Carmelo Ezpeleta is holding the course in the storm imposed on his troops and his MotoGP by the versatile coronavirus. The latter is like the ferret in the song: he has passed this way, he will come back that way and he is well hidden. So, how to manage? With conviction and determination. But the paddock also thinks about its imperatives, particularly logistical ones, and it has its opinion on current events... Which cracks at the spirit of cohesion with Dorna.
Carmelo Ezpeleta doesn't have an easy role at the moment. The boss of Dorna, promoter of the Grands Prix and therefore of the MotoGP must adapt in real time to the government measures taken against the epidemic of coronavirus which hits the planet. An area where today's truth can be tomorrow's lie. During this time, this marquee and its actors wait for instructions to know their destination, knowing that the Qatar was crossed out from the ball book where we postponed the Thailand. In this atmosphere, the new world with its Texan site ofAustin appears to be the promised land for a season finally launched. But there too, there are doubts…
Carmelo Ezpeleta has set as the starting stage of the MotoGP championship the route which is so successful in Marc Marquez, except last year. An announcement which left doubtful some protagonists of a paddock which recalls its logistical imperatives forcing them to constraints of delivery times which are not ductile... To be clear, next week, it will be necessary to decide where the material will be sent for the next Grand Prix: in Austin, Las Termas or Jerez.
« At the moment it is very difficult to assess whether the Grand Prix of the Americas can take place », bluntly announces Paolo ciabatti. " No one can predict what will happen in the United States. We must be prepared to travel to Texas. But we certainly won't be able to plan this in two weeks »
« Argentina looks very safe. But we can't control that. Here too we must wait. Because everything seemed under control in Italy before the Qatar test. When we returned after five days, the situation was completely different. Unfortunately, these viruses have no national borders. Nobody knows how and where they will spread in the future », explains the sports director of Ducati.
On the pilot side, Pol Espargaro comments on Austin's deadline: “ Dorna works hard at it, I suppose, but I'm not one of the more positive ones in that regard, because the United States is much stricter than Qatar and Thailand in terms of precautionary measures. A lot will have to change on a global scale before, one day or another, we stop talking about coronavirus and go to America, entering as Italians and Japanese as if nothing had happened. We'll see because ultimately it depends on events. I hope things will change and we can start the season in Austin. »
After the discovery of the first death from the coronavirus in the country, USA advised against traveling to affected areas in Italy and South Korea. Since the USA has issued a level 4 travel warning for Lombardy and Veneto and level 3 for the rest of Italy, a further tightening of controls is expected, also when entering Italy. Vice President Mike Pence has already announced that 100% of passengers on direct flights from Italy and South Korea will be tested for coronavirus upon arrival in the United States.
