Scheduled for 14-16 June, no new date has been given for the event but Dorna Sports hopes to still stage it this year.

MotoGP was originally set to race in Kazakhstan at the new Sokol International Racetrack, near the country’s largest city of Almaty, last year as part of an expanding calendar.

However, due to the circuit not being ready at the time for its 9 July slot, the event was axed and not replaced in 2023.

It was pencilled onto the 2024 calendar for the weekend of 14-16 June.

However, on Friday 3 May, MotoGP announced that the Kazakhstan GP has had to be postponed due to the flooding emergency that has impacted the region in recent weeks.

In what has been described as the worst flooding in the region in 80 years, the Ural river – as a result of rapidly melting snow and ice due to high temperatures, as well as heavy rain – burst its banks in April.

Kazakhstan track for 2023 MotoGP season

Photo by: MotoGP

As of 1 May, however, over 40,000 displaced people have returned to their homes and clear-up efforts are ongoing – according to local media reports.

A statement from the FIM read: “Unprecedented weather conditions have led to flooding across Central Asia, causing a national emergency in Kazakhstan and displacing much of the population.

“It would not be responsible for MotoGP to add any additional burden on the authorities or services as they work to help the tens of thousands of people affected across the country.

“Sokol International Racetrack will therefore not host MotoGP on the dates previously announced, and any further updates will be published once confirmed.

“As our utmost priority, MotoGP sends our condolences and support to the people of Kazakhstan and all those affected by the flooding in Central Asia. We hope the nation, region and communities affected can recover as soon as possible.”

Despite uncertainty over the event taking place in 2024, in recent weeks the proposition of it happening looked much stronger in recent weeks, with a Dorna homologation inspection originally set to take place after the Catalan GP at the end of May.

Kazakhstan being removed from its original calendar spot does create two sizeable gaps for the series.

After the Italian GP at Mugello on 2 June, MotoGP won’t race again until the weekend of 28-30 June at the Dutch TT.

A week later the German GP at the Sachsenring will be held before MotoGP goes away for a three-week summer break before the British GP on 2-4 August.

As such, MotoGP is facing a schedule of just three rounds in nine weeks from the final weekend in June.

One other question mark on the 2024 MotoGP calendar is the future of the Indian GP, which was held for the first time last year.

At present, tickets have not gone on sale for the event – though it wasn’t until closer to the round that this happened last year.

MotoGP was already forced to cancel one race in 2024 as government spending cuts meant the Argentina GP in April couldn’t be staged.

MotoGP confirmed during the initial calendar announcement that Hungary’s Balaton Park would act as a reserve venue, subject to homologation.

However, with such a tight schedule in the second half of the year, it will be difficult for the series to either reschedule Kazakhstan or add a replacement.

Both Zarco and team-mate Takaaki Nakagami got to run the overhauled version of the RC213V at Jerez on Monday, after HRC test rider Stefan Bradl raced with the same bike in Spain last weekend.

However, the initial impressions of the upgraded Honda challenger were poor across the board, with Zarco saying the bike had failed to deliver a step forward in performance.

“We did a few runs on it and we couldn’t really take from this bike very positive comments,” he said. “Only one area was better but the rest [wasn’t].

“The lap time was not coming. So it’s not the bike yet that we can say, ‘okay, we did a step’. I was maybe expecting to have a step on this test with the new bike, [but] I didn’t get it.

“At the moment, yes, pace of the bike, even the new bike, it’s not giving the performance.”

After trying the new prototype, Zarco went back to the same bike he used in the Spanish GP, albeit with some new parts installed here and there for testing purposes.

Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The Frenchman doesn’t expect to have further involvement in the development of the new ‘lab bike’, echoing comments from factory team rider Joan Mir who previously tested the same specification in a private run at Barcelona.

“I think no, because if not we would have continued the test on it,” he said. “The way the bike is born should normally give a better performance. And when it is not giving after a few set-up we have to put it on the side.”

However, Zarco made it clear that he would not ask HRC to stop work on the lab bike, even if it failed to appease the race riders across Barcelona and Jerez tests.

“It’s not my job to say to Honda the way they have to work with the test team,” he clarified. “Now all the riders test this new bike and didn’t get the right feeling we wanted.

“Maybe the test team won’t work anymore on this bike. I cannot tell you but I will never say to Honda don’t work on this bike because I’m not in this position to do it.”

While Zarco and Mir shared the same comments about the new lab bike, the latter found the Jerez test to be positive overall, as he feels it helped Honda find the direction it needs to take in MotoGP.

The eight-time world champion forfeited the final year of his big-money HRC contract in 2024 to join the Gresini Ducati squad on a 2023-spec bike, as the Honda proved too uncompetitive.

Twice a podium finisher in sprint races in the first three rounds of 2024, Marquez qualified on pole last weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix and finished second in the main race after battling with factory Ducati star Francesco Bagnaia for victory.

Marquez currently only has a one-year deal with Gresini Racing and is one of the names in the picture for a factory Ducati seat in 2025 along with Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini.

With Ducati expecting to finalise its factory team line-up by the Italian GP, Marquez has suggested that Ducati isn’t his only option for a factory ride in 2025.

“The important thing is that the results are coming. So far there was speed but no results,” he said after Monday’s Jerez test.

“Let’s see if we confirm at Le Mans. I’ve always said it: the faster you go on track, the more options [you have].

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“The important thing is that ‘the plan’ is going well and when there are results the factories are contacting me and there have already been conversations.”

He added: “Mentally, I’m pretty clear about what I want.”

Asked if a factory Ducati seat depends on him, he said: “Well, it depends on everything in general, but the important thing is that I have it clear and I don’t just have one option.”

Ducati re-signed double world champion Bagnaia to a new two-year contract to the end of 2026 prior to the start of the 2024 season.

It has also penned a two-year deal to bring Moto2 star Fermin Aldeguer up to MotoGP next year, though where the Spaniard will actually race is unknown at this point.

KTM had already signed Brad Binder to a contract extension through the end of 2026, while Honda has Luca Marini (factory team) and Johann Zarco (LCR) locked in until the end of 2025.