2020 MotoGP: Malaysia hosting second race at SIC?

With the cancellation of the opening MotoGP race of 2020 at Qatar and the postponement of the Thailand round at Buriram, fears of the spread of the Covid-19 virus has put a dampener on sporting and other public events worldwide. However, a rumour has emerged Malaysia might be hosting a second MotoGP race at Sepang this year, to make up for shortfalls in the calendar.

In conversation with sources inside the Asian Road Racing Championship (ARRC) last weekend, it emerged the management of Sepang International Circuit (SIC) were asked about the possibility of hosting a second race in the calendar. Further to this, a poll on website quiz-maker.com is asking fans if they agree to Malaysia hosting a second MotoGP round, reports crash.net.

The poll was created March 7 and has garnered 747 votes in three days with 95% of respondents voting ‘yes’ and one comment from voter Syahrul Azmin Shahrudin saying a night race for the second MotoGP would present a nice challenge to racers. This is an interesting development as Covid-19 is not showing signs of abating and Austin, Texas, which is scheduled to hold the revised first round – Austin was third in the calendar after Qatar and Thailand – of the 2020 MotoGP season announcing a ‘local state of disaster’, including the cancellation of a music festival.

It is not unusual for certain countries to host multiple rounds of a world championship – Spain hosts four MotoGP rounds while Italy has two – but the races are usually run at different circuits. SIC recently held the MotoGP Winter Test in February and most of the infrastructure is in place to have another race on short notice.

What do you think? Yea or nay? It is a good idea to hold a mass event at a venue like SIC with a large number of visitors, some coming from locations declared as Covid-19 stricken areas? Leave a comment with your thoughts and opinions below.

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