MXGP looks forward to opening round in Oman
For the first time since 2016, MXGP returns to the Middle East. And how! Oman is already getting the 2021 season underway. The new circuit in Muscat is one of four new locations on the provisional World Cup calendar which was recently proposed.
How that calendar will ultimately take shape obviously depends very much on how the COVID-19 pandemic develops. Promoter Infront Motor Racing has postponed the start of the championship by at least a month. Instead of the traditional start in early March, Oman and the MX track near the airport in the capital Muscat will kick off the World Cup on Saturday, April 3.
“This discussion has been in the works for several months and it is a fantastic feeling to bring it to a close,” said Infront Motor Racing's CEO David Luongo. “The GP is supported by the national sports authorities and a local promoter. The MXGP will be held near Muscat, so we can use all the facilities of a city. Oman is also a beautiful country with a lot of history and beautiful landscapes, so we can't wait to open the new season.”
Little is known about the location of the GP circuit, but Muscat already has a motocross track that is close to the international airport and just a few kilometers from the city center. The Middle East is not unknown territory for MXGP, which was in Losail from 2013 to 2016 for the Qatar GP. Oman, located a few hundred kilometers southwest of Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is rather mountainous in the northern region of Muscat. “Oman is one of the most proactive countries in motorsports in the Middle East. They organize many rally, car and motorcycle tours in the desert, by the sea and in the mountains,” Luongo adds. “We are bringing MXGP to a new country that loves motorsports.”
Losail took advantage of the massive lighting system to create the first ever illuminated MXGP. Great for unique photos and to avoid the extremely hot temperatures during the day. According to Luongo, the Oman will continue as normal during the day. “It will be a two-day program with Friday and Saturday. We don't plan to make it a night race.”
Qatar sells itself as the gateway between east and west. Not least thanks to the enormous network of the award-winning Qatar Airways. Yet motorsport events in Losail - from MotoGP to World SBK to MXGP - could only attract a limited audience. The MXGP of Qatar was a collaboration between QMMF (the Qatar Motor Federation) and Infront Motor Racing (then Youthstream), but the specially constructed cross track fell into disrepair after the competitions.
Afterwards, MXGP was linked to a location in Kuwait (GP circuit builder Greg Atkins recently built a GP-spec circuit in the new Motor City circuit) and Oman. However, Luongo points out that the possibility of returning to Losail in the future still exists. “We still have a very good relationship with QMMF and Losail, so never say never,” he concluded.
Tekst: Adam Wheeler, Tom Jacobs
Photos: CDS, Ray Archer
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