MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports is actively seeking to add a second grand prix in the United States but has no plans to make an addition to the 2025 calendar.
The provisional schedule for next season should be released just after the forthcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with the championship to start at Thailand’s Chang International Circuit in Buriram on the first weekend of March.
The Circuit of the Americas will host the only round slated for North America, despite the eagerness from Dorna to complement the Texas venue with another Americas event.
“There is definitely dialogue,” said Dorna CCO Dan Rossomondo when speaking to Motorsport.com in Misano.
«There is an interest from people to host the sport but we have pretty strict safety standards and we cannot just race anywhere. In the US, we also have to look to make an impact in the right market.
«Austin is in the centre of the country, it’s a popular city, a cool city and checks a lot of boxes for us.”
Past GP venue Laguna Seca is “probably not feasible right now” due to the homologation of the circuit (which must reach the highest FIM standards for grand prix racing) and the current legal action hanging around the track by local residents.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Flatrock Motorsports Park, a new facility in Tennessee, was also mooted but the site is not yet prepared for MotoGP.
“They [Flatrock] are focusing on their club track, we haven’t spoken to them in a while because they are interested in getting their house built,” Rossomondo said. “There is interest from a group in the northwest but that’s in the process.»
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a host of MotoGP from 2008-2015, has been ruled out, with Dorna’s ideal location also off the table: “The dream is that we can make an area like Miami work for us and that market…but it’s completely not possible right now.»
Further expansion in the United States will be a priority for the company as Dorna intends to convert the series into a global entertainment product.
The Liberty Media acquisition should be rubber-stamped by the end of November after it has passed all approvals by competition and investment authorities and the joint effort with the American firm for MotoGP will ramp up during 2025.
“The US is an important focus because it dictates a lot of economic decisions for commercial partners. All my partners ask: ‘when will we have another race in the US?’ but we also need to work out the balance of the calendar,” the American added.
For 2025 MotoGP will have a heavy Thai flavour. Not only will the second and last pre-season test take place in Buriram prior to the opening grand prix but Dorna is considering a huge launch event in Bangkok where the teams will stage a glitzy presentation to build up interest for the new campaign.
“It’s a huge two-wheel market,” Rossomondo said of the Thai timing. “We love the city of Bangkok, and we love the idea of a pre-event presentation there.”