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Two things can be said about Spa-Francorchamps. One is that the Belgian track is one of the most iconic race circuits in Europe, and the other is that it is one of the most harrowing race courses anywhere in the world.

It is for the second reason that motorcycles do not race there at the international level, and it is for the first reason that it is a great shame that they do not. Things are about to change, however.

Have you ever wanted to own your own race track? Do you have $10 million burning a hold in your pocket? Then we have a deal for you, as the Oregon Raceway Park (ORP) in Grass Valley, Oregon is for sale.

The 2.34-mile road course has multiple configurations and can be run in either direction. Sitting on a 434-acre plot of land (100 acres are still undeveloped), there is plenty of room for growth, which might be a good idea considering the lack of facilities present at the circuit and its remote location.

MotoGP could be headed back to Brazil. That is the news coming out of the Catalan GP, as Dorna and Rio Motorsports have inked a preliminary agreement to add the South American round to the MotoGP calendar.

If the deal is followed through, it could mean a MotoGP race in Rio de Janeiro as early as the 2021 season.

The big “if” in all this is the building of a new race track near Rio de Janeiro, which once it passes homologation, it could “potentially” be added to the MotoGP calendar as the Brazilian GP, according to a press release from Dorna.

“We would be thrilled to see MotoGP return to Brazil and this memorandum of understanding is fantastic news for the Championship and South American fans,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports.

“We have a truly global sport, paddock and grid and to add another country to our calendar – especially one such as Brazil – is always something to aspire to. It would be a pleasure for MotoGP to race in a country and continent known for its passion and incredible atmosphere.”

Northern Irish fans of World Superbike should rejoice at the news that the premier production motorcycle championship is coming to a track near them, as WorldSBK is set to compete at the Lake Torrent Circuit for the 2019 season.

The news comes today in a joint press release from Dorna (the media rights holder to WorldSBK) and Manna Developments (the circuit developer), where a three-year contract was announced today.

There is one caveat of course, and that is the fact that there isn’t a Lake Torrent Circuit…at least not yet, as Manna has yet to break ground on the construction of the track, which is destined to live just 40 minutes outside of Belfast.

Grand Prix racing is to return to Finland, after an absence of 38 years. Today, Dorna announced that they have confirmed the five-year agreement signed with the KymiRing circuit. The Finnish circuit is to host a round of MotoGP from the 2019 season onwards.

A deal had been signed between Dorna and the KymiRing in 2016, which gave the circuit a five-year contract to host MotoGP. The original plan had been for the circuit to be completed in time to host a race in 2018, but time constraints have pushed that back a year.

After last week’s announcements from the Circuit of Wales and the Hungaroring, there comes news from two more circuits this week. Firstly, that the legendary Belgian Spa Francorchamps circuit is looking to host a MotoGP round.

And secondly, that MSV has taken over the lease to run the Donington Park circuit, also possibly opening the door to a return for MotoGP.

After the tragic death of Luis Salom, as a result of injuries sustained in a crash during Moto2 FP2, the track layout is to be modified for the remainder of the MotoGP weekend. The event is to continue, in accordance with the wishes of the family of Luis Salom, as well as the riders and teams.

The track configuration is to be changed, and the riders in all three classes will use the layout used by Formula One, which has a much sharper corner at Turn 10, the rounded corner being replaced with something approaching a hairpin.

Now instead of the flowing into Turn 12, riders will also use the chicane that replaces it for F1, adding a tighter right-hander followed by a sharp left-right combination. The new layout is shown in a graphic above.

To allow the riders to get accustomed to the new layout, all three classes will be given 15 minutes extra track time in FP3. This means that FP3 will start at 8:40am for the Moto3 class, and last until 9:35am. MotoGP FP3 will run between 9:50a, and 10:50am, while Moto2 FP3 will take place between 11:05am and 12:05pm.

The Circuit of Wales was dealt a significant setback on Wednesday, after the Welsh Economy Minister refused to offer a 100% guarantee for the £357 million development project.

Without the guarantee, the future of the project is now uncertain, with doubts over the willingness of Aviva, a British insurance company, to continue with backing for the project.

After a long period of preparation, which included a Public Enquiry on the transfer of public lands, work was set to start on the circuit, set just outside Ebbw Vale in South Wales. Work had already started to get the site of the circuit ready to start construction.

The final piece of the puzzle had been secured several weeks ago, in the form of financial backing from Aviva. However, the Heads of The Valley Development Company had asked the Welsh Government to underwrite 100% of the investment in the project, with reports in the regional newspaper South Wales Argus suggesting that such demands had come from Aviva.

The Circuit of Wales is edging ever closer to becoming a reality. BBC Wales is reporting that UK insurance giant Aviva will be backing the Circuit of Wales project, and providing funds to allow building work on the track near Ebbw Vale in South Wales to start.

Construction will take some time, however, and Silverstone will continue to host the British round of MotoGP for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, the race only moving to the Circuit of Wales from 2018 onwards.

The news that Aviva is to provide financial backing for the Circuit of Wales still leaves many questions unanswered. It is not clear from the reports by BBC Wales exactly how much money Aviva will be putting into the track.

The circuit needs £300 million in private investment, on top of roughly £30 million in public funding in the form of loans. Whether Aviva will be providing the full £300 million for the Circuit of Wales, or sufficient seed money for building work to start is unclear.

Within a day of the announcement that the British round of MotoGP would not be held at Donington Park comes confirmation that the race will be held at Silverstone.

The ending of the relationship between Donington and the Circuit of Wales meant that a replacement venue had to be found at short notice, and with only Silverstone currently capable of hosting a MotoGP round, the deal was quickly arranged.