2017 Provisional MotoGP Calendar - Sachsenring Now On 2nd July

The FIM today issued a revised and updated version of the provisional 2017 MotoGP calendar. The calendar features just a single change: the date of the German round of MotoGP at the Sachsenring has been moved forward two weeks, and will now take place on 2nd July.

The change has both benefits and disadvantages. On the plus side, moving the date of the Sachsenring race means that the riders now have a proper summer break again, with a month off to recover between the Sachsenring and the following race at Brno. Under the previous calendar, they had only three weeks between the German and Czech Grand Prix.

The downside is that the series now has another back-to-back race to contend with. Outside of the Pacific flyaway races (which are usually held on three consecutive weekends for reasons of cost and logistics), Dorna tries to avoid back-to-back races where possible. There are now three pairs of European races on consecutive weekends: Mugello on 4th June and Barcelona on 11th June; Assen on 25th June and Sachsenring on 2nd July; and Brno on 6th August and Austria on 13th of August. Notably, these pairings are all sequential, meaning the MotoGP grid will face three lots of back-to-back weekends in a row.

The 2017 MotoGP calendar is still provisional, though it is unlikely to change much further. The reason for the calendar not being made official is because contracts for the British Grand Prix and for Sepang still have to be formalized. Sepang has made their intention clear, as the MotoGP race at the Malaysian circuit is its most popular event. As for the British Grand Prix, the Circuit of Wales still holds the contracts, and has to finalize details of a deal with Silverstone to run the race there.

The updated provisional calendar is as follows:

* Night race
** Subject to contract