After the cancellation of the race in Qatar and the suspension of Thailand, the championship fears a season that has been refuted, starting in Jerez, and without tests such as those scheduled in Mugello or Misano
Some of the boxes in the Losail circuit.
The doors of the Losail circuit, an installation in the middle of the desert of Qatar, are the best representation of the paralysis in which the MotoGP World Championship is located. This Monday they should receive hundreds of workers for the preparations for Sunday's race, the first race of the year, but they are closed and will continue until Wednesday. There will be no proof of MotoGP for the coronavirus crisis and, although they will run on Moto2 and Moto3, the cancellation has left a strange scenario in the paddock and, above all, a growing fear. Without Qatar and, after the suspension of the second race, in Thailand, until the end of the year, the championship should start on April 5 in the United States, but nobody dares to confirm it.
“In the last preseason test in Losail (carried out from February 22 to 24), MotoGP teams left all their material in their boxes and now they are here, waiting for someone to come and pick it up. Logistics is important , because Italian workers cannot come for it, the Japanese may also have problems, and it is difficult to know where to return it, “he explains from Qatar on Monday Lou Acedo, press officer of the Estrella Galicia 0,0, which provided some peace of mind. On his arrival at the Doha airport last Wednesday for the Moto2 and Moto3 tests – that is why the teams of those categories were already there – he only had to cross a thermal scanner and neither in the circuit nor in the hotel there are extraordinary measures to Control the virus The Italians and Japanese s passed more exhaustive analyzes upon their arrival in Qatar, but until Sunday 1 they were not forced to quarantine for 14 days that in the end caused the cancellation of the MotoGP race.
All the World Cup actors say that the organizing company, Dorna, has informed them at all times of the situation, although Qatar's decision to restrict the movements of travelers arriving from Italy forced them to make a sudden decision. Last Friday, the teams received an email confirming the celebration of the races in Qatar and Thailand: on Sunday the first one was canceled and the second postponed. “There has been information, but it is a crisis that is growing, it is difficult to manage everything. During the weekend, during the races of Moto2 and Moto3, for example, they have enabled a room in the circuit in case someone is wrong, all wait to the results and we have passed a protocol to know what to do at all times, “he says Patricia Pacheco, telemtrica of the SIC58 Moto3 team that celebrates that, despite the crisis, at the moment nobody related to the World Cup has tested positive for coronavirus.
And that is the great argument to which the organization now clings to try to maintain a more or less extensive calendar this season. Without being infected by the coronavirus within the paddock, the direct cancellation of more races is not contemplated, although political decisions may once again force the plans to change. If the United States Government extends its travel restrictions to citizens from Italy or Japan, the test dispute in Austin is complicated and, as happened with Qatar and Thailand, this could create a dominating effect with Argentina. Some voices within the World Cup already considered, going beyond, the possibility of a start in Jerez, on May 3, and a reduced season without tests such as those scheduled in Mugello or Misano.
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