All Friday practice cancelled at the Argentina MotoGP
Delays in transporting freight from the previous round in Indonesia on March 20 to the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit this weekend means some teams - including Gresini Ducati's world championship leader Enea Bastianini - are still without their bikes and essential equipment.
It had been hoped that the delayed freight would arrive today (Thursday) and, following a night shift, all teams would be ready for Friday morning's FP1 session.
But a further flight problem means the entire Friday schedule, including Moto2 and Moto3, has now been scrapped and the first Argentine round since 2019 will be compressed into Saturday and Sunday.
'Due to two separate issues affecting two [of the five] different flights, the final freight for the Argentina GP will now arrive in the country on Friday. The flight contains freight for all classes of the FIM MotoGP World Championship, with changes to the time schedule therefore obliged for all classes.' read a statement from Dorna.
'The chain of events started last Wednesday when one of the five airplanes suffered a problem during a technical stop in Mombasa, Kenya. The first plane which had already arrived in Tucuman was then returned to Lombok to collect more freight, and unfortunately has also suffered a technical problem during a layover this past Wednesday night.
'As of Thursday morning local time in Argentina, one cargo load remains grounded in Mombasa, Kenya. The plane is awaiting a part in order to return to the air, with two parts – one dispatched from Europe and another back up part, dispatched from the Middle East – already en route.
'The plane is expected to take off this evening and will follow the route from Mombasa via Lagos and Brazil, arriving in Tucuman on Friday.'
Revised Saturday schedule - 2022 Argentine MotoGP
08:45-09:25 Moto3 FP1 (12:45-13:25 UK)
09:40-10:20 Moto2 FP1 (13:40-13:25 UK)
10:35-11:20 MotoGP FP1 (14:35-15:20 UK)
11:35-12:15 Moto3 FP2 (15:35-16:15 UK)
12:30-13:10 Moto2 FP2 (16:30-17:10 UK)
13:25-14:10 MotoGP FP2 (17:25-18:10 UK)
14:35-14:50 Moto3 Qualifying 1 (18:35-18:50 UK)
15:00-15:15 Moto3 Qualifying 2 (19:00-19:15 UK)
15:30-15:45 Moto2 Qualifying 1 (19:30-19:45 UK)
15:55-16:10 Moto2 Qualifying 2 (19:55-20:10 UK)
16:25-16:55 MotoGP FP3 (20:25-20:55 UK)
17:05-17:20 MotoGP Qualifying 1 (21:05-21:20 UK)
17:30-17:45 MotoGP Qualifying 2 (21:30-21:45 UK)
The new schedule will see MotoGP get two (45min) free practice sessions on Saturday, starting at 10:35 and 13:25 respectively, followed by a (30min) FP3 at 16:25, then the start of Qualifying at 17:05.
With FP4 gone, it is assumed that the top ten for direct access to Qualifying 2 will now be decided after FP2, leaving FP3 for race preparation rather than chasing lap times. (Update: FP2 confirmed as the cutoff for direct Qualifying 2 access, for all three classes).
Moto2 and Moto3 will get two free practice sessions before going into qualifying.
All of which means Saturday's track action will begin at 8:45 and run non-stop until 17:45.
- Takaaki Nakagami to miss the Argentine MotoGP round
- Michelin: Termas tyre allocation 'similar to 2019'
- Espargaro keen to avoid Indonesia repeat, Bradl replaces Marquez
'Free Practice sessions will now begin and take place for all classes on Saturday morning. Of the sessions that normally take place on Friday, only one has been cancelled, with the other moved to Saturday. Qualifying will take place on Saturday afternoon, with a slightly later start time', read the Dorna statement.
'Warm Up sessions on Sunday morning have been extended, with each race set to begin at the same start time as originally scheduled.'
Sunday's warm-ups have been lengthened from 10 to 20mins for Moto2 and Moto3, and from 20 to 30mins for MotoGP. The race schedule is set to take place as normal.
But for now, MotoGP will be keeping its fingers firmly crossed that the missing freight does indeed arrive at Termas on Friday.
After Sunday's race, MotoGP heads straight to Texas for next weekend's round at COTA, ruling out a delayed Monday race in Argentina.
