The Kazakhstan Grand Prix, scheduled for mid-June, had to be postponed earlier this year due to flooding and a state of emergency in the region. After the cancellation of the Indian GP, the meeting at Sokol International Racetrack was added back to the calendar, this time for the weekend of 20-22 September. Motorsport.com can reveal, however, that the race in Kazakhstan will not go ahead either, as the event’s organisers cannot provide sufficient guarantees to the championship.
MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports has made considerable efforts in recent months to ensure the race near Almaty can take place. Staff have been sent to Sokol International Racetrack on a regular basis to speed up the work that still needs to be done. However, they are hampered by the fact that the circuit is located in a very remote area, where there is also little infrastructure.
The Kazakhstan GP is the third race of the original 2024 MotoGP calendar that will not take place. At an earlier stage, the Argentine Grand Prix had to be removed from the calendar due to the loss of state support for the event, following which India was removed due to non-compliance with obligations towards Dorna. Of the originally planned 22 races, nineteen remain, although MotoGP has found an alternative to still reach 20 Grands Prix: a second Qatar Grand Prix will be added to the program.
The Lusail International Circuit already hosted the opening race and will welcome MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 once more between 20 and 22 September. This race will kick off a busy Asian tour, consisting of two triple-headers. Directly following the second GP of Qatar, race weekends in Indonesia and Japan are on the programme. This will be followed by a triple-header consisting of the GPs of Australia, Thailand and Malaysia, following which the season will be concluded with the GP of Valencia between 15 and 17 November.
The Grand Prix of Kazakhstan has not yet had a happy life. Last year, the race was supposed to make its debut on the MotoGP calendar, but shortly following the season started, the race weekend was cancelled because the circuit was not yet finished. After the postponement earlier this year, a cancellation will now follow in 2024.
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