The free practice sessions for the Argentine GP scheduled for this Friday were finally postponed by 24 hours due to freight problems which made certain equipment unavailable. Carmelo Ezpeleta, the boss of Dorna, held a press conference to explain in more detail a situation that is, to say the least, unprecedented for MotoGP.
We transcribe his entire remarks here.
It was confirmed this morning that due to logistical problems linked to air freight, all free practice sessions, in all categories, are canceled and postponed until Saturday. Can you explain the situation to us specifically?
« As you know, we were in Lombok, Indonesia, two weeks ago. On Wednesday last week, different flights left Lombok to reach Argentina, but one of them had a problem in Kenya. We then made the decision to send back to Indonesia a plane that had already landed in Argentina in order to pick up what remained of the equipment there. The problem is that this plane also had a problem in Kenya. He was unable to take off again from Mombasa, although he was scheduled to arrive in Argentina today. We contacted the company operating the flight, which explained to us that there was a technical problem with one of the four engines, and that two planes had to leave, one from London and the other from Paris I believe , to reach Kenya to bring them parts to carry out repairs. These parts are currently being transported to Mombasa. If everything goes well, the plane should arrive just in time so that we can respect the new schedule planned from Saturday. »
What will happen if unfortunately the missing material does not arrive by tomorrow?
« If the flight can take off in the evening, it should be fine. You know, we've learned a lot over the last three decades. But the problem is that since the Russian-Ukrainian war was declared, there are much fewer cargo flights because most of them are operated by Russian companies, which are now banned. This still represents 20% of these thefts. So there are not enough flights, because normally we would have had plenty of time to find a plan B since Wednesday last week, but there are really no more flights available, and we we have no other solution than to wait for the defective device in Mombasa to be repaired. »
Could the current situation lead Dorna to review its calendar for the next seasons?
« This will perhaps make us think about the case where there are two races in a row one week apart, but this is not the case, and it is therefore not a situation that we could avoid. in this way. This GP is the 499th that we organize, and thank God it is the first time that we encounter this problem. Our goal at the moment is to make sure the race takes place in Argentina, and continue the momentum next week. In this specific case, there were only 140 cargo flights available, and even then, these flights must meet very specific material storage standards. We don't have much control over these events and so we have to accept the situation, as is sometimes the case with the weather for example. It's part of the game. »
You used many flights operated by Russian companies. What part did these thefts represent?
« I don't have the exact figure, but around 20% of flights were operated by Russian companies. »
Coming back to future calendars, will you try in the future to prevent two races located on opposite sides of the globe from each other from being able to follow each other?
« We cannot reduce the number of races in the championship given the enormous interest in MotoGP around the world. As I often say, establishing the calendar is probably one of the most delicate tasks we have during the year. »
Which teams are concretely affected by this logistics problem?
« Gresini Racing and VR46 Racing Team. The fact is that we need to ensure the same racing conditions for everyone, so it only takes one impacted team to force us to delay the weekend program. »
Is it possible in the future to go from three-day weekends to just two days?
« Whatever happens, the race must always be held on Sunday, and reducing the length of the weekend is not a solution. »
