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Japanese GP at Motegi Canceled as MotoGP Plans to Stay in Europe until Mid-November

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After last week’s announcements that the Silverstone and Phillip Island MotoGP rounds were canceled, today, the Japanese round of MotoGP joined the list of cancellations.

The race at Motegi has been called off, and will not take place this year, despite the importance of the race to the Japanese manufacturers.

Today’s announcement was the last step in a general clearing out of the schedule to allow for a calendar of races that could feasibly be held for 2020.

The plan, as Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta pointed out in the press release, is to do as many races in Europe as possible, and only heading overseas after that, if international travel is still possible.

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Racing

This Year’s Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials Have Been Canceled

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Another victim from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials (BMST) have been canceled.

The news comes as a joint decision by the FIM, AMA, and local organizer Deliciate Promotions LTT, with the races intended to be held on the iconic salt flats on August 29th through September 3rd.

While no elaboration was given in the FIM’s terse communication on the event’s cancelation, one can only surmise that the logistics of the international event were impossible because of the global lockdown in place because of the coronavirus.

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MotoGP

COVID-19 & MotoGP, Where Are We Now? How Marshals May Be the Next Stumbling Block

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On the day that practice was supposed to get underway for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, we are still a very long way from any racing happening.

Instead of riders warming up for the fifth race of the season, they are preparing for the third eSports race of 2020, to be played on the brand new MotoGP 20 computer game. It is also the first Virtual Grand Prix, featuring riders from all three classes, instead of just MotoGP.

It’s something, for many fans, but it’s not the same. Seeing bikes battle it out for an hour so in a computer game, and enjoying the banter between the riders, is entertaining, but it misses the visceral pleasure of real racing. Three days of practice, the roar of engines, the squeal of rubber, the scraping of kneepads over asphalt, the smell of hot oil.

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MotoGP

There Will Be No MotoGP & WorldSBK Racing in June

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The 2020 world championship motorcycle racing calendars continue to slide due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday evening, it became apparent that there will be no racing in either MotoGP or WorldSBK before the end of June.

After last Wednesday’s announcement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that large-scale events would be banned in Germany through August 31st, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte extended the ban on large-scale events in The Netherlands to September 1st.

These two announcements have a direct bearing on the WorldSBK and MotoGP calendars.

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MotoGP

Could MotoGP Race Behind Closed Doors with a Minimal Crew?

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While the COVID-19 pandemic holds the world firmly in its grip, Dorna continues to examine options for returning to racing once that becomes possible.

Although any decision on when racing is possible is entirely out of Dorna’s hands, they are still drawing up plans for a range of options for when the current round of global lockdowns and travel restrictions end.

One option Dorna is considering is holding races behind closed doors, with an absolute minimum of staff present.

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Racing

The 5+ Scenarios on When We Will Race Motorcycles Again

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Humans have a deep-seated need for certainty. Though the human experience runs the full gamut from an excess of spontaneity to rigid and unbending routine, a need for some kind of certainty, some handholds to grasp on to as we make our way through the world. Motorcycle racing fans, as humans, are no different.

So it is unsurprising that people – fans, journalists, team managers, mechanics, etc – have responded to every piece of news about the COVID-19 outbreak by making more or less bold predictions about when racing might resume.

The latest news – that Germany has extended its ban on large-scale events until August 31st, meaning that the MotoGP round at the Sachsenring set for June 21st, and the WorldSBK round at Oschersleben, due to take place on the weekend of August 2nd will both have to be either rescheduled or canceled – has been no different.

Everyone seems keen to make bold predictions of exactly what will happen next.

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MotoGP

Both the Mugello & Barcelona MotoGP Rounds Are Postponed

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Another week, another motorcycle race postponed, with no date set for rescheduling. This week it is the turn of the Mugello and Barcelona rounds of MotoGP, scheduled to take place on May 31st and June 7th respectively.

Today, the FIM, IRTA, and Dorna announced that the Italian and Catalunya rounds of MotoGP have been postponed, and no new date has been set for them to take place.

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WSBK

WorldSBK at Qatar Postponed Because of Coronavirus Restrictions

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After the news regarding the cancelation of the MotoGP races in Qatar, it was perhaps only a matter of time before Dorna realized that it has another series headed to the Gulf state, which would have to deal with the new Qatari travel restrictions.

Accordingly, it is not surprising that the FIM and Dorna have announced that the Qatar WorldSBK round, which was slated to take place in two weeks’ time (March 13th thru 15th), has been postponed until further notice.

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