This month’s Thailand MotoGP round has been postponed due to coronavirus, according to a report in local media.
The Bangkok Post quotes Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul as stating that the event has been postponed indefinitely.
UPDATE: Dorna has confirmed the postponement
It follows the announcement from MotoGP’s commercial rights holder, Dorna, that premier class action at Qatar this weekend has been cancelled due to travel restrictions applying to that nation.
“It is necessary for us to postpone the OR Thailand Grand Prix 2020 in Buri Ram scheduled for late March for an indefinite period since Covid-19 has been declared a dangerous communicable disease which has sent a world-wide impact,” said Mr Anutin, according to the Bangkok Post report.
“This is to reflect the government’s seriousness in tackling the problem. The prime minister has been informed about this.”
Dorna is yet to provide confirmation of the postponement of the Thai leg of the championship, which had been scheduled for March 20-22 at the Buriram International Circuit.
It had issued a statement on February 20 which declared that the event would go ahead.
“After consulting with the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Disease Control, the Sports Authority of Thailand has officially communicated, on behalf of the Royal Thai government, that there is no major risk, with the country having infected patients under care and strict preventive measures in place – resulting in the highest rate of fully recovered patients worldwide,” read that statement, in part.
Moto2 and Moto3 will still go ahead this weekend due to crews for those teams already being at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit for pre-season testing.
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