Dorna, the company promoting the MotoGP World Championship, has threatened to remove the Portuguese Grand Prix from the race calendar if the situation of the gravel on the escape routes at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve (AIA) does not change.
In an interview with German magazine Speedweek, Spaniard Carmelo Ezpeleta said: “Unless the condition of the gravel layers completely changes, there will be no MotoGP race. [no Algarve] in the next year”.
It is about the size of the stones used in the gravel that fills the escape routes on the Algarve circuit and serves to reduce the speed of vehicles leaving the track or drivers falling.
However, the size of the stones has drawn criticism from MotoGP riders since 2022, as they are too large and cause injuries to falling riders.
“With the current situation, which has claimed many victims, Portimão will not have a place on the calendar in 2024. We have enough requests from other countries and circuits. [organizadores] Portuguese,” Ezpeleta told Speedweek.
According to the German publication, Dorna demanded that the situation be rectified before the Superbike World Championship race (September 29 to October 1).
Carmelo Ezpeleta said that if the “gravel traps are not repaired in accordance with regulations”, the AIA will not receive Class A homologation in 2024, allowing it to host MotoGP events.
“So they cannot be included in the calendar,” he stressed.
Source: DN
