The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Dorna Sports have announced the postponement of the MotoGP season opener in Argentina.
This comes one day after the postponement of the Austin event as the MotoGP calendar continues to change.
The ongoing coronavirus outbreak has resulted in travel restrictions worldwide which have severely affected the MotoGP season. The first race to be affected was the season opener in Qatar, which was cancelled – although Moto2 and Moto3 did run their events. The events on Thailand and Austin were subsequently postponed following local bans on large public gatherings.
The Rio Hondo race was cast into doubt when the Argentine government implemented a ban on all international sporting events due to the COVID-19 crisis.
This announcement comes just hours after a new calendar was issued confirming the Argentina race as the new season opener. Instead, the race will be held on November 22 as the second half of the calendar becomes increasingly congested.
The FIM issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon, confirming the postponement of the event. It also stated that the season finale in Valencia has been pushed back a week to accommodate the South American round.
“The FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports regret to announce the postponement of the Gran Premio Motul de la Republica Argentina, which was set to take place from the 17th to the 19th of April.
“Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the event has been rescheduled for later in the season and will now take place from the 20th to the 22nd of November.
“The Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana will therefore now be held from the 27th to the 29th of November.
“The Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas retains its new date from the 13th to the 15th of November, a week before the rescheduled Gran Premio Motul de la Republica Argentina.
“Following these schedule changes, the 2020 MotoGP™ class season is now set to begin with the Gran Premio Red Bull de España at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto from the 1st to the 3rd of May 2020.”
The season is now scheduled to start on May 3 at Jerez. Unless another calendar change is enforced.