2021 WorldSBK Calendar Update - Assen Round Postponed To July, Season Starts In Estoril

Submitted by David Emmett on Tue, 2021-02-16 11:29

The start of the 2021 WorldSBK season will have to wait for another two weeks. The Dutch round of WorldSBK, scheduled to take place at the TT Circuit Assen from 23-25th April, has been pushed back to 23-25th of July due to Covid-19 restrictions. The season will now start at Estoril, on the weekend of May 9th.

The postponement of the WorldSBK race to the end of July is a result of local restrictions put in place by the mayors of the largest municipalities in the Dutch province of Drenthe, where the TT Circuit Assen is located. The mayors have agreed to ban large-scale events until June 1st 2021, which rules out holding World Superbikes on the originally scheduled weekend.

The June 1st date is crucial in Drenthe, as several major events are due to take place in the province from June onward. Including the Dutch TT MotoGP round at Assen, still scheduled for June 27th. That race, like all major events at the moment, are subject to further changes to Covid-19 restrictions being relaxed or extended, a situation which is likely to extend until enough people have been vaccinated for the coronavirus to be limited to an inconvenience rather than a threat.

It is also worth noting that the restrictions in Drenthe forcing the postponement of the Dutch WorldSBK round are locally imposed. Although a national ban on events is still in place in the Netherlands, that ban has only been extended until June 1st in the province of Drenthe. Whether other events can go ahead, such as the MXGP round in Oss in May, is still undecided, subject to national restrictions.

The press release from the FIM with the new provisional calendar appears below:

2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship
provisional calendar update
The 2021 Dutch Round will be rescheduled for the end of July

Following the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting regulations, the FIM, Government Officials, the TT Circuit Assen and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO) informs of the postponement of the Dutch Round to the 23rd to the 25th of July.

As local authorities have determined that no major events may be held in Drenthe until the 1st of June 2021, the Dutch Round, initially scheduled from the 23rd to the 25th of April, will now take place at the end of July.

FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization are constantly working with Government Officials and Circuits in order to continue putting the safety of everyone first. Any further updates to the 2021 WorldSBK calendar will be communicated accordingly.

DATE	COUNTRY	CIRCUIT	WorldSBK	WorldSSP	WorldSSP300
7 – 9 May	Portugal	Circuito Estoril**	X	X	X
21 - 23 May	Spain	MotorLand Aragón	X	X	X
11 - 13 June	Italy	Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”	X	X	X
2 - 4 July	United Kingdom	Donington Park	X
23 - 25 July	The Netherlands	TT Circuit Assen	X	X	X
3 - 5 September	France	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours	X	X	X
17 - 19 September	Spain	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya	X	X	X
24 - 26 September	Spain	Circuito de Jerez - Ángel Nieto	X	X	X
1 - 3 October	Portugal	Autódromo Internacional do Algarve	X	X	X
15 – 17 October	Argentina	Circuito San Juan Villicum	X	X
12 – 14 November	Indonesia	Mandalika International Street Circuit***	X	X
STC	Australia	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit**	X	X
TBA	TBA	TBA****	X	X

*All dates, events and the attendance of spectators are subject to the evolution of the global pandemic and the approval of the corresponding governments and authorities.

** (STC) Subject to contract / *** (STH) Subject to homologation /**** (TBA) Venue/event/date to be announced

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