With the original MotoGP calendar subject to constant amendment in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the sport needs to balance salvaging some form of season with maintaining 'a credible number of races'.
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has explained why, after postponing previous events, the decision was taken to cancel the German, Dutch and Finnish MotoGPs.
When and where the 2020 MotoGP season will start remains unclear but plans are being put in place for 'closed doors' events, with no fans and only essential staff at the circuit.
Dorna has sought to stamp out speculation that it is considering cancelling the entire 2020 MotoGP season, insisting such a discussion would only take place 'as a last resort'.
Senior MotoGP figures are under no illusions about the complexity of holding world championship races in 2020, even after the worst of the coronavirus has passed.
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has warned that MotoGP competition is unlikely until a vaccine is found for the COVID-19 virus. But with many scientists predicting that may not be possible until next year, Ezpeleta admits the 2020 world championship is hanging in the balance.
Petronas Yamaha team manager Wilco Zeelenberg feels that if the 2020 MotoGP season starts any later than May, as now looks inevitable, it would be 'impossible' to run all of the remaining rounds.
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta would rather hold a shorter 2020 MotoGP World Championship than race deep into the winter and create difficulties for the 2021 season.
With the coronavirus outbreak yet to be contained in Europe, MotoGP has confirmed that the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on May 3 has now been officially postponed. But unlike the previously delayed events – at Buriram, COTA and Termas de Rio Hondo – no new date has yet been assigned.
Officially, the start of the 2020 MotoGP season is now set for a two-month delay, the coronavirus pushing the opening race back from Qatar on March 8 to Jerez on May 3.
Another day, another 2020 MotoGP calendar update. As feared, government efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus mean Argentina has now gone the way of Qatar, Thailand and the USA in abandoning its planned date on the premier-class calendar.
How long will the latest MotoGP calendar last? If the newly-announced postponement of Argentina's Motocross Grand Prix is anything to go by, the country's forthcoming MotoGP event is unlikely to go ahead.
Valencia has become the first of the current MotoGP circuits to sign a contract extension which does not guarantee one event per year. Instead, the traditional season finale has agreed to host 'at least three grands prix' between 2022-2026.
The 'final' version of the 2020 MotoGP calendar has been confirmed. Dates and venues for the biggest ever 20-round grand prix season remain as listed on last year's provisional line-up, but with the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno no longer 'subject to contract'.
The MotoGP calendar will reach a record 20-races next season, with the debut of Finland's KymiRing circuit. And it won't stop there. Following the F1 model of more races, the MotoGP calendar is tipped to reach 22 grands prix within the next few years.
MotoGP riders Marc Marquez, Danilo Petrucci and Fabio Quartararo all welcome the addition of the KymiRing to the 2020 MotoGP calendar, provided it means less testing.
Following extensive fire damage to bikes and equipment at the recent Jerez test, a revised calendar for the inaugural FIM Enel MotoE World Cup has been announced. The calendar will retain six races but now start at the German MotoGP in July, just before the summer break.
The 2019 Formula 1 world championship 21-race calendar has been formally confirmed by the FIA following today’s World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris.