MotoGP announces 2021 calendar, Russia on reserve list

A calendar for the 2021 MotoGP World Championship has been published with the season set to begin on 28 March in Qatar. 

COVID-19 has meant that the 2020 MotoGP season has been compressed into just four months, with some circuits hosting multiple Grands Prix and a monumental nine races in 11 weeks to end the year which will conclude later this month. 

Considering the current state of the global pandemic that has disrupted sports across the board in 2020, it is hard to imagine the current plan for 2021 staying entirely as it is at the moment. However, acting in anticipation of disruptions in 2021, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta explained in an interview on the official MotoGP website that there will be “three reserve Grands Prix” in case any circuits cannot host their round due to coronavirus concerns. 

The current plan is to have the MotoGP World Championship return to something of a normal calendar, albeit starting later than would be the usual plan. This year, the Moto2 and Moto3 championships started on 8 March in Qatar, whereas in 2021 the Grand Prix paddock is currently scheduled to arrive at the Losail International Circuit on 28 March, so three weeks later than in a ‘normal’ year.

After Qatar will be the American tour, with Argentina on 11 April being followed by the US a week later on 18 April. As usual, America will be followed by the first European race which, as usual, is slated to be the Spanish Grand Prix on 2 May, before France on 16 May and Italy on 30 May. 

June will see the second Spanish round with the Catalan Grand Prix scheduled to go ahead on 6 June, before Sachsenring on 20 June and the Dutch TT on 27 June. This season was the first in the history of motorcycle Grand Prix racing to miss the Dutch TT in Assen, so it will be a welcome return for MotoGP in Assen should it go ahead. 

One final race will take place before the summer break, with the Finnish Grand Prix proposed to take place on 11 July before the mid-season break. The return is currently undecided, as Brno would normally slot in as the first round after the summer but the necessity of a resurface at the historic Czech track combined with recent financial issues over the past few years make the continuation of the Czech Grand Prix uncertain. Indeed, Brno has relied heavily on ticket sales to keep itself on the MotoGP schedule and, with no guarantee of fans being in attendance, there is no guarantee that Brno could afford to host a round of the 2021 season. 

In the potential absence of Brno, there could be another chance for Portimao which is still yet to host a MotoGP round and is far from guaranteed to see the Grand Prix paddock arrive for the final round of 2020, such is the changing situation regarding Covid and the international regulations surrounding it at the moment, especially in Europe. Providing things go ahead as planned in 2020 and Brno is unable to make a 2021 race work, Portimao could step up and host the first race after the summer – it would be another heater, akin to Jerez this year. A race in August in the Algarve would certainly be a physically demanding way to return to action for MotoGP, especially on a flowing circuit like Portimao. 

It is possible, also, that Portimao could have been used already by that point in the year, since the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is one of the three ‘reserve’ tracks ready to come in if another has to drop out. The two that join Portimao on that ‘reserve’ list are Mandalika – the new circuit designed and build purposely for MotoGP in Indonesia – and the Igora Drive circuit in Russia, which this year was supposed to host a round of the DTM German touring car series before Covid interrupted things and has been mooted as a replacement for Sochi on the Formula One calendar. 

Both of these are, of course, questionable choices for ‘reserve’ tracks, as is Portimao in truth. The Portuguese track has not been tackled by MotoGP riders on MotoGP bikes, save Aleix Espargaro who noted safety concerns in some areas, particularly the final corner. It will probably only be discovered in a couple of weeks whether the Portuguese track is safe enough for MotoGP, although its history with WorldSBK means it is a known quantity to Dorna, at least. Mandalika, on the other hand, has never even seen a MotoGP test, but being purpose-built for both MotoGP and World Superbike it is presumable that the safety will be acceptable. 

The Russian track, Igora Drive, faces a similar situation to Mandalika, but since it has a Grade 1 FIA certification, its feasibility in terms of safety seems relatively certain. 

Of course, the reserve tracks face the same Covid-related issues as the rest of the circuits on the calendar, but it is also true that a calendar that includes a trip to Indonesia, for example, would be a positive thing for MotoGP which intended to go to the country in 2021 anyway. 

Assuming none of the reserve tracks are added or required, and Brno is not replaced, the first round of 2021 after the summer break will be Austria on 15 August before Silverstone on 29 August, although a British Grand Prix has potentially further hurdles to navigate, as Britain will be leaving the EU on 1 January 2021, and this could potentially see further setbacks for a UK round. 

Providing it, and all those including Brno that go before it, goes ahead, Silverstone will be round 13. Unusually, following it will be Aragon, the first time San Marino has not followed Silvertsone since 2012 when the British Grand Prix took place earlier in the year. As it is, Aragon will go ahead on 12 September, before Misano hosts the San Marinese round on 19 September. 

The switch of Aragon and San Marino also means that Misano will host the final European round before the Asian tour which will see Japan go first for the first time since 2017, with Motegi hosting MotoGP on 3 October, before Thailand on 10 October. The Asian tour will also be split into two back-to-backs rather than having the usual triple header, and the second double will see Phillip Island host the Australian round on 24 October, before Malaysia completes the Asian leg on 31 October, while Valencia will once again host the final round on 14 November.

Of course, the calendar is extremely provisional, but providing the peaks and troughs of the coronavirus fall favourably – unlikely – MotoGP has its near future set in place.