KUALA LUMPUR: One of the most exciting races in the world motorcycle championship, the Malaysian MotoGP, has been cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The race at the Sepang International Circuit was scheduled to be held from Oct 30 to Nov 1.
MotoGP’s governing bodies, the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), International Road-Racing Teams Association (IRTA) and Dorna Sports, said the Argentina and Thailand GPs were also cancelled.
However, an additional GP race would be held in Europe from Nov 20-22 as the season finale, thus making the 2020 season fully raced in Europe.
The statement said Dorna had begun working on possible 2021 MotoGP dates for Argentina and Malaysia.
MotoGP races have been held at Sepang since 1999, and attracted over 100,000 fans over race weekends in recent years.
Dorna Sports chief executive officer Carmelo Ezpeleta said: “We very much look forward to returning to Thailand, Argentina and Malaysia next year.”
SIC chief executive Azhan Shafriman Hanif said: “We were looking forward to watching our local boys – Kasma Daniel, Khairul Idham Pawi, Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah – and the Petronas Sepang Racing Team, who have had a great start to the season, in action on home ground.
“But with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the safety of everyone is the main priority.”
The Malaysian MotoGP has been held since 1991. The Sepang circuit is also one of the longest and most challenging circuits on the calendar.