until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
The 2024 MotoGP calendar is set to change once again, according to The Race’s sources in the paddock, with the inaugural Kazakh Grand Prix set to be cancelled for the second time this year and replaced instead with a second trip to Qatar’s Lusail circuit in late September.
The Kazakhstani race, originally set to happen for the first time at the Sokol circuit in 2023, was instead delayed until June of this year, only for extensive flooding in early April in the northern provinces of the vast country meaning it was delayed until mid-September, where it took the date of the Indian Grand Prix - which now won’t happen again until 2025.
However while flooding was cited as the reason for the initial postponement, it’s understood there are also still issues around the preparedness of the track that have not yet been rectified.
With both the Indian race originally set to be held on Sokol’s second date lost for 2024 amid somewhat uncertain circumstances and with Argentina’s radical new president meaning that the Termas de Rio Hondo race was pulled from the calendar early on in the season, series organiser Dorna can’t afford to see yet another race falling from what was due to be a 21-event calendar.
There’s a made-for replacement ready to replace Sokol, however, with Qatar's Lusail circuit both one of the quieter venues (with no events scheduled between March’s MotoGP race and Formula 1’s November visit) and with the track being well situated from a logistical standpoint.
MotoGP recently signed a new partnership with Qatar Airways that means that the majority of both cargo and personnel for the championship traditionally transit via the Middle Eastern country anyway.
And, with Kazakhstan set to be back-to-back with the Indonesian Grand Prix, a move from Sokol to Lusail would likely make the massive operation of moving the GP circus between countries substantially easier given the difficulties and delays we’ve seen in the past when visiting a country for the first time.
