Dorna Sports postpones Qatar and Thai MotoGP races amid coronavirus outbreak

The 2020 MotoGP season is stalling at the starting line as its first two rounds have just been canceled. 

The opening round of the 2020 season, originally planned to commence at Losail International Circuit in Qatar this coming weekend, March 6 to 8, 2020, has been cancelled. To mitigate the spread of the coronavirus (COVID 19) in their region, the Qatari government has imposed travel restrictions on certain nationalities. As a result, Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder for MotoGP, have also decided to cancel the MotoGP class for this weekend's race in Losail. Moto2 and Moto3 races, on the other hand, will proceed as planned.

What about Thailand, which was scheduled to host the second MotoGP event of the season? The FIM, IRTA, and Dorna officially announced today that the entire race weekend has been postponed, with no estimated date for a rescheduled event. The Government of Thailand has communicated with Dorna Sports that due to the circumstances surrounding the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus, it is not possible to hold the OR Thailand Grand Prix on its original date. The race weekend was originally scheduled to take place in Buriram, Thailand at the Chang International Circuit from March 20 to 22, 2020.

There may still be hope for the Thai MotoGP race if an alternative date can be agreed upon between Dorna, FIM, IRTA, and the Thai government. It will likely be rescheduled to a date later on this season.

This is a developing story and we will keep you posted of any updates.

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