MotoGP will add a race event in Kazakhstan in 2023 at the brand new Sokal International Racetrack, marking the first time the country has hosted an international road racing event.
The series announced the news on Tuesday morning with a brief press release, revealing principally that the deal to run the Kazakhstan Grand Prix will run for a total of five years initially beginning in 2023, the country becoming the 30th to host a MotoGP race.
“The FIM MotoGP™ World Championship is coming to Kazakhstan! 2023 marks the start of a new five-year deal that sees MotoGP touch down in a new region of the world as the stunning Sokol International Racetrack joins the calendar,” began MotoGP’s statement.
“Located just outside Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, Sokol is a brand-new motorsport complex constructed in the heart of Central Asia. The region will be a new pitstop for MotoGP™ as the sport continues to expand around the world, engaging with new markets and fanbases.
“Kazakhstan will also become the 30th country to host a motorcycle Grand Prix since 1949, a perfect landmark number to celebrate the ever-expanding history of the world’s first motorsport World Championship, and Sokol International Racetrack will be the 74th venue to host a premier class Grand Prix.”
The Sokal International Racetrack venue has been recently completed in order to bring international motorsport to the nation, the circuit located about an hour away from Almaty – the largest city in Kazakhstan.
The track has been built to meet grade 1 FIA and FIM regulations, making it eligible to potentially host a Formula 1 contest in future – the venue having been designed by notorious track designer Hermann Tilke.
It is currently not known where the Kazakhstan GP will slot in on the 2023 schedule with the first draft having not yet been revealed, though a likely scenario would be to slot into the place likely left by the financially-troubled Finnish GP in early July.
The news of Kazakhstan is the latest chapter of series promoter Dorna Sports’ plan to visit more regions of the world going forward, with the organisation having recently memorandum of understanding agreements with both India and Saudi Arabia to potentially put on future events, with neither set to join the calendar until at least 2024 should they go ahead.
