MotoGP season to resume in July with Spain double-header

11 June 2020 - 14:23 By Reuters
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Marc Marquez (93) of Spain and Repsol Honda during MotoGP testing at Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto on May 6 2019 in Jerez, Spain.
Marc Marquez (93) of Spain and Repsol Honda during MotoGP testing at Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto on May 6 2019 in Jerez, Spain.
Image: Jose Breton/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The MotoGP season stalled by the novel coronavirus pandemic will begin with back-to-back races at the Jerez circuit in Spain on July 19 and 26, the sport's governing body said on Thursday.

Five circuits will host double-headers and there will be a total of seven races in Spain as part of the revised 13-round European calendar for the 2020 season.

Eight races have been cancelled so far this season including the Qatar, Dutch, German, Finnish, British, Australian, Japanese and Italian rounds.

The third round will take place in the Czech Republic on August 9 before two races in Austria on August 16 and 23. Misano will then host two rounds in September.

MotoGP said a minimum of 12 rounds would be held in the championship. The total number of races could increase to 17 with four outside Europe between November 22 and December 13.

The only long-haul races yet to be cancelled due to the pandemic are those in Thailand, Malaysia, the US (Texas) and Argentina.

Those events and their dates will be confirmed before July 31, MotoGP added.

Moto2 and Moto3 were able to start their season in Qatar in March because they were already there for testing but MotoGP was unable to race due to quarantine restrictions.

The updated schedule is as follows:

July 19: Spanish Grand Prix

July 26: Grand Prix of Andalusia

August 9: Czech Grand Prix

August 16: Austrian Grand Prix

August 23: Styria Grand Prix

September 13: San Marino Grand Prix

September 20: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

September 27: Catalan Grand Prix

October 11: French Grand Prix

October 18: Aragon Grand Prix

October 25: Teruel Grand Prix

October 8: European Grand Prix

November 5: Valencia Grand Prix


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