Carmelo Ezpeleta and the MotoGP stars at the driver presentation at the start of the season in Losail (Qatar) – the Catalan, who was born in Barcelona on July 17, 1946, is now responsible for many grandiose plans, which ultimately vanished into thin air (© MotoGP)

A new Dorna plan for a race in Hungary from 2023

Mr. Ezpeleta is a very busy man in his mid-seventies. The Dorna boss also seems to have a weakness for contractual partners from corrupt countries that are in a bad light in public. Therefore, the almost 75-year-old goes his way undeterred and in principle never gives an account of it. The list of his failed projects is almost endless if you look at the last few years when it comes to planning new events. One of them was the Balaton Ring in Hungary, for which state funds were apparently stolen from an organization close to the mafia at the time. In the middle also Ezpeleta and Dorna, who happily signed a preliminary contract for MotoGP due to a few sparse documents. However, anyone who thinks that money was not already flowing to the company run by the Spaniard at the time is likely to be one of the more naive types of our fellow human beings.

Mr. Ezpeleta signing the next Hungary project after the flop with the Balatonring. Will this event, planned for 2023, also turn out to be just a bubble in the end?(© MotoGP).

Extract from a list of failed Dorna projects

There were noticeably many countries with a high corruption rate among them. In addition to the Balaton Ring, which was never built, Mexico City was also discussed not so long ago. There was already a fixed WorldSBK race there in 1993 that was not supposed to take place in the end. For more information, see our history. There were also the following failures: Bulgaria, Chile, Singapore, Wales, Goiania and Brasilia (both in Brazil), Pelambang (Indonesia), Abu Dhabi, a Buddh GP in India, as well as Istanbul and Shanghai. In all of these projects, however, it can be assumed that Ezpeleta would not have been signed without the prior transfer of a substantial sum. We are not aware of a single failed project for which Dorna subsequently issued a statement that is actually customary in such cases.

The rolling office of Dorna in 1992 – from here Ezpeleta steered the fortunes of MotoGP as the new rights’ holder for the marketing of the Grand Prix during the 1991 season. WorldSBK has also been part of it since 2012.

Grand plans were often not worth the paper they were written on

This statement applies to a multitude of projects that have failed and about which Ezpeleta should not say a single word later. Many observers saw it as extremely questionable when the little Catalan recently flew to Doha to allegedly discuss security measures. No wonder, because the old man, with all his flights that often seem unnecessary, is frivolously jeopardizing the health of himself and those close to him. Against this background one wonders why he couldn’t discuss it with the Qataris via video conference instead of just risking his life with air travel. Perhaps the new Hungary project for 2023 is again not worth the paper on which the preliminary contracts were signed.

Carmelo Ezpeleta almost 30 years ago – often called the “Ecclestone” of MotoGP.

Another racetrack in no man’s land
Perhaps the new Hungary project for 2023 is again not worth the paper on which the preliminary contracts were signed. In any case, it is particularly unpleasant for fans from Central Europe that the city of Debrecen, which is close to the Romanian and Ukrainian borders, only offers a minimal range of accommodation options. Similar to BuriRam, Aragon and Spielberg, in reasonable proximity to the planned racetrack, camping is probably the only option to overnight for fans. The few hotels in the vicinity are likely to disappoint on GP weekends with exorbitant prices similar to those in Brno for many years. But if it ends like with the Balaton Ring project, none of this matters.

Evening mood in Debrecen – a city with just over 200 thousand inhabitants, in the very east of Hungary. A good 900 km east of Munich and from there around 9 hours’ drive.

The dubious planning of the Dorna confuses
The Spaniard certainly didn’t make any new friends with the double race and, before that, the tests on the Losail circuit. In doing so, he and his employees risk the health of the Dorna people as well as the health of the drivers and team members due to the many flights that are necessary for this. In addition, there is the fact that with Covid-19 infections the entire continuation of the rest of the MotoGP season is at risk. Every government in the world currently advises against unnecessary travel. This does not seem to impress the old man from Catalonia, even though he is a high-risked person in terms of Covid-19. The dubious planning of the Dorna is therefore very confusing and after Fausto Gresini’s death appears terribly callous due to the consequences of the virus.

The main entrance to the Losail International Circuit photographed by us at the MotoGP event of 2019 a few hours before the 1st race. There should be no passage for spectators in the 2nd Corona season. There is direct side access to the paddock that will be closely guarded.

Hardly any criticism of many of Dorna’s questionable behavior
It should also seem strange to some viewers that there is hardly a word of criticism on the often questionable behavior of Dorna in relevant portals. Only behind closed doors have we often heard that many processes in the scene differ little from those with which various questionable venues and their countries have to struggle. It is absolutely undisputed that countries like Brazil, Bulgaria, Thailand, the Czech Republic and Hungary are riddled with corruption, to name just a few contractual partners of Dorna.

After the Jerez GP of 2020 we had pointed out with this picture the strange understanding of the alleged “closed-door protocol” of the Dorna for the MotoGP. Souvenir hunters stood in the middle of the starting grid of the Circuito de Jerez. Do you need more examples of how questionable some things were in Grand Prix sport even in the 1st Corona year? (© MotoGP).

The calendar drama for MotoGP and WorldSBK

With the first published calendars, it was clear to us immediately on that these were impossible to implement. The only strange thing at the time was that we hardly saw a word of criticism on other sports and news portals after publication by Dorna. Ultimately, some of our forecasts from November 2020 already came true and the Grand Prix of Argentina and Texas were canceled. Just like the completely nonsensical test originally planned for Sepang in February. There will be many more cancellations, which is why the following combined calendar only shows an originally planned wish program from FIM and Dorna. However, this construct has little to do with the reality of the coming season. A third variant will probably be released for both series soon.

The contract has not yet been signed for the WSBK Australia Round. The MotoGP race dates, which collide with a WorldSBK weekend, are shown in red, which only means a real overlap at the San Marino GP. Due to the time change in Japan and Indonesia, however, this is not critical. However, these dates are highly questionable anyway, because overseas races are generally highly unlikely.
The VIP tower full of spectators at the 2020 WorldSBK event at the Autodromo do Algarve near the coastal city of Portimão. These pictures impressively prove that even in the near-series World Cup 2020, not everything was right (© WorldSBK).