KymiRing, Finland

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. 

After the overseas rounds, the MotoGP circus heads to Europe, for the traditional start of the season in Jerez, followed by Le Mans and Mugello. The first seven races of the year are all nicely spaced two weeks apart, but after Mugello, a series of back-to-back races ensue.

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MotoGP Kymiring Test Finishes - Good Weather But Riders Critical Of The Track

Submitted by David Emmett on

The first official test at the Kymiring has wrapped up, the second day of testing taking place under much better conditions than the first day on Monday. The day started dry, though action didn't start until 11am, the riders losing an hour of time as the test was cut short by the weather.

On a dry track, times were considerably quicker than on Monday, when the track was both wet and dirty. Where riders were circulating in the 2'10s on Monday, Bradley Smith managed to get down to 1:47.540 on the Aprilia. 

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MotoGP Testing At Kymiring In Finland Gets Underway

Submitted by David Emmett on

Testing has come to an end after the first ever day of MotoGP action at the Kymring in Finland, six of the test riders for the six official MotoGP manufacturers turning some laps at the newly built circuit. Present were Stefan Bradl for Honda, Jonas Folger for Yamaha, Sylvain Guintoli for Suzuki, Mika Kallio for KTM, Michele Pirro for Ducati and Bradley Smith for Aprilia. Kallio was chosen over KTM's other test rider, Dani Pedrosa, to give the Finnish rider a chance to ride on his home track.

The test was convened mainly to give Michelin a chance to understand the stress the track will put on the tires. Although they have software which can simulate tire loads and wear based on the layout of the track and the abrasiveness of the surface, measured using special molds, that is always an approximation. Only actually riding on the track gives a complete picture of how much stress is placed on the tires, riders sometimes finding ways to go faster than models predict.

Conditions were far from ideal for tire testing, however. The day started with rain, and though skies cleared occasionally, the track never really dried out. Wets were used all day, and the rain and fresh construction meant the track was also quite dirty. 

Stefan Bradl crashed halfway through the day, falling at Turn 17, the last corner but one. Bradl was unhurt, but the crash briefly brought out a red flag. 

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2019 And 2020 Test Dates Announced

Submitted by David Emmett on

With the announcement of a test at the Kymiring in Finland, the test schedule for 2019 and off-season tests for 2020 has been finalized.

In addition to the three official post-race tests, held as always after the Jerez, Barcelona, and Brno MotoGP rounds, there will be a two-day private test open to all MotoGP teams to be held at Misano. That test will be held after the British round of MotoGP at Silverstone.

At the end of the year, there will be the traditional two-day test after the Valencia race, before the final test of 2019 at Jerez, on 25th and 26th November. 

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Finland MotoGP Race Draws Closer - Test Teams To Try Track In August

Submitted by David Emmett on

The chance of there being 20 races on the MotoGP calendar in 2020 drew closer today, with the announcement that the track will be ready to host a MotoGP test later this year. On the 19th and 20th August, the factory test teams will spend two days trying out the surface and facilities at the Kymiring in Finland. 

The circuit has let Dorna know that the track will be ready to host a test on those dates. There, the factory test teams will test the surface and gather data for Michelin, to allow them to select the appropriate tires for the race to be held there. 

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Finland MotoGP Round Confirmed For 2019 Onwards

Submitted by David Emmett on

Grand Prix racing is to return to Finland after an absence of 38 years. Today, Dorna announced that they have confirmed the five-year agreement signed with the KymiRing circuit. The Finnish circuit is to host a round of MotoGP from the 2019 season onwards.

A deal had been signed between Dorna and the KymiRing in 2016, which gave the circuit a five-year contract to host MotoGP. The original plan had been for the circuit to be completed in time to host a race in 2018, but time constraints have pushed that back a year. While progress is being made on the circuit, there is still much work to be done. Finnish Twitter user Jyrki Hämäläinen posted a picture of the work being carried out at the circuit taken on the last Sunday of July:

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