Hungary plans to join MotoGP calendar

Hungary has joined the growing list of new countries seeking a place on the future MotoGP calendar.

A 'Memorandum of Understanding' has been signed between the Hungarian government and Dorna Sports to host a world championship round from 2022 to 2026, subject to the Promoter’s Contract being signed before the end of February 2020.

The host venue for the Grand Prix event 'will be a new circuit, likely in the east of the country'.

"I am very proud to be able to announce negotiations for another addition to the future MotoGP calendar and continue to see our sport grow and develop across the world," said Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpelet.a

"A new race – and circuit – in Hungary is an exciting prospect for us all and brings MotoGP back to a country with a great tradition in racing in which we're excited to see MotoGP play a key role going forward."

László Palkovics, Minister for Innovation and Technology, recently presented plans to the Hungarian Parliament and a final decision on the location for the new event and venue is expected early in 2020.

"I am very happy to announce MotoGP is set to return to Hungary," Palkovics said. "Soon, a strategy for the development of Hungarian motorsports will be submitted to the government; this strategy will include numerous objectives and measures, and – in addition to success in the sport and its impact on tourism – it is also needed because the industry has a dominant impact on the success of the Hungarian economy. The key areas of intervention are the development of Hungaroring and the domestic sports infrastructure, in which a new circuit and MotoGP event will play a key role.”

The Hungaroring held a 500cc Grand Prix in 1990 and 1992, while a planned return to the country via the proposed Balatonring circuit for 2010 (on the back of Gabor Talmacsi's 125cc success) never materialised.

Finland is due to become the 20th MotoGP round next season, with a return to Indonesia set for 2021. Brazil then has a five-year deal starting in 2022, when Portugual also has some kind of 'pre-agreement' in place. Mexico and Vietnam are among other countries to have expressed interest in MotoGP.

Due to the expanding calendar, some of the Spanish-based rounds could alternate between the existing Jerez, Catalunya, Aragon (which arrived as a replacement for the Balatonring) and Valencia circuits.