Argentina, the venue of the race this weekend, was the latest new circuit to be added to the MotoGP calendar in 2014, and it looks likely that the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand will be the next addition to the MotoGP calendar.
The World Superbike motorcycle racing series has been present at the venue since 2015, and MotoGP’s organising body, Dorna Motorsports wanted to see how it performed over its three-year contract with WSBK before it committed to a MotoGP race here. The reasons for having a round of racing in Thailand are obvious: it is one of the world’s largest two-wheeler markets, and motorcycle racing is extremely popular with the local population. Over 80,000 spectators attended the WSBK round in 2016 – the highest attendance of the season - so MotoGP should be no different.
A number of countries are looking to host a MotoGP race, including Finland, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Hungary. Sadly, despite the presence of a racetrack that can host a MotoGP race, India is not on this list.
