Pecco Bagnaia makes calendar request amid Qatar MotoGP uncertainty
Pecco Bagnaia wants to know the fate of the Qatar Grand Prix soon
Ducati MotoGP rider Pecco Bagnaia says he wants to know the fate of the Qatar Grand Prix soon and hopes, if it is cancelled, the Valencia and Portugal rounds can be rescheduled.
The war in the Middle East that broke out in February following joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran forced a number of motorsport championships to make major calendar changes.
Formula 1 was forced to cancel its Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races from their April slots, while the FIA World Endurance Championship canned its Qatar season-opener.
MotoGP was also due to race in Qatar in April, but postponed the race until November to conclude a triple-header with Australia and Malaysia.
In recent weeks, the ongoing conflict has led to further calendar changes, with F1’s Bahrain Grand Prix moved to Malaysia, while the WEC’s final rounds have been rescheduled to Barcelona and Monza.
No decision on MotoGP’s Qatar GP yet
There has, as of yet, been no decision made on the fate of the Qatar Grand Prix, but double world champion Pecco Bagnaia wants to know as soon as possible.
To accommodate the rescheduled Qatar date, the Portuguese and Valencia Grands Prix double-header at the end of the campaign was pushed back a week.
Those races are now pencilled in for the 20-22 November and 27-29 November, with the post-race test in Valencia taking place at the start of December.
Bagnaia has expressed concern about racing at Valencia so late in the year due to the temperatures, and hopes the final two rounds can be moved back if Qatar is cancelled.
“For me, the sooner you know, the better it is,” he said on Thursday at Silverstone when asked by Crash when the riders needed to know about Qatar.
“Also, because they moved two races more in front in Europe, to race in Qatar.
“But I imagine to race in December in Valencia, it can be - not dangerous - but on the limit.
“I don't know what to expect because I think we were quite lucky in the last seasons.
“But riding in Valencia, I remember in 2020, in the morning it was like six degrees.
“And riding a MotoGP with six degrees and ice on the grass is quite difficult.
“But let's see. I just hope that if they decide quite soon to remove Qatar to replace the races in the current date.”
