Americade and U.S. MotoGP round both now officially canceled

Americade, the annual rally held in Lake George, New York, and the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, the only North American round of the MotoGP series, are both now officially canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Americade has been taking place for 37 years and the decision to cancel was a difficult one, said organizer Christian Dutcher. It was originally delayed from its usual June date, but in the end it was canceled.

"I knew that it was a bit of a long shot," Dutcher said of attempts to save the event by delaying it. "The odds of it being financially worthwhile were near zero, but we wanted to give it a try... We didn't want to be yet another event that canceled in 2020. There was already enough depressing news."

The resurgence of cases of COVID-19 led to the conclusion that the rally could not be pulled off safely, Dutcher said.

That same rise in cases, particularly in Texas, as well as international travel restrictions, doomed the U.S. MotoGP round, as well. From the time it was postponed in March when the pandemic was blooming, the U.S. race looked to be on shaky ground. At this point, MotoGP plans 13 rounds in Europe. Recent reports say the organizers of the Thailand round are still trying to preserve that race, but it's very possible the entire series this year will take place in Europe in front of empty stands, for a TV-only audience.

The MotoGP cancelation also means cancelation of what was to be the final round of the MotoAmerica series. The HONOS Superbike series (but not the other MotoAmerica classes) typically races at COTA as part of the MotoGP round. That means at this point the Superbike series consists of nine rounds, not 10.

“It’s a shame that we have to cancel the MotoAmerica round at COTA,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “The race is a highlight of our schedule and it’s always good to combine our efforts with Dorna to put on a great show in Austin. COVID-19 has made it virtually impossible for the MotoGP series to travel to the U.S. so we fully understand the issues they are facing in 2020. We look forward to returning to COTA with MotoGP in 2021. In the meantime, we are working on a solution to find a replacement round as we continue to strive towards having a 20-race Superbike series.”

Of course there's no guarantee that some of the other MotoAmerica rounds won't be canceled, especially if local health authorities decide not to allow fans into the track.

While the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is still on (even if only because it's such a sprawling event with no single entity in charge that it can't be canceled), other large events are falling to the realization that getting thousands of people together in one place is not the same in 2020 as it has been in the past.