MotoGP poised to announce new season finale venue

Circuit Ricardo Tormo was scheduled to host the last round of the year but was devastated by floods that have damaged roads surrounding the venue.

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is set to host the final on November 15-17.

For a few days, the Losail Circuit in Qatar seemed the most likely replacement venue until an overnight change of tune. Jerez was also among the favourites.

As yet, Dorna Sports has not formally announced the replacement venue, but it is widely expected to be announced.

Dorna Sports chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta revealed on Sunday at the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix that Barcelona was firming to host the final.

“We thought it was important to tell the riders before they went out on track yesterday, especially those in contention for positions, to confirm that there would be another event on the calendar,” said Dorna Sports’ Carlos Ezpeleta.

“It’s been a very challenging couple of days, much more so for the community of Valencia of course, but we think that given the situation the championship is in, sporting-wise, but also for fans across the world, we thought it was important to hold a final event of the season. We owe that to the paddock and our fans.”

Ezpeleta said the proximity of Barcelona to Valencia made it a logical choice.

“We have been looking at all the possibilities that we had, it’s very challenging to organise an event in two weeks, but during the last 48 hours we’ve looked at all possible alternatives and we think that Barcelona is the best possible place given the proximity to Valencia, given that a lot of people were already travelling through Barcelona to Valencia to get to the finale, and especially for fans – we think it’s the best possible place for them,” he explained.

“We thinking that we will be able to help Valencia from that location as well. That’s why we’ve requested the Government of Catalunya to be able to hold the event there. They want to communicate and align themselves with both the government of Spain and that of Valencia before confirming the event, and we hope that confirmation comes in the next 48 hours.

“But the urgency right now is Valencia – not confirming our GP. It’s something we can wait for and once it’s confirmed we’ll start working as hard as possible, because it’s definitely a challenge. We think there’s a lot of good we can do and we feel that owe it to our fans. We want to thank the MotoGP community, the riders, the teams, for their proactiveness, help, and support in these times.”