This morning, Dorna announced the postponement of the Kazakhstan MotoGP Grand Prix 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 at a later stage 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 9-11 between the British and Austrian GPs with three GPs back-to-back. The other would be on August 25, between the Austrian and Aragon GPs, in what 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 also 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, by the logic of logistics and effort management of the entire paddock, it seems to us that the logical dates for the Kazakhstan GP would be August 9 to 11 or August 23 to 25 – this also considering that the rest of the calendar remains intact as it is, including the summer break between July and August.
Plausible scenario (3 consecutive rounds):
- August 2 to 4: British GP
- August 9 to 11: Kazakhstan GP
- August 16 to 18: Austrian GP
Plausible scenario (4 consecutive rounds):
- 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 (shortened summer break, close to original dates):
- Kazakhstan GP on any date between the German GP (July 5 to 7) and the British GP (August 2 to 4)
Unlikely scenario (6 consecutive rounds, but efficient in travel):
- August 30 to September 1: Aragon GP
- September 6 to 8: San Marino GP
- September 13 to 15: Kazakhstan GP
- September 20 to 22: India GP
- September 27 to 29: Indonesia GP
- October 4 to 6: Japan GP
Unlikely scenario (7 consecutive rounds):
- September 20 to 22: India GP
- September 27 to 29: Indonesia GP
- October 4 to 6: Japan GP
- October 11 to 13: Kazakhstan GP
- October 18 to 20: Australia GP
- October 25 to 27: Thailand GP
- November 1 to 3: Malaysia GP
Unlikely scenario (Valencia GP would not be the last):
- November 15 to 17: Valencia GP
- November 22 to 24: Kazakhstan GP
Unlikely scenario (Valencia GP would change date):
- November 15th to 17th: Kazakhstan GP
- November 22nd to 24th: Valencian GP
