MotoGP names planned replacement for Valencia season finale

MotoGP plans to hold its new 2024 season finale at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, on the same November 15-17 weekend as the cancelled Valencia round.

After days of speculation over the destiny of the 20th round, following the disastrous flooding in Valencia, Dorna’s Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta explained the situation on Sunday morning at Sepang.

“We thought it was important to tell the riders before they went out on track yesterday, especially those in contention for positions, that there would be another event on the calendar,” Ezpeleta said.

“It’s been a very challenging couple of days, much more so for the Community of Valencia of course, but we think that – given the situation the Championship is in, sporting wise, but also for fans across the world – we thought it was important to hold a final event of the season. We owe that to the paddock and our fans.

“We have been looking at all the possibilities we had, it’s very challenging to organise an event in two weeks, but during the last 48 hours we’ve looked at all possible alternatives.

“We think that Barcelona is the best possible place given the proximity to Valencia, given that a lot of people were already travelling through to get to the finale, and especially for fans – we think it’s the best possible place for them.

“We also know we will be able to help the Community of Valencia from that location as well.

“That’s why we’ve requested the Government of Catalunya to be able to hold the event there. They want to communicate and align themselves with both the Government of Spain and that of Valencia before confirming the event, and we hope that confirmation comes in the next 48 hours.

“But the urgency right now is Valencia – not confirming our GP. It’s something we can wait for and once it’s confirmed we’ll start working as hard as possible, as it’s definitely a challenge but we think there’s a lot of good we can do and we feel owe it to our fans.

“We want to thank the entire MotoGP community, the riders, and the teams, for their proactiveness, help, and support.”

Barcelona hosted the seventh round of this year’s championship on May 24-26, when local star Aleix Espargaro won the Sprint for Aprilia after a mistake by Francesco Bagnaia, who rebounded with victory in the grand prix.

Espargaro is now set to make the final appearance of his full-time career at his local track.

With the traditional visit to Valencia untenable for logistic and ethical reasons due to the flooding, Qatar and Portimao joined Spanish circuits Barcelona, Jerez and Aragon on the list of potential replacements.

Qatar was persistently mentioned due to its favourable climate, but another flyaway would mean considerable financial costs.

Valencia hosted 93,000 Sunday fans for last year’s finale. MotoGP is thought to be aiming for around 50,000 at Montmelo, which is easily accessible from Barcelona city and 3-4 hours drive from Valencia.

The new finale - featuring all three classes - is due to be followed by a post-season MotoGP test on Tuesday, when Spaniard Marc Marquez will make his factory Ducati debut.

Several riders have already pledged to donate prize money to the victims of the Valencia floods, with MotoGP also set to ‘race for Valencia’ in Barcelona.

It remains to be seen if Barcelona will also host a title showdown, with Jorge Martin having his first chance to wrap up the 2024 MotoGP crown at Sepang this afternoon.

The Moto2 and Moto3 titles have already been decided.

Michelin told Crash.net there will be enough time to produce the tyres for Barcelona, as a European venue, but the cooler temperatures mean that the compounds might well be different to the May race.