After the events of last year both on and off the track the level of anticipation and intrigue seems higher than ever as we look forward to what promises to be another epic season for the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship . We cannot ignore that the Coronavirus disease ( COVID-19 ) pandemic will again have an impact on the series , and has already forced changes to the provisional calendar , but twelve months on there is real optimism that over the coming months conditions will continue to improve and that we can all enjoy a programme of uninterrupted racing over a minimum of the nineteen scheduled events .
The 2021 campaign got underway in late March with back-to-back rounds at the Losail International Circuit , Qatar before then heading back to Europe with the following seven events over the next two months or so taking place in Portugal – Portimão ; Spain – Jerez and Barcelona ; France – Le Mans ; Italy - Mugello ; Germany – Sachsenring and the Netherlands – Assen .
The new KymiRing circuit in Finland will welcome FIM MotoGP™ World Championship for the first time in July before Austria – Red Bull Ring and Great Britain – Silverstone host the next two rounds in August . September will signal the end of the current European leg with races in Spain – Aragon and Italy – Misano before the riders and teams head further afield for the next four high speed encounters , health conditions allowing .
Missing from the final 2020 schedule due to COVID-19 it is great to see Japan – Motegi ; Thailand – Chang ; Australia – Phillip Island and Malaysia – Sepang all back as part of the 2021 FIM MotoGP™ World Championship . Currently as has become traditional for so many years Valencia – Spain will be the setting for the season finale in mid-November , although taking note that all avenues will be explored to reschedule the two races in South America – Argentina and the USA subject to the pandemic allowing to do so . We truly hope that we will be able to welcome fans trackside at as many races as is safely possible .
2021 will start with a new name as FIM World Champion , with Joan Mir looking to defend the crown that he captured late last year after a disrupted but nevertheless enthralling title fight that swung several ways during an intense second part of the season . There were no less than nine different winners in the premier class in 2020 , plus fifteen riders who stood on the podium last year . Factoring in this , and riders recovering from injury , those who have changed teams and those desperate to make their mark , it looks like 2021 is going to be another memorable season of Grand Prix racing as it celebrates its seventysecond edition .
I have every faith , as was shown last year , that all the stakeholders will work closely together and collaborate in the best possible way to deliver another hugely successful FIM MotoGP™ World Championship . With this in mind , on behalf of the FIM , I would like to thank our promoter Dorna , the manufacturers , the riders , the teams , the circuit owners , the volunteers , the media and the officials , and all those involved in the wider Road Racing Grand Prix community . Together I am sure you will make 2021 one of the best seasons ever .
Jorge Viegas FIM President
FIM Welcome | 5