MotoGP confirms Portimao season finale

The 2020 MotoGP season will end in Portugal with confirmation the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve will host the final round of the championship.

It was announced earlier this month that an extra race had been added to the calendar as events in Thailand, Malaysia, and Argentina were cancelled.

The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, more commonly referred to as Portimao, has not previously hosted MotoGP competition.

“It’s big news for us, we signed an agreement in 2017 with Portimao to be the reserve circuit for any kinds of cancellations, and we’ve been in contact with them all this time,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna Sports CEO.

“We’ve been to Portimao with Superbike and we think it’s an amazing possibility for us, and also in the agreement is that the track will be resurfaced after the Superbike round.

“When we explained this to the riders they were excited because they’ve seen the track on TV, but we’ve never been there.

“Portugal has a long history in our sport and there have been some historic battles in Estoril.

“It’s something very good for us to have the possibility to go back to Portugal, especially with Miguel Oliveira participating as it’s great to have a Portuguese rider able to compete in his own country.

“We are extremely happy to be racing in Portimao at the end of the year.”

Paullo Pinheiro, CEO of the circuit, added: “It is a great achievement for our team to finally have MotoGP at our racetrack.

“MotoGP is the pinnacle of two-wheeled motorsport, and we are so excited to have it.

“It has been a long process with Dorna, we had an agreement in place since 2017, and finally all the hard work paid off. On top of this to have Miguel Oliveira on the MotoGP grid, being able to fight for the podium will be an amazing add on for this race, and hopefully the Championship will be decided here.

“We are working to have the fans in our race, and we will start with a capacity of 30,000 fans for the race weekend and then we will decide with Dorna and the sanitary authorities the following stages.

“We can’t express how happy we are to have this race.”

The Portuguese event is set to host the 14th and final round of the 2020 MotoGP competition on November 22.