In the current MotoGP contracts of the eleven MotoGP teams with World Championship promoter Dorna Sports S.L., a maximum of 22 Grands Prix was agreed for the first time for the period from 2022 to the end of 2026. The racing teams' income will increase depending on the number of Grands Prix. Dorna earns quite substantial sums per event through hosting fees from the organizers, naming rights, advertising perimeters, TV rights, and race programs. And around 80 to 90 million euros a year are distributed to the teams in the four World Championship classes – Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP, and MotoE.
In recent years, 21 or 22 Grand Prix events per season have been planned several times, but several projects for new MotoGP events have also failed or at least not remained on the calendar permanently. For example, Istanbul Park, Shanghai, then the Circuit of Wales, KymiRing, Buddh International Circuit India, Sokol Circuit in Kazakhstan. In addition, the Igora Circuit near St. Petersburg was canceled due to the war in Ukraine, and the Crimea Circuit on the island of Crimea was no longer an issue since 2014 after this territory was annexed by Russia. That's why MotorLand Aragón returned to the calendar last year as the fourth Grand Prix in Spain, and Misano hosted two races in 2024, just like during the Covid phase.
Dorna executives decided to return to Brno in 2025, which also pleases many German-speaking fans. The infrastructure in South Moravia is finally being modernized and the track surface renewed. And the new Balaton Park Circuit will host a Hungarian Grand Prix for the first time since 1990 and 1992 (back then, the Hungaroring was used). The Argentinian Grand Prix also returned to the calendar in 2025, which the new president, Xavier Milei, had canceled a year before as part of his rigorous austerity measures.
The overseas tour in the fall, which was still excessively strenuous in 2023, is also now within manageable limits: Japan, Indonesia, Australia, and Malaysia are easier to tackle than the seven "flyaways" in the series in 2023, when India, Thailand, and Qatar were also contested in the fall. The entourage wasn't supposed to be sent to Asia twice a year – and the Lusail Circuit wasn't available again until after the lavish renovation in November. All signs point to all 22 events being held in 2025. "Barring any unforeseen events, we will hold all scheduled Grand Prix events this year. I have no doubt about that," Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta confirmed to GPOne.com today.
There's nothing standing in the way of the return to Hungary thirty plus years on from the two previous appearances at the Hungaroring in 1990 and 1992, after the Balaton Ring project failed miserably in 2009 – and which has now given way to a landfill. "Everything is going according to plan in Hungary. Our people were there this week, and the construction work will be completed on time. We're not worried, especially since the Superbike World Championship will be there on the last weekend of July." The Balaton Park Circuit is a modern motorsport facility located near Lake Balaton in Hungary. It features a 4.115 km long track with 16 corners.
There was talk this winter of having the test teams of the five MotoGP manufacturers (Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM) train at the Balaton Park Circuit in June, but no date has been confirmed so far.
For the 2026 season, the MotoGP World Championship will return to Goiânia, Brazil, for the first time since 1987, 1988, and 1989. The track layout of the demanding Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna in Goiânia (3.835 km, 11 corners) will remain unchanged, but the entire infrastructure (pit area, media center, start/finish building, paddock) will be completely renovated and adapted to modern requirements. Dorna hasn't held a motorcycle GP in Brazil since 2004 in Rio-Jacarepagua.
Dorna, together with the Goiânia promoter, promoted the 2026 Grande Prêmio do Brasil after the Argentine GP in March 2025. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol), and Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) were joined at the racetrack on March 17, 2025, for 2 hours in the track by local heroes Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Moto2 Racing Team) and Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) to demonstrate some stunts, meet the fans, and answer questions from those present.
The Argentine GP in Termas de Río Hondo will not take place next year (as it did in 2023) due to the political and economic turmoil. Dorna has tried for many years to find new venues in motorsport-loving South America, but neither the Chilean GP nor the Mexican GP nor new racetrack projects in Rio or Brasilia have materialized. "But the Grande Prêmio do Brasil for 2026 is fixed; there's no room for discussion," Carmelo Ezpeleta is convinced. "Not much needs to be changed on the track, but the facilities will be completely renovated. We made this presentation in March with the government of the Brazilian state of Goiás."
In the 1980s, the races in Goiânia were characterized by unbearable heat. The capital of Goiás is located in central Brazil on a plateau about 750 meters above sea level. It has a population of around 1.5 million, and the distance from the capital, Brasília, is about 200 kilometers.
Dorna managers are also working on a new event in the Middle East, but the completion of the new track in Saudi Arabia, which can be used jointly by Formula 1 and MotoGP, will be delayed until at least 2028. The magnificent Qiddiya track, designed by former Austrian F1 driver Alex Wurz and Wurz Design, was originally scheduled for completion in 2027.
Ezpeleta: "The opening is now expected in 2028; it could also be 2029. This is an indescribably complex project that puts everything else in the shade. Until its completion, Formula 1 will continue to race on the Corniche Circuit in Jeddah."
