Brno confirms no Czech Republic MotoGP round in 2021

The Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno, first held in 1965 and a fixture on the MotoGP calendar for all but one season since 1987, will not take place in 2021.

The event had been missing from the initial draft of this year's calendar, but with a date reserved pending a complete resurfacing, as requested by the riders on safety grounds.

However, the Covid pandemic and resulting absence of any trackside spectators (Brno used to pull in close to 200,000) made the cost of such work hard to justify.

Brno's reserved date was subsequently removed from last month's calendar update and the circuit has now officially confirmed it will not hold any world championship events in 2021.

"We have many years of experience in organising world championship competitions and we know the economics very well. No sporting or cultural event of world importance is economically possible to organise without proper public support," explained Ivana Ulmanová, Director of Automotodrom Brno.

As such, Brno will now focus on domestic motorsport and the commercial lease of the racetrack to clubs and agencies, pending the Covid restrictions.

No mention was made of whether the circuit hopes to return to the MotoGP World Championship calendar in 2022, or of any plans for a resurfacing in the near future.

Rookie Brad Binder made history for KTM with its first ever MotoGP win in last year's Brno race.