An 18-race 2020 MotoGP Championship series is now confirmed to get back underway, with 17 more races now planned after the one round only held so far this year (Qatar, March 8).
It will start with consecutive weekends in Spain (19 and 26 July) at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto - the first two of six races in total now slated for Spain this year - before heading to Brno in the Czech Republic (Aug 9) and Austria (Aug 16).
This latest (June 11) revised MotoGP plan will see 13 races held in Europe out of a maximum of 17 new races in total. It is hoped that the series will be able to head for 'international' venues from November, starting with a US GP at the Austin, Texas Circuit of The Americas after the final race in Europe at Valencia on November 15.
That would theoretically be followed by three more races outside of Europe - Argentina, Thailand and a potential season finale at Malaysia, Australia, Japan and Silverstone, UK, having all been definitely cancelled until 2021.
However, Dorna are committed to the series finishing no later than December 13, which would mean racing in USA, Argentina, Thailand and Malaysia on four consecutive weekends. So the speculation is that at most there will only be two or three races outside Europe, at best, and maybe even none at all. Dorna says it will confirm all final dates no later than July 31st.
All dates, events and the eventual attendance of spectators are subject to the evolution of the pandemic and the approval of the corresponding governments and authorities.
Having been postponed at Qatar in March, there will be 14 Moto2 and Moto3 races.
There are now seven FIM Enel MotoE World Cup races planned for 2020, at five events. The Energica Ego Corsa riders will get their season start at Jerez on July 19 and then again on July 26, racing will resume on September 13 at Misano (San Marino GP weekend) before the first two double headers the following weekend (19 and 20 September) when the Emilia Romagna MotoGP is also at Misano.
The series will then wrap up with another double header at LeMans (October 10 and 11) on the weekend of the Shark Helmets Grand Prix de France.
Following the first and so far only race, in Australia at the end of February, there is so far no sign of the 2020 World Superbike Championship getting back underway, with Kawasaki's five time world champion Jonathan Rea seeking to extend his record-setting winning streak.
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| Inaugural Yamaha R3 bLU cRU FIM European Cup cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic |
However, the inaugural 2020 Yamaha R3 bLU cRU FIM European Cup has been cancelled until 2021. Devised for riders from twelve years of age, it had been slated to run alongside eight rounds of the FIM Superbike World Championship in 2020, following a collaboration between Yamaha Motor Europe, FIM Europe and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO), supported by JiR (Japan Italy Racing).
Designed to provide "an ideal, cost-effective first step onto the world stage, with each entrant provided with Yamaha’s race-winning R3 bike, as well as Pirelli tyres, coaching and technical assistance, full race kit and paddock attire", Yamaha says it is fully committed to running the Yamaha R3 bLU cRU FIM European Cup at its full 36-grid capacity during the 2021 season.
