MotoGP says it’s finally got the season schedule figured out, with a closing date at Portimao.
Ever since the coronavirus pandemic took off in Europe, racing schedules have been a mess. MotoGP had to cancel months of action; so did World Superbike. The continental national superbike series were all thrown into disarray, as well as the FIM’s endurance series. Even rally raid racing, the most socially distanced of all motorsports, was cancelled, as Euro teams couldn’t get to the desert.
MotoGP’s international schedule means it was hit particularly hard, with all overseas events thrown into doubt after the premiere class was unable to race at Qatar. The series got back underway in July, with a series of races scheduled for the European continent, and some tentative overseas dates.
Now, all the overseas races have been cancelled, and MotoGP says the season schedule is finally confirmed, including a closing weekend at Portimao.
As it stands now, MotoGP’s at Austria’s Red Bull Ring this weekend, and again on the August 23 weekend. The racers head to Italy to race Misano on September 13, with a second race there on September 20. On September 27, they’re off to Spain to race Catalunya; on October 11, MotoGP races LeMans, in France, and they return to Spain for an October 18 race at Aragon.
There’s a race at Valencia on November 8, and then a second run there on November 15. The season will close with a visit to Portugal, to race Portimao on November 22.
World Superbike has been running at Portimao regularly for the past few years, and it’s been MotoGP’s reserve track since 2017. Dorna, the sports promoters who manage MotoGP, say they’re hoping to have fans at the November race, although pandemic containment measures may interfere with that plan.
