The eighth race of the 2024 MotoGP season was actually supposed to take place today. But the premiere of the Kazakhstan Grand Prix will not happen for the time being. As in the previous year, the first race at the Sokol International Raceway had to be cancelled. Later, however, the GP was put back on the calendar as a replacement for another one. Motorsport-Magazin.com explains the background to you.
MotoGP race in Kazakhstan: A problem child since 2023
The Kazakhstan Grand Prix was already on the provisional calendar for the premier class in 2023. At that time, however, the race had to be cancelled because the necessary construction work in Sokol could not be completed in time, meaning the track had not yet been homologated. There were also problems in providing the necessary track personnel, which is required for a weekend of the three classes of the motorcycle world championship.
This year, MotoGP officials made a new attempt and planned a race weekend in Kazakhstan from 14 to 16 June. There was repeated speculation as to whether the infrastructure and personnel issues would allow an event before the summer break in 2024. But Dorna sports director Carlos Ezpeleta gave the MotoGP teams the opportunity to start the season in Qatar made a clear commitment: the event in Central Asia should take place.
Environmental disasters prevent MotoGP visit
At the beginning of May, however, there was bad news from those responsible for the MotoGP race in Kazakhstan: the planned date in mid-June could not be kept. In a letter dated May 3, the FIM, IRTA and Dorna cited the severe flooding in Kazakhstan and parts of Russia as the reason. The country had to declare a state of disaster in April. More than 100,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes. Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke of the worst flooding in more than 80 years.
An official statement from MotoGP also said: “Unforeseen weather conditions have caused flooding in Central Asia, triggering a national emergency in Kazakhstan and displacing much of the population. It would be irresponsible for MotoGP to place additional burdens on authorities or services as they work to help the tens of thousands of people affected across the country.”
Kazakhstan GP in September as replacement for India
However, those responsible then made it clear that the Kazakhstan GP would only be postponed for the time being and not cancelled. A short time later, the next twist followed when another MotoGP race had to be cancelled.
Since MotoGP also had to cancel its guest appearance in India, a September slot suddenly became free in the jam-packed calendar for the second half of the season. This is exactly what the Kazakhstan GP is now set to take over. On May 29, shortly after the cancellation of the Indian GP, officials announced that the Sokol International Racetrack would step in as a replacement. The 14th race of the season will therefore take place near Almaty from September 20 to 22.
The postponement of the Kazakhstan race has created a large gap in the MotoGP calendar. There are three race-free weekends between the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello and the Dutch TT in Assen. Just seven days after the MotoGP visit to the Netherlands, the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring is already taking place. After that, the two-wheeled stars will go on their summer break. This means that there are now only two races in the motorcycle world championship until the end of July.