The cancellation of the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix, which preceded the postponement of the entire Thailand Grand Prix due to coronavirus, has not only disappointed fans and riders. It also greatly worried the teams who suddenly saw themselves deprived of their reason for being and their means of existence. The promoter Dorna is in the same situation but in the storm, captain Carmelo Ezpeleta stays the course and swears that this 2020 season will indeed take place...
Carmelo Ezpeleta must hold firm in the ordeal his troops are going through. He therefore takes stock of the situation on the official motogp.com website which he ends with a firm conviction intended to reassure everyone…
« We have been in close contact with the Qatari authorities to understand exactly what we can do. Then, over the weekend, the situation changed a lot. On Saturday and Sunday it was not a specific problem for anyone, but later on Sunday we received the indication from the authorities of Qatar that due to the situation in Italy and in the world, anyone with Italian nationality or residing in Italy, coming from that country, had to ensure that she had not been to Italy in the last 14 days. »
In that case, it is not entry into Qatar is prohibited, but anyone who has been to Italy in the last 14 days is informed that they will be quarantined for 14 days in Qatar. It is obvious that this is not possible for our people, and this is what led us to cancel the MotoGP category at the Qatar Grand Prix. As Moto2 and Moto3 carried out tests this week in Qatar, it is possible to continue the Championship, but only with Moto2 and Moto3, as well as the Asia Talent Cup.
“We spoke to the Thai authorities all weekend and they informed us on Monday morning, Thailand time, that there would be a meeting to decide which events could take place in Thailand. This has nothing to do with Italians or people of other nationalities going to Thailand, as they have decided to cancel large events with large numbers of spectators. This is different from the situation in Qatar, so we decided to postpone the Thailand Grand Prix and try to find a date at the end of the year to make the GP possible. »
There will absolutely be a MotoGP season in 2020. We will try to continue everything and stay aware of the situation because it changes day by day, but our wish is to do all the races in the 2020 season. »
