MotoGP Calendar Changed Again, Phillip Island Canceled

The ongoing fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to reshuffle the 2021 MotoGP calendar.

This morning came news that the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island has been canceled for 2021, with an extra round at Portimao added before Valencia to take its place.

The news had been widely anticipated, as Australia continues to maintain a strict border policy, making staging international sporting events almost impossible.

The dropping of Phillip Island means that the Sepang race has been moved a week earlier, to October 24th, and an additional round added at Algarve International Circuit in Portimão on November 7th, a week before the final round in Valencia.

It seems unlikely (though not impossible) that this will be the final calendar change of the season.

International travel remains precarious, and national restrictions are being lifted and reintroduced in various countries around the world as the Delta variant outbreak gathers pace, outpacing the rate of vaccination, temporarily at least.

The revised 2021 MotoGP Calendar appears below:

* Evening Race
** Subject to Homologation

There will be a maximum of 20 events in the 2021 season. All dates, events and the attendance of spectators are subject to the evolution of the pandemic and the approval of the corresponding Governments and authorities.

Source: MotoGP