Qatar MotoGP race postponed, not cancelled.

[mangocrazy]

MotoGP has confirmed that it has postponed the Qatar MotoGP race, rather than cancelling it outright, to the weekend of 8 November. MotoGP has been forced into a major calendar reshuffle, which will see the season end later than planned. Qatar will now form the back-end of a triple-header with Australia and Malaysia. The Portuguese Grand Prix has been moved back to the weekend of 22 November, with the Valencia finale now on 29 November.

So end the season in Europe when the continent is deep into autumn and winter officially only a couple of days away? To me there are so many things that could go wrong here, and all just to make sure that Qatar doesn't lose its MotoGP slot.

[Skub]

War.
What is it good for.
Huh.

[mangocrazy]

It's a topsy-turvy world - if race weekends were assigned to venues based on logic, then Phillip Island would be as late in the year as possible so that Aus was heading in to summer. You wouldn't end the season in Yurop, as the weather is very likely to intervene (as it did in 2024). So you'd have the Spanish and Portuguese rounds in October and the flyaway races in November.

But of course the PI 'problem' will disappear in 2027, probably never to return.

[Leo_Hunter]

It does feel like a risky way to end the season, especially with weather and travel issues becoming more unpredictable that late in the year.
I get why they want to keep Qatar on the calendar, but squeezing everything into the final months could easily create more problems for teams and riders.

[Skub]

The way the Donald is managing things,the same reasons for bypassing Qatar may very well still exist at the end of the year.

Or be worse....