The Qatar Grand Prix MotoGP race will not take place this Sunday due to the coronavirus outbreak and restrictive measures in place. But Losail circuit officials will work with the Dorna to organise it later on this year.
Losail circuit manager Juan Baquero said that they are trying to recover the MotoGP Grand Prix this season and confirmed the riders, and other nationalities who are currently in Qatar for Moto2 and Moto3 can leave the country without problems.
“It is difficult because there are few dates, and in addition we are going to perform a large resurfacing that we had to do for a long time. But we are going to do our best and our best with the Dorna to try to recover the MotoGP race this year.” Baquero said.
“They are making a completely normal life. In Qatar there are only six cases of coronavirus declared and they are all isolated, but it has been enough to harden the traffic and not be able to dispute MotoGP.
“In any case, all of them can leave the country without problems. It’s a shame, a stick what has happened, but everything has changed day by day.” Baquero added.
There are two elements are therefore mainly to be taken into account in 2020 MotoGP:
The Situation of the Coronavirus
Qatar Grand Prix will depend on the evolution of the disease, and the restrictive measures put in place by the country on this subject. At the moment, a quarantine of at least 14 days is imposed on people coming from Italy, or having stayed there during the last two weeks.
The Organisation of the Calendar
Once the resurfacing is done and approved, an acceptable date will have to be found. However, the Dorna must already settle the file of the Thailand Grand Prix, to be squeezed between the Aragon and Japan. The weather can also be a significant factor, as there are several months of the year when the average temperature in Qatar does not drop far from 40° C.