MOTO3 rider Khairul Idham Pawi could not board a plane to Spain yesterday as his trip was derailed by a new European Union (EU) regulation.
The EU ruling, which came after the Covid-19 pandemic, allows citizens from 15 approved countries into the Europe zone, and Malaysia is not on the list.
As a result, Khairul's team, Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team (SRT) have asked MotoGP organiser, Dorna, to help work out a solution for Malaysian riders who have no permission to enter the European Union.
SRT team principal Datuk Razlan Razali said he is hoping for the matter to be resolved over the next few days.
"Unfortunately, Malaysia is not listed among the 15 countries which have been approved by the EU," said Razlan.
"We have asked Dorna to help and work with the Spain border police and immigration to allow all Malaysians involved in MotoGP to be allowed to come into Spain.
"We are working together with Dorna and hopefully within one or two days we will receive the (travel approval) letter."
Moto2 riders Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah (Aspar Team and Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) are scheduled to leave for Spain next week.
The Spanish Motorcycle Grand Prix will be held at the Jerez Circuit on July 17-19.
Meanwhile, Sepang International Circuit (SIC) chief executive officer Azhan Shafriman Hanif said he is expecting for a decision on whether the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix will go ahead by the end of the month. The Sepang MotoGP race was initially scheduled for Oct 30-Nov 1.
"As the Sports Minister (Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican) said, we will be taking things step by step. The focus now is to get approval for domestic races," said Shafriman.
"We will then get feedback from the authorities such as the National Security Council and the Health Ministry for us to decide (on Malaysian GP) somewhere this month.
"At the moment we are not able to announce anything yet to the fans. Let us talk to the authorities first. If the race does not happen, we will get back to the fans who have bought tickets and possibly offer a refund."
Dorna has indicated that it hopes to finalise the full schedule of races by the end of the month. So far, 13 races have been confirmed in a new, compacted calendar for this season.