MotoGP continues to shake up its calendar and the World Championship will start next year at the Buriram circuit in Thailand. It will be the first time that it will do so in Southeast Asia in the 21st century. The last time MotoGP started in the region was in Malaysia, still under the old 500cc name. This return replaces the Qatar night, an unmissable opening event since 2007 with the only exception of 2023, when works on the Lusail circuit forced the start of the championship to be moved to Portugal. The first Grand Prix of 2025 is scheduled for March 2.
“As soon as Buriram joined the calendar, it became one of our favourite circuits. It’s easy to see why – it’s a fantastic place to enjoy MotoGP, with a layout designed to showcase compact racing, as demonstrated by last year’s spectacle,” explains Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta on the choice of the Thai track. “Southeast Asia is one of our most important markets, both for the sport and for factories and sponsors,” he adds. Since its introduction to the series in 2018, more than 800,000 fans have flocked to the Buriram International Circuit over four editions of the event.
The dates of Ramadan in 2025 – from February 28 to March 29 – and 2026 – from February 17 to March 18 – have affected the usual planning of recent years and forced a rethinking of the initial part of the championship, which will probably include another date in the region. For now, the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has not officially announced any other dates for the competition for the next season, and it is expected that the provisional calendar will arrive later during the current campaign.
The Buriram circuit made its debut on the calendar in 2018 with Marc Márquez winning after a nice, tight duel with Andrea Dovizioso. The following year, the Thai track was the scene of the Spaniard’s eighth world title. The pandemic forced MotoGP activity to stop in Thailand until 2022, when the event returned with a victory for Miguel Oliveira in a downpour. Last year, Jorge Martín was the winner of the round located in the northeast of the country, which will once again welcome the riders on October 27 for the penultimate grand prix of the season.
This change of venue for the initial stop of the World Championship comes after a 2024 plagued by logistical setbacks for MotoGP. In total, the promoter has announced six changes to the initial calendar of the championship after having announced the longest season in history with 22 stops. The cancellation of the Argentine GP due to Javier Milei’s policy of cuts was the first setback of the season, and then came the mess of postponements of Kazakhstan and India. Finally, the cancellation of both Grand Prix has forced a double stop to be scheduled in Misano in September to safeguard the minimum commitments with commercial partners and to hold 20 races.
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