Though widely expected, it appears that the Brazil round of MotoGP is on the verge of being canceled. Reports in Italy, on both Motosprint and InfoMotoGP, suggest that the company granted the contract to organize the Brazilian GP has not been able to secure the funding to renovate the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet circuit in Brasilia, the Brazilian capital (not to be confused with the circuit of the same name in Jacarepagua, near Rio de Janeiro).
It was known when the contracts were signed that the circuit in Brasilia would need a lot of work done, both in terms of safety improvements and to bring the facilities up to Grand Prix level. According to the reports from Italy, no work has been done on the circuit, and the company involved is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Motosprint reports that there are proposals from Brazil to relocate the race to the Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna in Goiania, but those proposals face the same difficulties: not enough money to carry out the necessary updates.
The dropping of the Brazil round of MotoGP would come as no surprise. Speaking off the record, sources confirmed to us that none of the teams have yet made any plans to travel to Brazil for the race.
If Brazil is dropped, it will cause a minor reshuffle of the calendar. With Misano, Aragon and Brazil currently scheduled to run on consecutive weekends, the Aragon round looks likely to be postponed a week to the 28th September, the date currently penciled in for Brazil.
This would also mean that the Aragon MotoGP round would no longer clash with the 24 hours of Le Mans motorcycle race, probably the most important race on the World Endurance Championship calendar.
Photo: Motosprint & InfoMotoGP
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
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