This morning, Dorna announced the postponement of the MotoGP Kazakhstan GP to an uncertain date. The Sokol race was scheduled for June 14-16, but the floods in Central Asia forced this radical decision.
The new dates have not been announced, with only the information that the Kazakhstan GP will take place later in the year. With a congested calendar, there are few dates available to fit it in.
The first consequence of this postponement is an early summer break: there will be a 26-day gap between the Sunday of the Italian GP and the Friday of the Dutch GP. Looking at the schedule in the second part of the season, there are some moments that seem more logical for the Kazakhstan GP.
One of them is from August 9 to 11, between the British and Austrian GPs with three rounds in a row. The other would be on August 25, between the Austrian and Aragon GPs. In both cases, it would be a sequence of four consecutive rounds.
A less likely scenario would be at the end of the season, on November 24 – which would move Valencia from the position of the last race, unless Valencia was postponed to November 24, with the Kazakhstan GP on November 17.
Furthermore, there seems to be little room to fit in the Kazakhstan GP: if it were on September 15, there would be an exhausting sequence of six rounds in consecutive weeks. If it were on October 13, there would be seven consecutive Grand Prix races.
Therefore, based on the logic of logistics and managing the effort of the entire paddock, it seems that the logical dates for the Kazakhstan GP would be August 9 to 11 or August 23 to 25 – this also assuming that the rest of the calendar remains intact as it is, including the summer break between July and August.
Plausible scenario (3 rounds in a row):
- August 2 to 4: British GP
- August 9 to 11: Kazakhstan GP
- August 16 to 18: Austrian GP
Plausible scenario (4 rounds in a row):
- August 16 to 18: Austrian GP
- August 23 to 25: Kazakhstan GP
- August 30 to September 1: Aragon GP
- September 6 to 8: San Marino GP
Unlikely scenario (Shorter Summer break, close to original dates):
- Kazakhstan GP in any date between German GP (July 5 to 7) and British GP (August 2 to 4)
Unlikely scenario (6 rounds in a row, but travel efficient):
- August 30 to September 1: Aragon GP
- September 6 to 8: San Marino GP
- September 13 to 15: Kazakhstan GP
- September 20 to 22: Indian GP
- September 27 to 29: Indonesian GP
- October 4 to 6: Japanese GP
Unlikely scenario (7 rounds in a row):
- September 20 to 22: Indian GP
- September 27 to 29: Indonesian GP
- October 4 to 6: Japanese GP
- October 11 to 13: Kazakhstan GP
- October 18 to 20: Australian GP
- October 25 to 27: Thai GP
- November 1 to 3: Malaysian GP
Unlikely scenario (Valencia wouldn’t be the last GP):
- November 15 to 17: Valencian GP
- November 22 to 24: Kazakhstan GP
Unlikely scenario (Valencian GP changing dates):
- November 15 to 17: Kazakhstan GP
- November 22 to 24: Valencian GP