US strikes Iranian island as MotoGP heads to Qatar

MotoGP is due to begin practice in Qatar in three days, but in the meantime the US has attacked an Iranian island.

The Qatar MotoGP is due to run this weekend on 5–8 November. Five of the six manufacturers are due to take part, with only Yamaha having confirmed it will not race in Lusail in a statement issued after last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

The race has been in some degree of uncertainty ever since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February. At first, the Qatar race was postponed from its original April date until November, and by now the instability in the Middle East has led to concern from people in the paddock, most notably some of the riders, about racing at Lusail.

So far only the aforementioned Yamaha has decided to skip the Qatar round, with MotoGP making its displeasure at that decision public with its own statement on Sunday.

With the rest of the paddock travelling to Qatar this week, it will do so after reports last week suggested that the US and Israel were preparing to renew their offensive against Iran.

And the travel now comes amid reports last night (2 November) of a US attack against the Iranian island Qeshm, which sits in the Strait of Hormuz and has been used to attack shipping vessels in the waterway that has become synonymous with the conflict.

Reuters and the Associated Press have reported that last night’s attack was against Iranian surface-to-air missile capabilities on Qeshm.

The attack was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which says it was the latest in a number of strikes against Iran in recent weeks that had not been made public.