The future of the MotoGP round at Brno has finally been secured. The regional authorities have stepped in to secure funding for the Czech Grand Prix for the next five years, starting from 2016.
A deal has been struck with the Czech Ministry of Education and Sports, the City of Brno, and the Moravian regional government to ensure that the Czech round stays for the foreseeable future.
The round had been in doubt for some time, as haggling over finances between the circuit, the city council and the regional government saw the sanctioning fee go partially unpaid for the past several years.
The rights to the round have now been placed with a new and separate organization, run by the various regional and national governments involved, who will organize the round at the Brno circuit. With the financing in place, the race will continue for at least the next five years, and probably beyond.
With a deal for the Brno round now wrapped up, the 2016 MotoGP calendar has taken a step closer to be announced. The order of the races will remain largely unchanged, though the moving of the F1 calendar means that the races are to start earlier.
The season will kick off at Qatar as usual, probably on the 20th of March. From there, the paddock heads overseas to Austin and Argentina, before returning to Europe for the remainder of the season (until the flyaway races, of course).
The changes to F1 mean most of the races will be a week earlier than they were last year, though the dates are completely settled.
Brno was part of the summer puzzle which needed to be sorted out before the calendar could be finalized. The Austrian round at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg will be held back-to-back with Brno, the question mark being if and where Indianapolis will fit in.
The ball is in Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s court, IMS having to decide whether they can afford to host a round of MotoGP next year. That decision will have to be made soon, and will depend to an extent on funding. If Indy returns, there will be an 19-round season, if not, it will remain at 18 rounds.
Bigger changes are expected in 2017, when Thailand is expected to make its debut, along with the possibility of a round in Indonesia. A lot has to happen before that can take place, however.
Photo: © 2015 Tony Goldsmith / www.tonygoldsmith.net – All Rights Reserved
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
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