MotoGP chief to travel to Qatar this week as crunch decision on race looms

MotoGP Group chief Carlos Ezpeleta will reportedly travel to Doha this week to seek assurances that next week’s Qatar Grand Prix can go ahead safely.

The uncertainty over the Qatar Grand Prix, which was postponed from April to the weekend of 6-8 November due to the war in Iran, remains as the conflict in the region escalates.

In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has been subjected to civilian infrastructure attacks by Houthi rebels.

Many world governments have updated their travel advice, urging only essential trips to the region for its citizens.

Crunch time looms for Qatar GP

MotoGP has remained adamant that it will race in Qatar next weekend to conclude its current triple-header.

However, there could yet be a last-minute change of plans following a secret meeting between the riders at the Australian Grand Prix, where most in attendance voted against the idea of going.

Riders then issued demands to Carlos Ezpeleta, deputy CEO at MotoGP Group, for assurances on safety should the race go ahead.

According to GPOne, Ezpeleta will travel to Doha this week ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix to seek those assurances.

What happens next?

MotoGP needs the Qatar Grand Prix to go ahead because of the financial benefit it has on the entire championship.

But it will be doing so by forcing paddock personnel into a potentially dangerous situation.

Should the conflict escalate while MotoGP is in Qatar, it could leave the paddock stranded if the airspace is closed.

Not only would that further endanger lives, but it would also likely have a significant impact on the final two rounds of the campaign in Portugal and Valencia.

At this stage, the outcome of what happens doesn’t seem to rest in the hands of anyone but the organisers.

Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola said on Sunday at Phillip Island: “If the organiser tells us that the conditions are right for us to compete from a safety standpoint, we simply do it.

“We are not in a position to say, ‘I’m not going’. So far, there’s not reason not to. Maybe tomorrow we’ll wake up, and the situation will change, but not today.”

But if the riders aren’t happy with the assurances given, they may have no choice but to boycott the event.

Ultimately, a race can’t happen without the riders.