Buriram bows out for 2021 as Thailand postpones MotoGP contract | MotoGP

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Thailand has become the first race to drop off the provisional 2021 schedule after the government opted to postpone the start of Buriram’s next five-year MotoGP contract, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Instead of running from 2021-2025, the Bangkok Post reports that the MotoGP contract has been ‘switched’ to 2022-2026. The license fee will remain unchanged at 900 million baht (25 million euros) for the five-year period.

Dorna, which is yet to officially confirm the postponement, is said to have ‘reiterated the company’s commitment to the event’.

After joining the MotoGP calendar in 2018, the 2019 Thai round saw the highest spectator attendance of the season with 226,655 weekend fans, bringing in a total of ‘3.45 billion baht’ (95 million euros). Last year’s round, like all the non-European events, was cancelled.

Although Thailand is the first event named on the 2021 provisional calendar to rule out a race this year, Argentina and Texas are also highly unlikely to go ahead after both being postponed to an unspecified date later in the year.

As in 2020, the fate of the flyaway races (with the exception of Qatar) is thought to be dependent on allowing the attendance of fans, for financial reasons.

This year’s Thai MotoGP was due to take place on October 10.

Provisional 2021 MotoGP Calendar – January Update
Round	Date	Race	Circuit
1	28 March	Qatar (Evening race)	Losail
2	4 April	Doha (Evening race)	Losail
3	18 April	Portugal	Portimao
4	2 May	Spain	Jerez
5	16 May	France	Le Mans
6	30 May	Italy	Mugello
7	6 June	Catalunya	Barcelona
8	20 June	Germany	Sachsenring
9	27 June	Netherlands	Assen
10	11 July	Finland (Subject to homologation)	KymiRing
11	15 August	Austria	Red Bull Ring
12	29 August	Great Britain	Silverstone
13	12 September	Aragon	Aragon
14	19 September	San Marino e Della Riviera di Rimini	Misano
15	3 October	Japan	Motegi
16	10 October	Thailand	Buriram
17	24 October	Australia	Phillip Island
18	31 October	Malaysia	Sepang
19	14 November	Comunitat Valenciana	Ricardo Tormo
Postponed Grands Prix:
	~~11 April~~	Argentina	Termas
	~~18 April~~	Americas	COTA
Reserve Grand Prix Venues:
		Indonesia (Subject to homologation)	Mandalika
		~~Russia~~	~~Igora Drive~~
2021 Pre-season Testing:
	5 March	Qatar Shakedown Test	Losail
	6-7 March	Qatar Official Test	Losail
	10-12 March	Qatar Official Test	Losail