MotoGP, the race in Qatar is moving away
The Qatar Grand Prix could be canceled from the 2026 MotoGP calendar. Tensions in the Middle East due to the conflict between the United States and Iran do not allow any sporting event to be organized safely, and therefore the Lusail appointment (November 6-8) should be definitively canceled, after being postponed in April. The rumor comes from colleagues at The-Race and the official announcement should arrive in the coming days.
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If MotoGP definitively gives up racing in Qatar, it would not replace Lusail with any other track. The calendar would therefore go from 22 to 21 race weekends. This would be the natural consequence of what we anticipated at the beginning of the month: MotoGP has not considered any plan B unlike F1. The only thing that could have saved the number of races (a double appointment in Sepang) seems to have vanished.
It should be remembered that the postponement to November involved a revision of the final part of the calendar, with Lusail inserted after the Malaysian Grand Prix; the subsequent appointments in Portugal and Valencia were postponed by one week. Arrangements created by the hope of an improvement in the geopolitical situation in the Middle East (and to collect a lot of money), but which have led to nothing.
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The choice to move to 21 GPs would imply obvious consequences on the calendar and on the management of the final part of the season. It would certainly have a significant impact on the title race, favoring whoever comes out of Sepang (November 1) as the World Championship leader.
The problems do not only concern the 2026 calendar, but lead to thoughts about 2027. It is no coincidence that even the drafts of next season’s calendars (neither F1 nor MotoGP) have not been communicated. Everyone is stalling, for obvious reasons. But they cannot wait forever.
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