When the global COVID-19 pandemic first began impacting in-person events in March of 2020, one of the first MotoGP races to be cancelled was the Grand Prix of the Americas on April 3-5. Now, 14 months later, fans Stateside have something to look forward to: GP racing will return to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 1-3, 2021.

Austin MotoGP COTA - 2
Alex Rins won the last GP race at COTA in 2019.

Dorna Sports, in partnership with the (FIM) and the International Road Racing Teams Association (IRTA), announced on June 23 that the 2021 Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas would officially be added to the race calendar. The last MotoGP race at COTA was in April of 2019, meaning an absence of Grand Prix motorcycle competition in the US for 29 months—nearly two and a half years—before a return in October.

To accommodate, the OR Grand Prix of Thailand has been bumped a week back, and will now take place on October 15-17. Unfortunately for Japanese fans, Dorna also announced the cancellation of the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, scheduled for the same weekend as the new COTA race.

Austin MotoGP COTA - 3
MotoGP bikes will be seen from COTA's iconic tower again in October.

“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting travel complications and logistical restrictions mean that it has not been possible to confirm the event at this time meaning that it will therefore not feature on the 2021 calendar,” said a statement on the MotoGP.com website.

Of note, the American GP is buffered by two-week gaps between the prior race in Italy and the following round in Thailand, presumably in case quarantine is required.

As of June 23, the remaining MotoGP schedule looks like this:


Race date     Event                                           Track                               Country

June 27         Motul TT Assen TT                         Circuit Assen                     NETHERLANDS

Aug 10          Michelin® Grand Prix of Styria        Red Bull Ring                    AUSTRIA

Aug 15          Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich Red Bull Ring                     AUSTRIA

Aug 29          Monster Energy British Grand Prix   Silverstone Circuit              GREAT BRITAIN

Sep 12          Gran Premio de Aragón                  MotorLand Aragón              SPAIN

Sep 19          Gran Premio Octo di San Marino     Misano World Circuit            ITALY

Oct 3            Grand Prix of the Americas             Circuit Of The Americas       UNITED STATES

Oct 17          OR Thailand Grand Prix                  Chang International Circuit  THAILAND

Oct 24          Red Bull Australian Motorcycle GP   Phillip Island                       AUSTRALIA

Oct 31          Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix      Sepang International Circuit MALAYSIA

Nov 14 GP    Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana   Circuit Ricardo Tormo           SPAIN

TBD             GP de la República Argentina         Termas de Río Hondo            ARGENTINA

Top comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
Comment!
Got a tip for us? Email: tips@rideapart.com