Aragon could lose MotoGP in Alcañiz from 2027

There is a high probability that Aragón will not host the MotoGP world championship from the Motorland circuit from 2027 onwards. The Alcaniz circuit, which has guaranteed continuity for this year and next, could be removed from Dorna’s calendar when the contract expires at the end of 2026. The reason is the 
concentration of up to five grands prix on the Iberian Peninsula, a number that the organisation is seeking to reduce in search of new international markets. 

According to the information provided after the confirmation ceremony for the Catalan GP until 2031 held on Thursday, the future of Aragón, Cheste (Valencia), Jerez and Portimao (Portugal) is up in the air. All four have contracts signed until the end of 2026 and Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has told the media that the intention is to reduce the five peninsular Grand Prix to “two or three” from 2027 onwards.

“Due to the agreement we have with the FIM and the teams, we don’t want more than 22 races a year. There is a huge demand from other countries and, unfortunately, I don’t think we will be able to maintain the concentration we have now.” ” How many will there be? I don’t know. But there won’t be five and possibly not four either ,” Ezpeleta concluded. 

The head of Dorna, the organisation that organises the world championship, has also specified that Catalonia, no matter what, had to be there because “it has earned it” . With the high competition in Montmeló confirmed until 2031, according to the first conclusions, there would be two places for the other four circuits. “We will see who gets in, it will depend on whether they are finished and on many other things. We will see,” Ezpeleta confirmed. 

DIFFICULTIES FOR MOTORLAND

Dorna has already transferred its plans to all the circuits involved. Given this situation, the situation at the circuit located in the Lowlands is not the most promising due to the strength of its competitors. Cheste, in Valencia, is a historic event where the championship is usually finished. For its part, Jerez is considered the Cathedral of motor racing and attracts thousands and thousands of bikers year after year. In addition, Portimao offers the possibility of competing in MotoGP in another country.

However, the Motorland event – which has been a fixture since 2010, with the exception of the so-called Iberian rotation in 2023, in which only Alcañiz ended up taking part – has been one of the Grand Prix most highly valued by the drivers themselves since its inclusion in the world championship 15 years ago. In addition, its organisational capacity (in 2020 it hosted two consecutive Grand Prix) allows it to remain in the mix.

SUPPORT FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF ARAGON AND THE CITY OF ALCAÑIZ

For its part, the Government of Aragon has assured this newspaper that it has no official or unofficial information from Dorna about the calendar after 2026. At the same time, the Ministry of Tourism to which Motorland is attached has stressed that the DGA’s fundamental objective is to maintain the Grand Prix and that it will continue to work on it. “It is worth remembering that it is one of the favourite circuits and has already won the IRTA award for best GP in 2010, 2013, 2015 and twice in 2020,” they confirmed.

Along the same lines, the mayor of Alcañiz, Miguel Ángel Estevan, has also stressed that he is confident that Motorland will be taken into account as it has been up to now. “We are among those 22 cities chosen and we have the best circuit in the world,” the mayor told Aragón Digital, who has announced that negotiations “will be opened” and that the Government of Aragon and the City Council will do everything possible to continue. ” The Government of Aragon has never been so committed to Motorland as it has been up to now,” Estevan concluded.