Thai MotoGP race postponed indefinitely on coronavirus fears

The second MotoGP race of the season, which was scheduled to be held in Thailand this month, has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus epidemic, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday.

The decision to postpone the March 22 Thailand Grand Prix at Buriram comes a day after this weekend's season-opening race in Qatar was cancelled due to travel restrictions on passengers from Italy and elsewhere.

“The MotoGP ... has to be cancelled and postponed to another day and another month depending on the situation,” Anutin, who is also the country's health minister and chairman of the event's organising committee, told reporters.

The race is the latest in a long line of international sporting events affected by the flu-like virus that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, and has killed nearly 3,000 people and infected over 86,500 globally.