Silverstone, Great Britain

MotoGP 2021 Calendar: Austin And Argentina Dropped, Portimao And Qatar Double Header Inserted

Submitted by David Emmett on

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the MotoGP calendar. The second and third rounds of MotoGP, at Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina on April 11th and at the Circuit Of The Americas on April 18th have been officially postponed. In their place, Qatar will host back-to-back races at the Losail International Circuit on March 28th and April 4th, and reserve circuit Autódromo do Algarve at Portimao will host a race on April 18th.

Though officially only postoponed, the Argentina and Austin rounds are almost certain to be canceled, a move which had long been expected. The logistical and cost challenges of organizing races in the Americas, added to the spread of Covid-19, especially in the Austin area, were always going to pose problems for the two races, and it had long been rumored they would be replaced.

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Provisional 2021 MotoGP Calendar Announced - 20 Races, Normal Schedule, 3 Reserve Circuits

Submitted by David Emmett on

MotoGP will continue into 2021, and scheduling difficulties continue to accompany it. Unlike 2020, however, Dorna and the FIM are prepared for it, however, and so today, we saw a provisional 2021 MotoGP calendar announced. It is a very conventional-looking schedule, with a giant caveat attached underneath: "All dates, events and the attendance of spectators are subject to the evolution of the pandemic and the approval of the corresponding Governments and authorities."

After two tests, at Sepang in mid February and Qatar in mid March, the 2021 season is scheduled to kick off at Qatar on March 28th. After Qatar, the series heads to the Americas, where MotoGP races in Argentina at Termas de Rio Hondo and at Austin. They then head back to Europe, for the usual round of spring races: Jerez, Le Mans, Mugello, Barcelona, Sachsenring, and Assen. They round it off with a trip to Finland, subject to the Kymiring being homologated on time.

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Guest Blog: Mat Oxley - How come Silverstone can’t host a MotoGP round but is hosting two F1 rounds?

Submitted by Mat Oxley on

Silverstone managing director explains why F1 but no MotoGP. Also, how Britain’s biggest racetrack is surviving Covid-19 and the latest plans for MotoGP 2020

This summer, for the first time since the birth of motorcycling’s world championships in 1949, the United Kingdom will not welcome the world’s greatest riders and motorcycles to its shores.

The not-unexpected cancellation of this year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone was announced last Friday morning, when Moto3 bikes should’ve been riding out of Mugello pit lane to start first practice for the 2020 Italian GP.

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Silverstone And Phillip Island MotoGP Rounds Canceled, The Outlines Of a New 2020 Calendar Emerge

Submitted by David Emmett on

The outlines of a 2020 MotoGP calendar are starting to take shape. Today, Dorna announced that the races at Phillip Island and Silverstone have been canceled. MotoGP will not visit either the UK or Australia in 2020.

The news does not come as a surprise. The strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic chosen by the Australian government foresees opening the country to international travel only in December of 2020, making planning a race there almost impossible. Australia, thanks in part to its remote location, has been extremely successful in containing the pandemic, with only 103 recorded deaths. The fact that a member of the McLaren team tested positive for the coronavirus during the Australian F1 Grand Prix in March made it less likely for restrictions to be eased for international sport.

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2020 MotoGP Calendar Updated Again - Austin Postponed To November, Valencia Moved A Week

Submitted by David Emmett on

The ongoing outbreak of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has forced yet another change to the MotoGP calendar for 2020. Due to the restrictions on movement imposed in Italy, in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, the US round of MotoGP at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, has been postponed until November.

The MotoGP paddock will gather in Austin on November 15th, instead of April 5th. November 15th was originally the date planned for the final round of MotoGP in Valencia, but to make way for Austin, Valencia has been pushed back a week, and will now be held on the weekend of November 22nd.

That means that as of today, March 10th, the MotoGP class will kick off their season at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in Argentina on April 19th, with the paddock returning to Europe two weeks later for Jerez.

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Video: MotoE From An Outsider's Perspective - Cosmic Shambles Investigates Electric Motorcycle Racing

Submitted by David Emmett on

How has the MotoE series been received in the MotoGP paddock? And how is it viewed by outsiders? At Silverstone, the Cosmic Shambles network - a network of podcasts and events for the intellectually curious - paid a visit to the Silverstone MotoGP round, to talk to paddock insiders and the people behind the MotoE series.

Dr Helen Czerski, a scientist and, among many other things, presenter of the Fully Charged Show on Youtube, a channel about electric vehicles, talked to MotoE series Nicolas Goubert, Tech3 boss Hervé Poncharal, MotoGP presenter and pitlane reporter Amy Dargan, MotoGP pitlane reporter and former GP winner Simon Crafar, Grand Prix veteran journalist Mat Oxley, Two Wheels For Life's Andrea Coleman, and myself, David Emmett, about the purpose of the MotoE series, the future, and how MotoGP's electric motorcycle racing series fits in with the future of racing, and electric motorcycles in general.

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2020 Provisional Calendar - 20 Races, Finland Added, More Back To Back Races

Submitted by David Emmett on

The FIM have issued a provisional calendar for the 2020 MotoGP season, which sees the series expand to 20 races, and lays the basis for expansion to 22 races. The biggest changes are the addition of the Kymiring in Finland in July, and the moving of the Thailand round of MotoGP in Buriram from October to 22nd March.

The racing season kicks off as ever in Qatar, the MotoGP race being moved to the first week of March. From Qatar, the series heads east to Thailand, the MotoGP race taking the slot of the WorldSBK race at Buriram. Attendance for the WorldSBK round had fallen since MotoGP went to Thailand, and so the WorldSBK round is being dropped, with another overseas round to be held in its place.

From Thailand, the paddock heads east once again to cross the International Date Line and head to Austin, the US round moving up to become the third race of the year, ahead of Argentina. The Argentina Grand Prix takes place two weeks after Austin. 

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Cormac Shoots Silverstone: Highs And Lows At A Sweeping Circuit

Submitted by David Emmett on


Jack Miller keeps it low at Silverstone. He had a good weekend, though a loss of grip hampered him at the end


Compare and contrast Andrea Iannone's body position on the Aprilia with Miller on the Ducati. Not the same corner, but Iannone is obviously uncomfortable

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Silverstone Subscriber Notes, Part 1: On Marquez' Bad Days, Rins' Potential, And Whether GB Loves MotoGP

Submitted by David Emmett on

Silverstone is a proper race track. It does everything a race track is supposed to do. It challenges the bikes, with high speeds, fast corners, and some hard braking. It challenges the riders, rewarding courage and skill, and allowing riders to make up for any shortcomings of their machines. The new surface at Silverstone has only magnified this: the pole record tumbled by 1.7 seconds, the race record fell by 1.5 seconds, entering sub-two-minute territory for the first time, and the race was 33 seconds faster than the fastest previous edition of the race on this circuit layout. And to top it off, we had glorious weather at a glorious race track.

We had glorious racing to go with weather. The winning margin of all three races combined was 0.799 seconds, the races in all three classes keeping the fans on the edge of their seats. If you needed to persuade someone of what makes motorcycle racing so great, just point them to the Silverstone weekend. It was worth it.

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