MotoGP | Kazakhstan GP postponed due to floods in the country

Since the calendar for the 2024 MotoGP season was announced, the appearance, for the first time, of the Kazakhstan Grand Prix has aroused curiosity and doubts, having never been held before on the Sokol circuit.

This Friday, the promoter of the World Championship announced that the round scheduled for the weekend of June 14-16, in a month and a half, has been postponed until later in the season due to heavy flooding in the north of the country.

The suspension of this second race in the MotoGP calendar follows the early season cancellation of the Argentine Grand Prix, which was canceled as organizers were unable to ensure the normal running of the event due to a lack of support by the national government.

This means the record 22-stage calendar for the 2024 season is now down to virtually 20, the same number of races as last year, and doubts remain over the Indian Grand Prix, scheduled for September 22. If the World Championship does not travel to the Buddh International Circuit, that date could be inherited by the Kazakh track.

The Sokol circuit, designed by world-renowned specialist architect Hermann Tilke, is located approximately 75 kilometers north of Almaty, the country’s largest city, and its construction began in 2015, although the track is still under construction improvement phase.

MotoGP safety officials have visited Sokol several times in recent months and the latest reports say the track was ready to host a MotoGP Grand Prix without any problems. Now, however, the north of the country, many kilometers from Almaty, is hit by serious floods, which are the reason for the postponement of the Grand Prix for the moment.