Kazakhstan GP replaced by second Misano MotoGP round

The Kazakhstan Grand Prix will be replaced on the 2024 MotoGP calendar by a second round at Misano, it was announced on Monday.

The news means it is the third time the Kazakhstan race has been postponed since it was originally included on the calendar.

First scheduled to make its debut in 2023, the Sokol event was postponed until July this year because the circuit was not ready in time.

But flooding in the area meant the race was again postponed. Although it was believed it could replace the cancelled Indian GP in September, the lack of guarantees offered by the local organisers meant MotoGP decided to call off the Kazakhstan event entirely.

It becomes the third grand prix of the season to be cancelled following India and Argentina, with the calendar down to 20 events from the original 22.

In Kazakhstan’s place, MotoGP announced on Monday a second grand prix at Misano, which will host the San Marino GP on 6-8 September, two weeks before the second event on 20-22 September.

Once it became clear that the problems that had arisen prevented the event from being held, Dorna began to look for options with the intention of avoiding leaving a calendar with only 19 events.

The first idea was to arrange a second visit to Qatar, which hosted the season-opener in March and also facilitated the logistics for the teams with a view to the next event, scheduled for the following weekend in Indonesia.

However, the failure to reach an agreement with Qatar, and the high temperatures in the area in September, forced the MotoGP chiefs to look for other candidates.

Valencia and Misano then emerged as the ideal replacements, although there was even talk of returning to Brno.

In the end, it will be Misano, where the teams will face a logistical challenge to get everything ready for the bikes to take to the track in Indonesia, just five days later.