While MotoGP is popular across Europe, many consider it to be too Eurocentric as twelve of the eighteen races on the calendar are hosted on the old continent, but this will be changing in the near future as the economic crunch and Eurozone debt crisis worsens.

Dorna wants MotoGP to have a greater appeal across the world and other nations are vying to host a race. Argentina is already scheduled in 2013, while India also wants to be on the calendar with negotiations currently ongoing and Carmelo Ezpeleta having visited the Buddh International Circuit last month. Jorge Lorenzo during his PR tour last week also said that India is ‘ready’.

According to MCN.com South Korea also wants to host a race and Dorna representatives visited the Korea International Circuit last week, with countries like Chile and Brazil also showing interest.

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It may be just a coincidence that Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta during his press conference at the Wrooom event mentioned that in the near future there will no longer be four Grand Prix events held in Spain, and the Catalan and Valencian governments are currently talking about the financial feasibility of hosting both MotoGP and Formula 1.

Spain is one of the countries in Europe who is cutting back big on public spending and The Minister of Economy and Knowledge of the Generalitat of Catalonia Andreu Mas-Colell, went on the record stating that hosting both Formula 1 and Motogp due to the difficult economic situtation that the region is currently facing has to be reconsidered.

“It’s the first thing that we rethinking, but due to the situation we have to look line by line where we are spending money,” said the Minister, who also admitted that “there are contracts that are more expensive to maintain than break.”

Even the Valencia region is discussing the idea of dropping F1 or MotoGP as they too help subsidize the races. Spanish fans are rabid about motorsports and flock to the races and know that hosting these events brings a lot of revenue to the local economy, but they may find themselves limited to one or maybe two races in 2013 as other countries want to get on the calendar.

Source | motopasionmoto.com

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Dorna has officially confirmed the 2012 Jerez GP. The popular venue was in doubt due to its now well known financial problems, however the city of Jerez has come through with the €4 million euros that Dorna wanted to host the event.

“We are delighted to confirm that the 2012 Grand Prix of Spain will be held at the Circuito de Jerez, a very special locale for the MotoGP World Championship.” said Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta. “I’d like to thank the Junta de Andalucía and Jerez de la Frontera City Council for their support in working toward securing this iconic event. We’ll now look ahead to the future of the event and focus on working together to reach an agreement up until 2016.”

The Estoril and Sachsenring rounds who were still indicated on the recently revised 2012 MotoGP calendar as ’subject to contract’ have yet to be officially confirmed by Dorna.

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Valentino Rossi may no longer be considered one of the “aliens” (his move to Ducati fixed that), but he’s still one the most popular riders in the world and holds considerable political clout in the GP paddock and Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta knows it.

The MotoGP riders with a few exceptions held another meeting at Indianapolis regarding the controversial Motegi GP (no one really wants to go and most riders and paddock personnel are being pressured into attending) discussing the situation, the penalties and consequences of not going.

Rossi is one of riders that has said he may not be going (and it’s not about the radiation leaks from Fukushima, but more about the stability of the nuclear reactors) but he’s also riding for an Italian team and his current standings position puts him in an ‘envious’ position compared to the riders who work for Japanese manufacturers and those who are fighting for the championship title.

But Dorna’s Carmelo Ezpeleta and Javier Alonso (Managing Director) have all the same decided to put the screws to the once fair haired child of MotoGP and asked him to reconsider his position on the Japanese GP, because if Rossi capitulates on Motegi then all the remaining resistances will become futile.

Whether the Italian will flip on the Japanese race remains to be seen and October isn’t that far away.

Source | motocuatro.com

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A couple of weeks ago there were rumors circulating that Istanbul Park could be the replacement for the Japanese Grand Prix if the current situation in Japan remains critical.

Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta speaking to Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, confirmed that the round that was postponed to October following the devasting earthquake and tsunami cannot be held for safety reasons (read radiation) no replacement circuit will take over the Motegi GP.

“We’re waiting for the local promoters decision, but in any case, if they should decide to cancel the race this year, there will be no replacement. A national competition is scheduled to be held in July, which means that by then the venue should be usable and we should be certain on what we’ll do.”

However Ezpeleta is convinced that the promoters will be act in the best interest of everyone involved, “I have full confidence in the Japanese, if they tell us the race can go ahead, it’s because safety will be 1,000%. If the situation isn’t clear, I’m certain they’ll be the first at evaluating the situation appropriately.”

Source | omnicorse.it

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Last January we reported that Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna’s CEO, had mentioned he was in talks with promoters both in India and the Texas’ new F1 circuit to host a round of MotoGP in the very near future.

While most of these talks pan out to nothing, the rumor of a Texas GP is getting stronger according to Superbikeplanet.com who is reporting that Austin will be hosting a round in 2013 and that we should be getting confirmation as soon as next week, and that the US may be getting three GP rounds, with Indianapolis Motor Speedway still in negotiations to get a further extension to their contract after 2011.

The Texas facility which is still under construction will hold 120,000 fans and is due to host F1 in 2012.

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News sources from Qatar are reporting that the second round of the MotoGP season that was to be held at Motegi on April 24th, will be postponed following the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last Friday morning.

Just yesterday we posted that Carmelo Ezpeleta decision whether to hold the race was still on hold pending the Japanese promoter’s wishes, and following the devasting aftermath conditions that Japan is now fighting against.

It is believed that the race will be held on October 2nd, between the Motorland Aragon GP on September 18th and the Australian round on October 16th. This date would also give the riders enough of a breather before taking on the two back-to-back flyaway races, however we are currently waiting to see the FIM’s official press release confirming the actual postponement date.

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If it wasn’t enough that the Japanese people have to cope with the devasting earthquake and tsunami aftermath, they now be facing radiation leakage from five of their nuclear plants.

Talking about the MotoGP race that is scheduled in April at Motegi, seems terribly senseless and even unthinkable at this point, but the “circus” is discussing the fact if the race should be canceled or at least postponed until Japan can get back on her feet again.

Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta speaking to Spanish website AS.com has said “No decisions will be made until we see how events evolve this week. I had a chance to talk to people at the circuit, which fortunately has not had any deaths among its workers and they said they suffered only minor damage. It isn’t the circuit conditions that concerns us regarding the April 24th race, it’s the psychological state of the country. If the Japanese express a desire to hold the race, we will do it. If they prefer to postpone it, we will do it. If they want to cancel the race, we will cancel it. Japan is an important country for this sport, and our thoughts are with them in this difficult moment.”

The problem isn’t the circuit or the roads heading to circuit, but the Tokai II nuclear plant which is just 51 km from the Motegi circuit and is currently on alert, with problems to its cooling systems. If the race is to be postponed, it would probably be rescheduled in October as it was after last year’s Icelandic volcano eruption.

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The saga regarding pushing the Phillip Island calendar date earlier in the season is continuing.

While the 2011 date is set in stone, Dorna’s Carmelo Ezpeleta has said that the Australian round will not take place after 2011, unless it is moved away from its current October date, to earlier in the year, despite circuit organizers stating that their contract is for races to be held in September or October until 2016, and that Australian fans have nothing to worry about and that they will continue to get their MotoGP fix.

While the riders have repeatedly complained about the poor weather conditions that they have recently found at the Island during the October dates, the saga earnestly began after last year’s race. Australian Grand Prix corporation chairman Ron Walker has been working with Dorna in finding a solution but Ezpeleta seems pretty adamant on what he wants.

Continue reading: Tug of war continues on Phillip Island MotoGP date

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Last season Dorna renewed an only one year extension with the Indianapolis Motors Speedway with rumors saying that Indy would remain on the calendar for another season while the new F1 circuit in Austin, Texas is being built.

During every Vrooom event, Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta shows up for his own press conference, reporting on the state of affairs in MotoGP and what the future holds for the premier racing class. This year, besides talking about not taking any current legal action against Suzuki for running only one bike, that we will see 22 bikes on the grid (we’ve heard that one before), that he doesn’t give a shit (my word, not his) about Infront’s (Flammini’s WSBK series) complaints regarding what are prototypes and what aren’t, he also confirmed that he was in talks with both India and Austin regarding hosting GP racing in the new venues, however the Austin promoter has denied discussions with Dorna.

“MotoGP would be great for Texas and the fans but I haven’t had any discussions with him (Ezpeleta) about that,” said U.S. Grand Prix promoter Tavo Hellmund talking to website statesman.com “Everything is F1.”

We bet that the preliminary talks that Ezpeleta refers to, have probably been with Kevin Schwantz, who is a consultant and on the board of the new Texas track.

Source | autosport.com and autosport.com and autoweek.com

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Phillip Island is probably one of the best loved racing venues for both fans and riders, but after this year’s GP with it’s very flukey weather conditions and the usual rider complaints, Dorna’s CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta set out immediately to try to have the traditional October date pushed up earlier in the season.

Ezpeleta according to MCN, has even warned the track organizers that if GP racing doesn’t get a March date for 2012 season, it won’t be granted FIM homologation. However Andrew Westacott of the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island, has confirmed that there is no risk that the venue will be removed from the calendar, citing that their contract states that the races are to be held in September or October until 2016.

“Dorna has asked us to review the matter and those discussions are ongoing,” said Westacott. “But the timeslot and the preferred option for us it to have it in September/October. As most motorsport fans will know, the vagaries of the weather mean that there’s no guarantees of a good day or bad at Phillip Island.”

True that no one can guarantee the weather at Phillip Island, or anywhere else as a matter of fact, but the World Superbike championship that holds their event at the Island at end of February, has to the best of my very untrusty memory, never really faced the topsy turvy weather conditions that MotoGP does in October.

Source | au.sports.yahoo.com

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Is there no end to the effect that the Valentino Rossi-Ducati partnership will have on the world of the MotoGP? In rumours coming from London, it is said that Dorna could sell the MotoGP championship as it looks to cash in on the Rossi-Ducati partnership in the twilight years of the biggest drawing card the championship has ever seen - the career of the champion Italian rider.

The rumours state that Dorna, owned by Bridgepoint financier group, could look to sell the MotoGP series in the first half of next year after a four-year ownership of the sport. It originally acquired the MotoGP from CVC group for a sum reportedly around 450 million euros. The CVC group now owns the Formula 1 racing series.

In some ways, while the news seems almost unbelievable, if there were to be any sale it would make sense for it to happen in the near future: after the introduction of the Moto2 and Moto3 classes and the move to 1000cc engines from 2012. Incredibly though, one of the main reasons cited for the possible sale is that Dorna could profit handsomely from the new Rossi-Ducati team by selling now, making a healthy sale and whoever the new owners might be will be left with a couple of years of Rossi still on the grid, before the sport comes to a slight halt (if the tone of the reports is to be credited).

Continue reading: Valentino Rossi in Ducati to cause Dorna to sell MotoGP?

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