Inaugural Indian MotoGP round hit with major problems as multiple team and riders are unable to fly
The Indian MotoGP round faces immense issues before media duties kick off on Thursday.
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Marc Marquez (Via Honda on X)
When the idea of an Indian MotoGP round was proposed, there was tons of excitement but also a lot of speculation regarding the same. Ever since Formula 1 had their last race in India back in 2013, it has been a decade since the Buddh International Circuit hosted an event of a similar magnitude. While many thought that the Indian MotoGP round would take place in 2024, it came as a surprise when it was announced for this season’s calendar.
With this being the first iteration, the MotoGP paddock has had its fair share of issues. Most of the riders and team members were supposed to fly to India on Tuesday. However, many including Marc Marquez were unable to procure a visa. Dorna, the entity that owns MotoGP, had recommended a company for the paddock to use in order to procure a visa. However, even with some people applying 5 weeks before, they were not given their visa.
This even led to some individuals missing their flights. Marc Marquez even went on to post on his social media: “Flight delayed due to lack of visa for India, so we’re going to pedal for a little while,” referring to a picture of himself on his mountain bike. This comes as a bit of an embarrassment for organising capability and the capacity of the bureaucracy of all parties involved.
Honda was forced to cancel a factory visit with its drivers due to visa complications
Honda had decided to do a factory visit with all its riders on Wednesday. However, due to complications in attaining a visa for most of the members, it was impossible to go through with it leading to an unfortunate cancellation. Apart from riders and team members, numerous media personnel were also unable to procure a visa until the last moment. As of 48 hours ago, 75% of the paddock didn’t have a visa for India.
However, a large number of those people seem to have gotten their E-visa to proceed with the formalities. The Indian GP race weekend hasn’t even started off properly, and there have already been complications. It will be important to keep an eye on Thursday’s meetings, where Aleix Espargaro and other riders will be
deciding whether the track is safe to race or not.
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Varad Joshi
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