Why MotoGP can’t afford another Kazakhstan-like episode

The debut of MotoGP in Kazakhstan has become a soap opera: at this point, it is absolutely understandable that most people who live in the paddock doubt whether the race will ever take place. This soap opera has had several chapters.

Dorna, the promoter of the championship, had already introduced Kazakhstan in the 2023 calendar. Under the motto of “new circuit, new challenge”, the Spanish company had published a video in which it reported the debut of Sokol. Probably, at that time none of the leaders who had made the decision to embark on this exotic adventure could have imagined the real dimensions of this “challenge”, which will be pending at least until 2025.

In April of last year, the cancellation of that first edition was made official because the track had not been approved and would not receive it in the two months remaining until the event. Therefore, it was moved to 2024, specifically to July.

The new season began in March of this year, and already then rumors began to spread that the installation work of the services that any event must guarantee (commissars, doctors and others) had gaps. At the beginning of May, Dorna announced the postponement of the race without however defining a concrete date.

At the time, the reason for the temporary suspension was stated to be that the “unprecedented” floods that had hit the Central Asian region had forced the Kazakh authorities to declare a state of emergency and evacuate much of the population.

For this reason, “it would not be responsible for MotoGP to add a further burden to the authorities or services committed to working to help the tens of thousands of people affected throughout the country,” the note stressed, which did not give further details on the agenda. The explanation given at the time was more than understandable, while the one given for the cancellation of the Indian Grand Prix was not.

The first edition of the event at the Buddh Circuit had already required considerable effort from many of those present, so there is reasonable doubt as to whether a second date will be held. As Motorsport.com previously reported, Fairstreet Sports, the local promoter, has not honoured its financial commitment to Dorna for the 2023 grand prix. This suggested that they would not be making up for 2024, as the date of the event approached.

Thus, in a statement that left more doubts than certainties, the FIM (International Motorcycling Federation), IRTA (team association) and Dorna attributed the cancellation of the 2024 race to weather issues. “Following the advice of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, activity will return to the Buddh International Circuit in March 2025, when weather conditions are expected to be excellent for both spectators and riders,” the statement read.

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

At that time, someone thought it was a good idea to use that weekend that remained empty to place the Sokol race. Surely it was thought that, for that period, all the operational issue still in doubt was resolved. To try to facilitate everything, help was asked to Razlan Razali, who after leaving the management of the RNF team took charge of the Kazakhstan return operation. If we take as a reference the announcement of the definitive cancellation of today’s race with the replacement of a second race in Misano, we can consider that the Malaysian entrepreneur had the same success in the second as in the first.

At this point, most people who experience the World Championship agree that the situation that has arisen deserves reflection. This is to avoid situations like the one we are experiencing now. Clearly, an itinerant discipline that travels across five continents can be affected by unexpected events such as the change of government that forced the cancellation of the Argentine Grand Prix, for example.

However, a championship that aims to recover its best version in terms of image and that is working on expansion, cannot afford spectacles like those of India and Kazakhstan. This, without mentioning the disorientation of most of the teams, whose logistics departments are now overloaded to try to fit in a program that moves more than prices. We will have to see how the boxes with all the material, including the bikes, arrive in Indonesia, given the narrow margin that exists between the checkered flag of the second race in Misano and the first free practice session in Lombok, where it will be held the following week.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

If it is already striking that the championship chooses some remote areas to organize the grand prix, episodes like those in India and Kazakhstan are a sort of harakiri. It also does not help that a replacement track has been designated in Hungary (Balaton) and that this does not take over for one reason or another. Thus, several holes are generated that end up being filled in the wrong way.

Fortunately, the times of the pandemic are over, so it is much more complicated to justify having two races on the same track two weeks apart. Although the contracts signed with the various televisions must be respected, a more original solution will have to be found to a problem that was generated at home.

None of this is good, if we consider the current context, where the heads of Liberty Media, who should make the purchase of Dorna effective in a few months, are supervising the operations. The Americans, who already in April 2024 announced the 2025 Formula 1 calendar, will be shocked at the idea that MotoGP still does not have a clear situation for this season, which will end in four months.