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MotoGP Race in Thailand Postponed Due to Coronavirus Fears

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It was less than 24 hours ago we reported to you the news that the MotoGP race for the Qatar GP would be canceled because of travel restrictions related to the coronavirus, and that possibly other rounds of the world championship could be affected.

And now, we get word (now confirmed by the FIM) that the Thai GP round at Buriram will be postponed will be postponed as well, with MotoGP hoping to reschedule the round at a future date. Currently, the rumor is for the Thai GP to take place in October, but that has yet to be confirmed by a statement from Dorna.

The move comes from concerns from the Thai government, as Thailand continues to battle with infection not only within its borders, but also within the borders of its surrounding neighbors. Eager to stem-the-tide, a large gathering with possibly infected persons seems like a less-than-optimal idea.

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MotoGP

MotoGP at Qatar Canceled Because of Coronavirus – More to Come?

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The COVID-19 outbreak, or coronovirus as it is more commonly known, has finally had an impact on MotoGP.

Today, the FIM and Dorna announced that the MotoGP race at Qatar has been canceled, while the Moto2 and Moto3 races are due to go ahead.

The cancellation is due to restrictions imposed by Qatar on travelers coming from Italy and Japan. With so many members of the paddock – riders, engineers, mechanics, journalists, and other team staff – from those two countries, it would have been almost impossible for MotoGP to race there.

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WSBK

WorldSBK Releases Rev Limits for the 2020 Season

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To balance performance and make the championship more interesting, the rule makers at the WorldSBK series set maximum rev limits for all the entered bikes at the beginning of the season.

This usually isn’t much of a newsworthy event, but with the recent crop of superbikes hitting stratospheric numbers in their homologated street form, it is causing some interesting issues in the WorldSBK Championship.

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MotoGP

Andrea Iannone Tests Positive for Steroid Use, Faces Four-Year Ban

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Andrea Iannone has been provisionally suspended from all racing activity for violating the FIM’s antidoping code. A urine sample taken from Iannone at the Malaysian round of MotoGP at Sepang was found to contain traces of anabolic steroids.

Once the findings of the sample, analyzed by a WADA-accredited laboratory, were reported, Iannone was handed a provisional suspension in line with the FIM antidoping code.

Iannone can appeal the result, and request that the B sample (the second sample taken at the same time) is analyzed.

He can also appeal to the CDI (International Disciplinary Court) for his suspension to be lifted, but to do that, he would have to be able to provide evidence that the samples he provided had been contaminated in some way, or that he had taken the banned substances accidentally (something which is very difficult for anabolic steroids).

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MotoGP

Grand Prix Commission Tweaks Testing Regulations Further

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The Grand Prix Commission is working through the unintended consequences of the decision to restrict testing in all three Grand Prix classes.

Those restrictions have been a positive aid in reducing costs, but have made it impossible to use riders not currently under contract unless their contracted riders are absent due to illness or injury.

Adding a further layer of complexity to this is the current state of the MotoGP rider’s market: with everyone out of contract at the end of 2020, and a large crop of Moto2 riders looking to step up, the factories want to take a look at riders not currently on the MotoGP grid.

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WSBK

WorldSBK Narrows the Use of Active Aerodynamics with New Rules

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The launch of the Honda CBR1000RR-R has caused the Superbike Commission, the rule-making body for the WorldSBK series, to take preemptive action to restrict the use of active aerodynamics.

In a press release today, announcing a series of rule changes for the 2020 season, the biggest change is putting limits in place on how dynamic aerodynamics can be used.

The new rules limit the amount of movement available for active, dynamic, or movable aerodynamic parts. Moving parts will be restricted to the range of motion used on the production bike, even if the parts allow greater freedom of movement.

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MotoGP

Hungary Will Host MotoGP Race from 2022? Echoes of the Past

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Hungary is a potential candidate to host a MotoGP race from 2022, when the current calendar expands to 22 races.

Over the summer, Dorna signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hungarian government to host a race for five years, between 2022 and 2026, at a new circuit to be built in the country.

The memorandum of understanding is just the first step on a long and tricky road to actually organizing a race.

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MotoGP

MotoGP Plans to Go to Brazil for the 2022 Season & On

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2022 promises to see a major shakeup of the MotoGP calendar. Today, one of the pieces that will make up MotoGP’s calendar was announced, with the news that the Rio Motorpark has signed a five-year deal with Dorna to host the Brazilian round of MotoGP from 2022 to 2026.

The new venue will see MotoGP return to Brazil after an absence of 18 years. From 1995 to 2004, Grand Prix racing was held at the Nelson Piquet Circuit in Jacarepagua, to the southwest of Rio de Janeiro, and before that at Goiana in the north of Brazil  between 1987 and 1989, before moving to Interlagos near Sao Paulo for 1992.

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MotoGP

FIM Introduces Punishments for Exceeding Track Limits on Last Lap

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The last lap of last weekend’s Moto2 race remains controversial. Augusto Fernandez ran wide at Turn 11 in Misano, and used that space to get a run on Fabio Di Giannantonio into Turn 14, passing the Italian to take victory. The Speed Up team appealed the decision, but eventually it was upheld.

That decision did not sit well inside the paddock, however. At the pre-event press conference for the Aragon round on Thursday, Marc Marquez said the riders intended to raise the issue in the Safety Commission.

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MotoGP

Q&A: MotoGP Director of Technology Corrado Cecchinelli Talks About the 2020 Aerodynamic Rule Changes

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What will change under MotoGP’s revised aerodynamic rules for 2020? In mid-July the Grand Prix Commission reached agreement on how to address ‘grey areas’ in the current regulations.

Their focus had been sharpened by a rare public spat involving five of the six manufacturers over the legality of Ducati’s swingarm spoiler, which went to the MotoGP Court of Appeal.

With the full 2020 amendments yet to be published, we spoke to MotoGP Director of Technology Corrado Cecchinelli to find out what to expect in terms of the future aerodynamic (and electronics) regulations. Here is a transcript of that conversation.

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Podcast

Paddock Pass Podcast #114 – Women in Motorsports

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Episode 114 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this is a special episode covering the first-ever Women in Motorsports conference, put on by both the FIA and FIM in Finland.

Our colleague Tammy Gorali was in attendance at the historic meeting, and held a roundtable discussion with several key women in the motorcycle racing community.

The insights shared by Vanessa Guerra, Shelina Moreda, Nita Korhonen, and Maria Herrera to be very interesting. We also have an short interview with FIM President Jorge Viegas.

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