The Qatar World Superbike round scheduled for next week has been postponed, the latest motorsport event to have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
The news follows the cancellation of the MotoGP event scheduled to take place in Qatar this weekend because of the ongoing crisis with the COVID-19 virus and the travel restrictions imposed by the Qatar government.
The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) released a statement regarding the event’s postponement.
“The FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization regret to announce that the Lauretana Water Qatar Round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is to be postponed until further notice.
“As the global coronavirus outbreak continues, travel restrictions to Qatar have been enforced, primarily affecting passengers from Italy, amongst others. People arriving directly from the country or who have been in Italy in the past two weeks will be taken directly to quarantine for a minimum of 14 days.
“Italian participation in WorldSBK – both on track and off – is vital, thus the decision has been taken to postpone the Lauretana Water Qatar Round until further notice. Further updates will be published in due course.”
Finding an alternative date for the Qatar World Superbike round will be difficult as the circuit will undergo significant works in preparation for the 2021 MotoGP event, which includes a full resurfacing for the first time since the facility was opened in 2003, as well as a refurbishment of the paddock and replacing the tracks floodlights.
The World Superbike season is now scheduled to resume at Jerez on March 28-29. Alex Lowes currently leads the championship after winning the opening round at Phillip Island last weekend.
