Indian leg of MotoGP canceled in 2024, shifts to March 2025

Bharat Grand Prix, the Indian round of the MotoGP championship will not take place in September and has been moved to March 2025 as per the promoters of the race.

Reports claiming that the race promoters had not cleared all their dues with rights holders Dorna after the inaugural round last year had led to uncertainty over the second edition scheduled from September 20-22.

However, after Tuesday's meeting involving all stakeholders -- Dorna, and, co-promoters Fairstreet Sports and the Uttar Pradesh government -- it was decided to shift the round to a yet-to-be-decided date in March.

"It was mutually decided to shift the race to March next year. We are looking at the first or second week of March. All the stakeholders including Dorna agreed that the September weather is not conducive for the race and it is tough on the riders and marshals as experienced last year," Fairstreet Sports CEO Pushkar Nath Srivastava told PTI.

He also denied that the postponement of the race has anything to do with unpaid dues claiming that all the payments were made in between and what is left will be paid next. The reason behind shifting the race is the tight schedule of the races and the weather.

More than 50,000 fans turned up at the Buddh International Circuit during the inaugural race, just enough to fill half of the facility.

"We also expect more fans to turn up in March as the weather will be better," said Srivastava.