Barcelona likely to host canceled Valencia GP

Image: Circuit Ricardo Tormo

The MotoGP is poised to replace the canceled Valencia Grand Prix with a new race in Barcelona (Spain) due to severe flooding in the Valencia region.

‘motorsport’ stated that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona is now set to stage the season finale on November 17^th having already hosted the sixth round of the championship back in May.

The Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the International Motorcycling Federation (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme – FIM). The top-division is known as MotoGP since 2002.

Mies (Switzerland)-based the International Motorcycling Federation (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) or FIM is the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing. It represents 121 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six continental unions.

The Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The event takes place at the 165,000-capacity Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, and the first race was held in 1999.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is a 4.657 km motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands with a capacity of 140,700. The circuit has Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA – the governing body for world motor sport) Grade 1 license.

With record-high Mediterranean temperatures and a year’s worth of rain falling in mere hours, Spain has been devastated by the weather phenomenon known as DANA. More than 200 people have died and dozens remain missing in what meteorologists are calling one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory.

‘motorsport’ further stated that the above development follows the decision to scrap the Valencia race on November 1st due to devastating flooding in the region in recent days.

The Championship promoter Dorna Sports previously stated that it will announce the venue and other details for the final round at a later date as it scrambled to organize a replacement event.

Dorna Sports is an international sports management, marketing and media company founded in 1988. The organization has its headquarters in Madrid (Spain) with further branch offices and subsidiaries in Barcelona (Spain), Rome (Italy) and Tokyo (Japan).

The preferred option in the run-up to the Malaysian Grand Prix is Barcelona with the series sticking to the original date of November 17^th.

Barcelona has emerged as the prime candidate in the race against Qatar which was previously seen as the most likely alternative.

Barcelona was the most popular choice in the paddock as many teams, especially in Moto2 and Moto3, are tight on budget at this stage of the season.

Going back to Doha (capital of Qatar) where the season started eight months ago in March would have been a considerable expense for a number of teams.

Although Qatar was seen as the least emotionally problematic situation given the distance to Spain it would have meant making compromises on the logistical side. Added to that, the 52,000-capacity Lusail International Circuit in Qatar is also preparing to host its annual Formula 1 race (the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars) on December 1^st.

On the other hand, the riders felt it was acceptable to race in Barcelona which is located some 400 km from Valencia.

The MotoGP spent November 3^rd hosting meetings with the Catalonia Government to finalize the deal to race in Barcelona.

With the agreement in place between the two parties, the Dorna Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta met the MotoGP teams’ association – the International Road-Racing Teams Association (IRTA) – to provide the latest update on the situation.

Following the Grand Prix, an official test will be held at the same venue on November 19^th.

Remarked Ezpelata, “We thought it was important to tell the riders before they went out on track, especially those in contention for the positions, to confirm that there would be another event on the calendar. It’s been a very challenging couple of days, much more so for the Community of Valencia of course, but we think that – given the situation the Championship is in – sporting wise, but also for the fans across the world – we thought it was important to hold a final event of the season. We owe that to the paddock and our fans. We have been looking at all the possibilities we had. It’s very challenging to organize an event in two weeks but during the last 48 hours we’ve looked at all possible alternatives and we think that Barcelona is the best possible place given the proximity to Valencia, given that a lot of people were already traveling through to get to the finale, and especially for the fans – we think it’s the best possible place for them. We also know we will be able to help the Community of Valencia from that location as well.”

Concluded Ezpelata, “That’s why we’ve requested the Government of Catalonia to be able to hold the event there. They want to communicate and align themselves with both the Government of Spain and that of Valencia before confirming the event and we hope that confirmation comes in the next 48 hours. But the urgency right now is Valencia – not confirming our GP. It’s something we can wait for and once it’s confirmed we’ll start working as hard as possible as it’s definitely a challenge but we think there’s a lot of good we can do and we feel we owe it to our fans. We want to thank the entire MotoGP community, the riders and the teams for their proactiveness, help and support.”

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