Hungary’s Balaton Park will host both World Superbikes and MotoGP over a one-month period next year, marking the country’s return to top-tier motorcycle racing for the first time in over three decades.
Balaton Park Circuit is a 2.5-mile circuit in western Hungary owned by one-time F1 practice session starter Chanoch Nissany. Far from being a repurposed airfield as so many other tracks start out, the circuit first broke ground in 2013 and was built with tourism and business in mind. Situated on the edge of Balaton Lake – the largest lake in central Europe and itself a popular tourist destination – the track is currently building a hotel on the final corners, from the roof of which almost the entire circuit will be visible.
A fitting place for MotoGP to make its return to Hungarian soil then, as the world championship hopes to welcome at least 120,000 spectators across the three days of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Although the circuit only opened in May 2023, negotiations with MotoGP actually started back in 2019 – highlighting both the circuit and the MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports’ commitment to racing in Hungary. This commitment is reflected in the deal Dorna has struck with the country’s government agency HUMDA, as a Hungarian GP is confirmed for the next 10 years in one form or another. Balaton Park has a guaranteed three races, though there is an option for the race to move to the better-known Hungaroring should it be re-homologated.
That homologation is what Balaton Park is focusing on. While the circuit was built to FIA Grade 1 standards – meaning it could theoretically host an F1 race – and is currently Grade 2, the standards aren’t the same as the ones set by motorcycle governing body FIM. Bikes require a very different set of regulations due to the very different ways in which they crash, and the inherent danger that comes from not having a metal shell to protect riders when they fall.
To account for this, Balaton Park is making some additions to the circuit, with nine-time premier class race winner Loris Capirossi involved with the redesign. The first sector will remain the same, while the fast, sweeping Turn 7 will have two smaller radius corners added to afford riders some more runoff on the outside.
Sector one will be largely unaffected by the changes
Photo by: Balaton Park
The track will continue straight down into the chicane of Turns 8 and 9, and the hairpin of 10, with the second…
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