The opening round at Qatar was cancelled, along with Round 2 in Thailand, and now Round 3 of the MotoGP series in Austin appears in doubt. Nevertheless, published statements by FIM president Jorge Viegas express “total confidence” that at least 13 MotoGP races will be held this year (perhaps spilling into January of next year).
The championship is looking at creative solutions, including the possibility of holding two races on a single weekend, using circuits not currently on the official calendar, such as Portimao and Estoril, in Portugal. Viegas stated that the MotoGP series was even considering races held “behind closed doors” — presumably without fans present. This would permit, of course, television coverage of the events.
if the italians (ducati/ferrari) don’t show up, it’s not a world championship…
That argument could be made regardless of their participation. The world is much, much larger than the countries and makers participating now.
Speaking of the loss of motorcycle news, did anybody notice that Motorcycle Consumer News magazine has folded? Sad to see it go.
http://www.mcnews.com/
Well, that’s a bummer. Explains why I haven’t seen my March issue.
As much as I enjoy watching MotoGP, I personally think the season has too many races now (pre-Coronavirus). While 30 years ago there were only 13 or 14 races per season, here’s the progression since:
1996 – 15 Races
1999 – 16 Races
2007 – 17 Races: Added Laguna Seca as Race #15
2010 – 18 Races
2018 – 19 Races: Added Thailand as Race #15 in early October
2020 – 20 Races: Thailand moved up to Race #2 in March; Added Finland as Race #11
I think 16 races per season was perfect. 20 is too many. For those of you who say the more the better, would you want to see 30 races per season ? 40 ? Just as 16 NFL Football games per season is perfect, yet they’re now talking about increasing the schedule to 18 games, sometimes enough is enough, and the motivation for more profit can ruin a good thing.
“For those of you who say the more the better, would you want to see 30 races per season ? 40 ?”
I feel like 52 would be about right. I personally don’t get tired of watching GP races, so I’m probably an outlier in that regard. Still, I suspect you are an even smaller minority thinking that the current season is too long.
+1
Austin is no longer in doubt. It’s November 15th.
Absolute craziness and chaos all over. Hopefully this will be over soon. Stay safe and we hope we can see some good racing this year. Cheers.
I know you can’t say, Dirck, and God love you, but I hope you hire some help soon.
Indeed, I very much miss my Motorcycle “Daily”. Hope all is well Dirck.
+1… getting concerned. Everything ok Dirck?