MotoGP racing may begin in July in Spain, but without fans

The plan for the two MotoGP races on July 19 and 26, followed by a World Superbike race the following weekend at the same track, were announced today by Dorna, the organizer of both world championship roadracing series. The plan was also approved by the mayor of Jerez and the Andalusia regional government, but still must be approved by the national government.

If they happen, the two MotoGP races at Jerez would be the first of the year. The next rounds after that on the current version of the revised schedule are in the Czech Republic and Austria, and local media in those countries have reported that organizers are still hopeful those rounds can go on, though also without fans.

Meanwhile, World Superbike was able to hold its first round in Australia in February before the COVID-19 outbreak accelerated. MotoGP missed having its opening in round in Qatar in early March by about a week. Moto2 and Moto3 teams that were already in Qatar for testing had their opening races, but MotoGP teams were already locked down at home, unable to travel.

For some time, Dorna has been considering how it can resume racing with only a minimum number of team members and other staff at the track, to enable everyone to maintain social distancing while still racing for the TV cameras. Even with slimmed-down teams (no hospitality, no press officers) and no independent media allowed, it still takes a few thousand people, with racers, mechanics, race officials, medical personnel, marshals and TV crews to put on a weekend of racing in all three MotoGP classes.