities, one that quickly addressed the virus by locking down, and another that took some measures but less. The city that quickly reacted had less deaths and less financial impact. And your analogy to the flu is not logical as we don’t have a vaccine for Covid and can only estimate death rate at this time without more testing.
NPR?? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Have you looked into the facts I mentioned or just another eye poke? Of course I already know your answer. Try thinking for yourself.
Now go get the boogie man.
You are correct Tim. Fear, not science has ruled here. Let’s get back to life.
Wow.
TimC “no way accidental” and “This is not about the virus”. Would you care to elaborate more?
Why indulge him? Once you read “barely worse than the flu” the opinion ceases to have any merit.
Love that Dorna is making an effort here. This is hardly the forum for this discussion but since TimC has run into some pushback with his comment above, I want to offer my support and express my amazement in those who haven’t run into the considerable, and credible ‘global agenda’ info being aggressively suppressed on mainstream and social media now. I have found it is nearly impossible to change someone’s mind about the reality we’re in. However, I encourage you all to be open to media experiences outside of mainstream media to discover the fascist motives underlying this unprecedented event. A nightmarish extension of this agenda could eventually remove our rights to ride when and where we please. Eyes open everyone… please.
Can you say conspiracy theory?
Yeah. Incompetence, panic, fear mongering,short-sightedness etc. don’t equal some great conspiracy. They can however lead to bad political consequences.
How long did it take you to come up with that one Nick? I’ve spent at least a couple hundred hours investigating this rabbit hole. Red pill moment… If anyone is actually curious enough to shut off Netflix for a few hours and check it out, one of the best sources of info IMO is ‘The Truth About Vaccines 2020’. (Apologies Dirck… won’t engage further on this.)
Just know that it’s only you paranoid Americans who believe the whole thing is a set-up. Not surprising considering your front man.
It’s not “theory.” Apexologist is absolutely correct. I, too, have been researching this extensively.
You’ve never had the right to ride when and where you please. That was gone before the invention of motorized transport. Anyone who’s owned a dirt bike knows this well.
As for your “conspiracy theory” (never seen one that actually meets the criteria to be a “theory”), your tin-foil hat is on too tight. You think a country could plan this, let alone a hundred of them in concert? We can’t even forecast toilet paper properly.
Tim, you would think motorcyclists would be more understanding of risk, but it doesn’t appear to be the case. The Chicken Little’s with their wrong models and fear-mongering have managed to convince quite a few people that they need to cower in fear over a minuscule risk.
Next they will be calling for a ban on motorcycle riding, and a national 5mph speed limit.
Exactly – I’ve been having the same discussions with climbers, another group that risks their lives for fun. They don’t get that as soon as we have state control/medicine, risky activities will be banned (of course, being fat on the couch is not risky, no sir).
Very selfish and narrow view. I’m a risk taker but I put on a mask when I go to the store to protect other people. Stopped riding fast on the street and started doing track days 30 years ago for the same reason.
Just finished watching the 2016 season. I really like having access to all the old races but can’t wait for some new
man I certainly hope the situation with Covid is good enough to allow this to happen because watching “virtual races” ain’t getting it!
I used to race GP cars online (Grand Prix Legends), and online racing can be quite exciting. I understand the appeal as a participant, but it doesn’t do much, if anything, for me as a spectator.
Man, no kidding. I haven’t watched any of the virtual racing. That’s just too sad and pathetic. I have been entertaining myself watching old races, but I am really ready to see a new season get underway.
I watched the first two virtual races and thought Man, this is really silly, so I didn’t watch any more. I have watched a couple of my favorite past races..Watched Jerez 2013 the other day where Dani beat Marquez and Lorenzo. I miss Dani.