WHILE the talk of having a “replacement MotoGP race” at Sepang next month has been dismissed, there is still a chance that Malaysia will host an extra race later this year.
Sepang International Circuit (SIC) chief executive officer Datuk Razlan Razali did not rule out the possibility of it happening.
Earlier MotoGP rights holder Dorna was keen to have an additional MotoGP in Malaysia next month as a replacement for the cancelled season opening round in Qatar (March 7-8)
Following the coronavirus outbreak and travel restrictions imposed, only Moto2 and Moto3 races were held in Qatar but not MotoGP.
The plan to hold a replacement race at Sepang next month, however, did not go through due to the worsening Covid-19 pandemic.
“The MotoGP calendar has been redeveloped in a way that currently we are short of one MotoGP race,” said Razlan.
“It is not clear yet whether Dorna is still keen on replacing that race (Qatar) or are willing to forego it because the world championship needs only a minimum of 13 races (to be valid).
“At the moment, there are no plans to have a second race in Malaysia. But if there is interest to hold an additional race, we will have to sit down and discuss this with them (Dorna) as there are a lot of factors to be considered.”
Sepang, which won the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Year award in 2012 and 2017, has been in Dorna’s good books in recent years due to its organising efficiency, facilities and robust local fan base. Malaysia’s year-round warm weather is also a plus point.
The Thailand, Argentina and United States legs, initially scheduled to be the second, third and fourth rounds, have been postponed to October and November.
The Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix is scheduled for Oct 30-Nov 1 and there is a one week gap after the race until the next round in Austin (Nov 13-15).
This year’s MotoGP calendar originally had 20 races but it will be down to 19 if the Qatar race is not replaced.