Govt promises bigger, better MotoGP
The third edition of the Thailand Grand Prix will be better than the previous two tournaments, the government said yesterday.
The second race of the 2020 MotoGP season will be held from March 20-22 at Chang International Circuit in Buri Ram, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn told a press conference.
The first two editions of the Thailand Grand Prix enjoyed the highest number of spectators of the seasons.
Honda’s Marc Marquez was the winner on both occasions.
“We are trying to raise the standard of the Thailand Grand Prix. We are proud to show our culture and tradition under the concept ‘Thailand to the World.’ We also want to make the country a sports tourism destination,” Phiphat said.
The second Thailand Grand Prix attracted 226,000 visitors over three days with a 52.80 percent increase in the number of foreigners, he said.
It generated 3.457 billion baht and Phiphat expected the third edition to break the 3.5 billion baht mark.
Gongsak Yodmani, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, said both the public and private sectors benefited from the previous Grand Prix events.
According to a study by the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the third Thailand
Grand Prix will generate billions of baht in revenue for the country and create more than 5,000 jobs, Gongsak said.
The government is in talks with Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of MotoGP, to extend the contract.
Tickets are on sale at 7-Eleven shots and www.allticket.com.
IANNONE SUSPENDED
Italian MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone was on Tuesday provisionally suspended after testing positive for anabolic steroids, the international motorcycling federation announced.
Iannone tested positive in a urine sample collected at an in-competition test by the federation at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang on Nov 3.
Aprilia rider Iannone, 30, has the right to request and attend the analysis of his B sample.
“I’m totally relaxed and I want to reassure my fans and Aprilia Racing,” said Iannone on Instagram.
“I am open to any counter analysis in a matter that surprises me, also because — at the moment — I have not received
any official communication.
“Over the years, and also this season, I have undergone continuous checks, obviously always proving to be negative, which is why I have every confidence in the positive conclusion of this affair.”
Iannone finished 16th this season on 43 points, way behind champion Marc Marquez.
Meanwhile, MotoGP will return to Brazil in 2022 at the planned Rio Motorpark, the company that owns the broadcasting rights, Dorna Sports, said.