MotoGP's pair of sea▨son-openers🍎 at Jerez on July 19 and 26 will be true 'closed-door' events, with no fans in attendance.
But , on August 7-9, with the Czech venue among&nbs🐻p;a number of circuits that have not yet given up hope of welcoming at least some spectators ꦑthis season.
After Brno will be the Red Bull Ring in Austria (August 16 and 23), which has 'temporarily suspended' ticket sales while awaiting a gover🦋nment ruling on the presence of🐟 fans:
'The Motorcycle World Championship 2020 cannot take place in front of an audience at the Red Bull Ring as planned. Whether and how many spectators will be present at Spielberg depends on the official regulations which are valid at the time of the two race weeken♊ds in August.'
Misano, now confirmed as hosting two back-to-back MotoGPs in September, is keeping its fingers crossed that further easing of coronavirus restrictions will allow som🧜e fa🍷ns at the track.
'The two Grand Prix will take plac♚e in compliance with all safety regulations, and therefore - at the moment - without a live aud🧸ience,' read an update from the Misano Circuit, 'but with the hope that the conditions can be created for the stands of the Misano World Circuit to welcome at least some spectators'.
Dorna CEO Carmel𒀰o Ezpeleta acknowledged that, "Even if for the moment the [Misano] races are scheduled without spectators, they will be in September and we will see what will happen between now꧂ and then."
But the following round in Barcelona seems to have ruled out such a possibility: 'The Catalan racetrack will be th🌞e venue of the eighth round of the MotoGP season, and there will be no spectator attendance.
'This dꦡecision follows the prevention measures established by the authorities for the containment of COVID-19 and thus guarantee the safety and health of everyone during t🍌he event.
'Spectators already holding a ticket... have different options available, including to keep their tickets to enjoy the Grand Prix in 2021 or t🍬he refund of the ticket price'.
The championship then moves on to Le Mans in France, which is also hopin🍨g for a change in government restrictio🐲ns.
'To date, the government rules in place do not allow us to envisage a friendly, festive event, with many events and free movement of the public within the precincts of the circuit. But let's not exclude the hypothesis of considering the presence of the publ﷽ic... by the month ꦿof October.'
The penultimate circuit on the new schedule is ꦚAragon, where tickets are listed as 'coming soon'. The European season is then due to conclude with a double-header at Valencia on November 8 and 15:
'Depending on the evolution of the pandemic and always taking into account the decision of the health authorities in this regard, both the Grand Prix of Europe and the Grand Prix of the Valencian Community could beಌ held with the public in the stands,' declared the Ricardo Tormo circuit.
A decision on adding any flyaway rounds will be made by the end of July and, due to the added costs, will depend on spectators being allowed at the track by late Novembe🉐r/early December.
Revised 2020 MotoGP Calendar | |||
Round | Date | Race | Circuit |
1 | 19 July | Spain | Jerez |
2 | 26 July | Andalusia | Jerez |
3 | 9 August | Czech Republic | Brno |
4 | 16 August | Austria | Red Bull Ring |
5 | 23 August | Styria | Red Bull Ring |
6 | 13 September | San Marino | Misano |
7 | 20 September | Emilia Romagna | Misano |
8 | 27 September | Catalunya | Barcelona |
9 | 11 October | France | Le Mans |
10 | 18 October | Aragon | Aragon |
11 | 25 October | Teruel | Aragon |
12 | 8 November | Europe | Ricardo Tormo |
13 | 15 November | Valencia | Ricardo Tormo |
| TBC | Thailand | Buriram |
| TBC | Malaysia | Sepang |
| TBC | Americas | COTA |
| TBC | Argentina | Termas de Rio Hondo |
Peter has been in the paddock for 20ℱ years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.