SHOCK NEWS: MotoGP boss Ezpeleta says Dorna considering MotoGP race on a ROAD circuit.

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It’s the latest shock news to bounce around the paddock in the off season, but this isn’t some wishful thinking by those who want to ‘pep up’ MotoGP action, this has come from Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta with the MotoGP big cheese revealing that the premier league motorcycle racing series is seriously looking at holding a city-centre MotoGP race on a street circuit.

Ezpeleta told Spanish publication Expansion that a proposal to stage a race in an unnamed “warm city” is on the table, and could be added to the growing grand prix calendar in years to come. Qatar, anyone?

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“It is possible that there is an urban circuit in MotoGP,” he said. “There is a solid project in a warm city. In theory, the main straight of the track would be held on a street and the paddock would be covered, integrated in an exhibition centre.

“For the grand prix weekend it will be used for the race, and many other things during the rest of the year.”

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So we could see MotoGP run on a street circuit akin to the Adelaide Street Circuit in F1, sited on main roads around the Australian city centre (above).

MotoGP has added a Thailand race to its schedule for 2018, and Finland is also set to join what would be a 20-event calendar in ’19. And that calendar is likely to expand further.

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Ezpeleta said as many as eight other countries have expressed an interest in hosting a MotoGP race in future, but emphasized that the championship has no plans to stretch to more than 20 rounds.

“Right now there is a list of about eight countries that would choose to have a championship round, but we cannot do 26 races,” he added.

It’s understood that Dorna has been in talks about hosting a round in Mexico, although the United Arab Emirates is another possible candidate to host an urban-based event – do you fancy a Qatar MotoGP road circuit? Yeah, us too!

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