MotoGP set to drop India from 2024 calendar, to be replaced by Kazakhstan

The championship made a much-anticipated visit to Buddh International Circuit on the outskirts of Delhi last year as part of its expansion in South Asia, with the race running smoothly despite several hiccups and visa issues in the run-up to the event.

However, in the last few months, there has been uncertainty about the second edition of the Indian Grand Prix, with local reports suggesting that promoter Fairstreet Sports hasn’t paid its dues to certain vendors, including Dorna.

Motorsport.com understands that Dorna executives had set a deadline of 20 May for Fairstreet to catch up with payments, something that seems difficult to materialise after taking previous delays into account.

It now seems certain that the India race will not go ahead this year, with MotoGP instead set to stage the inaugural Kazakhstan Grand Prix on 20-22 September.

Dorna and FIM had previously not revealed a new date for the race at Sokol International Racetrack when announcing that the Kazakh event was postponed indefinitely from 14-16 June due to flooding in the region.

There was uncertainty over how MotoGP would be able to slot in the event on a packed 2024 schedule, with 11 rounds scheduled in the second half of the campaign from August to November.

But the imminent departure of the Indian GP has conveniently opened up some space on the calendar, with Kazakhstan now set to mark the start of a triple header that will also include races in Indonesia and Japan.

In recent months, Dorna has made several visits to Sokol and also to Almaty, the most populous city in Kazakhstan with the intention of ensuring that all the necessary infrastructures are in place. 

The checks were already positive, apart from the long commute that most attendees will have to make each day, given the circuit is located around 75km away from the hotel zones.

"Ten days ago we were in Sokol and the circuit is ready to host a MotoGP grand prix," one of those special envoys to Kazakhstan told Motorsport.com.

Although the decision has been made, the contractual deadlines advise waiting until the due date of India's payment, around 20 May, before the FIM can make any official announcement.

Barring any further changes, the 2024 MotoGP calendar will now comprise 20 rounds, the same total as 2023.

The series had originally revealed a record breaking 22-round calendar for 2024, but the cancellation of first the Argentina GP and now the India race has brought the number back down to 20.

Argentina was scrubbed from the schedule due to government spending cuts under the country's new president.