OPINION: The addition to the MotoGP calendar of a second round at Misano, replacing the Kazakhstan Grand Prix, highlights the need for a change in how a championship focused on expansion manages its selection of new destinations
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| Kazakhstan track for 2023 MotoGP season Photo by: MotoGP |
MotoGP's planned debut at the Sokol International Circuit has become something of a soap opera. At this point, it is quite understandable that most of the paddock's members doubt that the Kazakhstan race will ever take place.
The 'show' has offered several chapters. Dorna, the rights holder for the event, first introduced Kazakhstan on the 2023 calendar. Under the slogan "New circuit, new challenge", the Spanish company published a video as a hook, informing fans about its impending premiere.
It's unlikely that any of the executives who made the decision to embark on this exotic adventure could have foreseen the true extent of this "challenge", which will remain pending until at least 2025. The cancellation of the first edition was reported in April last year, once it became clear that the track's delayed homologation would not be possible in the two months remaining before the scheduled race. This was then postponed for 2024, specifically for the month of July.
When the season started in March, rumours hinting that work on the facility and the services that any event must guarantee - stewards, doctors and so on - had some shortcomings were already starting to spread. At the beginning of May, Dorna reported another postponement of the race to a later weekend, but without a specific date.
At the time, the reason for the temporary suspension was given as "unprecedented" flooding in the Central Asian region, which forced the Kazakh authorities to declare a state of emergency and evacuate a large part of the population. Therefore, "it would not be responsible for MotoGP to add any additional burden to the authorities or services as they work to help the tens of thousands of people affected across the country," stressed the statement, which gave no further details about the new schedule.
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| Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta. Motorsport Images |
The explanation offered at the time was perfectly understandable; the one given for cancelling the Indian Grand Prix was not. If the first edition of the event at the Buddh circuit was already a considerable effort for many of those who were there, there are reasonable doubts as to whether there will be a second.
As Motorsport.com reported at the time, local promoter Fairstreet Sports failed to honour its financial commitment to Dorna for the 2023 grand prix, and there was no indication that it would be able to catch up for 2024, as the September date for the event drew nearer.
In a statement that created more doubts than it cleared up, the FIM, IRTA and Dorna again cited meteorological reasons for cancelling the 2024 race. It read: "On the advice of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, racing will return to the Buddh International Circuit in March 2025, when weather conditions are expected to be optimal for both spectators and riders."
"Now that the times of the pandemic are long gone, it is very difficult to justify holding two races on the same track only two weeks apart"
At the time, someone thought it would be a good idea to use the weekend that was free for the visit to Sokol, probably thinking that by the end of September, all the remaining operational aspects could have been resolved. Razlan Razali was asked for help to try to speed it up and, after leaving the management of the RNF team to one side, he took charge of the rescue operation in Kazakhstan.
If we take as a reference the definitive cancellation of the race, announced on Monday, and its replacement by a second race in Misano, we can conclude that the Malaysian businessman was as successful in the latter as he was in the former.
Most players involved in the championship agree that the current situation deserves some reflection, to avoid embarrassing situations such as those that have been occurring. Obviously, an itinerant series which travels across five continents can be affected by unexpected events such as, for example, the change of government which forced the suspension of the Argentinean Grand Prix.
However, a championship that is working on its expansion cannot afford spectacles such as those in India and Kazakhstan. Not to mention the confusion created for most of the teams, whose logistics departments are overwhelmed, trying to fit in a season that fluctuates more than prices.
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| Motorsport Images |
It remains to be seen how the crates with all the equipment and the bikes will arrive in Indonesia, with the narrow window between the chequered flag at the Marco Simoncelli circuit and the Lombok circuit, where the race takes place the week after.
If it is already striking that Dorna chooses which remote areas to host grands prix, episodes such as India and Kazakhstan are two shots in the foot. It is a disservice to designate the new Balaton track in Hungary as a reserve option, and for it not to come into play when, for one reason or another, there are several gaps that end up being filled in a bad way.
Now that, fortunately, the times of the pandemic are long gone, it is very difficult to justify holding two races on the same track only two weeks apart. As much as the contracts signed with the various television operators must be honoured, a more original solution should be sought to a problem that has been generated at home.
None of this is good if we take into account the current context, in which the heads of Liberty Media, who in a few months should materialise the purchase of Dorna, will be supervising the whole operation. They, who in April 2024 already announced the 2025 Formula 1 calendar, must be amazed that the MotoGP world championship has not yet finalised this year's calendar, which will end in four months' time.
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