2023 MotoGP season: Portimao To Host Season Opener
Categories: MotoGP
Because the Losail International Circuit will have to be modernised for Formula 1 Grand Prixs, the 2023 MotoGP season opener will be hosted in Portimao.
The opener for the 2023 season will take place in Portimao. The premier class will be racing at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
For the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix in 2006 the season opener will be held in Europe. It is the first season opener to be held in Portugal.
The winter tests in advance to the season opener will also take place in Portimao. Exact dates will be announced soon. The usual Qatar GP season opener will be pushed to the later half of the season.
In order to be eligible for a F1 Grand Prix, the Losail International Circuit will have to be modernized. Work will continue until March, making it impossible to start the season in Qatar.
Usually Dorna Sports is contractually obliged to host the season opener in Qatar. The promoters had this guaranteed in the contracts lasting until 2031.