Bengaluru, September 27: Kazakhstan is the latest addition to the FIM MotoGP World Championship after being confirmed for the 2023 calendar.
As per a FIM/Dorna Sports (MotoGP commercial rights holder) media release, 2023 marks the start of a new five-year deal that sees MotoGP touch down in a new region of the world as the stunning Sokol International Racetrack joins the calendar.
Located just outside Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, Sokol is a brand-new motorsport complex constructed in the heart of Central Asia.
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The region will be a new pitstop for MotoGP as the sport continues to expand around the world, engaging with new markets and fanbases.
Kazakhstan will also become the 30th country to host a motorcycle Grand Prix since 1949, a perfect landmark number to celebrate the ever-expanding history of the world's first motorsport World Championship, and the Sokol International Racetrack will be the 74th venue to host a premier class Grand Prix.
India is also expected to join the MotoGP calendar as talks are currently underway between the stake holders to bring it to the sub-continent in the near future.
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Carmelo Ezpeleta, the CEO of Dorna Sports, had said that India is a good market for the world's premier two-wheeled motorsport.
It is worth mentioning that Dorna Sports have started discussions with Indian promoter Fairstreet Sports (FSS) on the possibility of hosting a future Indian Grand Prix, probably next year at the Buddh International Circuit, which has hosted Formula 1 Grand Prix in the past.
If 2023 does not work out, both parties aim to conduct a testing event the same year before the inaugural round in 2024.
A Memorandum of Understanding, which promises seven races in as many years, was announced, but MotoGP organisers Dorna Sports and Indian promoters Faristreet Sports did not set a date for the first race, which is being branded as 'Grand Prix of Bharat'.