MotoGP aiming for late July start to 2020 season

A late July start and only behind-closed doors races at European venues is MotoGP’s chance to salvage the 2020 championship, which will still run until November.

The global coronavirus pandemic brought the MotoGP season as well as the rest of the season to a halt when cases became more frequent throughout the world in March.

Due to start in Qatar in March, the MotoGP season has so far only consisted of one Moto2 and Moto3 round at the Losail International Circuit. The crews had reached there before travel restrictions were placed and the MotoGP squads were unable to reach.

Dorna, the commercial rights holder and promoter of the FIM MotoGP Championship, are open to going to non-European venues based on the original calendar dates.

Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna boss, told BT Sport, yesterday, that due to the accessibility of European venues by road, keeping the championship based there was the primary option.

Going to countries outside of Europe depends on whether those nations declare themselves open to foreign travel or if a vaccine can be developed in time.

Human trials for a coronavirus vaccine are already underway in China and the United States and other countries are set to follow suit as those who have recovered from COVID-19 donate their plasma to aid in the development of a vaccine.

Dorna has also seriously looked at the logistics involved in holding behind closed doors events and only essential personnel will be allowed at a particular venue.

Like its four-wheel counterpart, F1, consecutive race weekends at the same venue before moving on to another is a very real possibility.