Qatar Secures New 10-Year Extension

Today (June 14) it was announced that the Losail International Circuit and Dorna Sports had reached an agreement for the Qatar circuit to host a round of the MotoGP World Championship for another 10 years.

The LIC has been a feature on the calendar since 2004, becoming the curtain raiser in 2007 and a night race in 2008. By the end of this current agreement the Grand Prix of Qatar will have taken place 23 times.

Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta stated: “Since its first edition in 2004, the Qatar GP became a trademark of the MotoGP World Championship and continues to provide a unique set-up for racing, so we're pleased to seal this agreement and extend our relationship beyond 2016. Losail International Circuit always created a magic atmosphere and the brotherhood of the two companies has grown throughout the years.”

Give the Middle-East's ever increasing involvement in world sport this deal is not terribly surprising. Personally, I like the Qatar Grand Prix, but given that it only seats 8000 people compared to a track like Brno which seats well over 100,000 punters, I fail to see what the sport gains from continuing its trips to Qatar from a commercial stand point.

And with the rather well publicised World Cup fiasco making the headlines MotoGP only stands to garner bad press for its continued involvement in the country.

But as long as the racing remains good, that's all that seemingly matters.

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