Now that Jerez has confirmed MotoGP for 2012, that's 4 races in Spain.
We had a bit of a debate about the current calendar in the office and thought we could do a better job. Frankly. we're bored of the current MotoGP Spanish dominance and think it needs a bit of a mix-up. If Robin and I were in charge at Dorna, then this would be what the revised 2012 MotoGP calendar would look like.
We've started the season by replacing Losail, Qatar with Istanbul, Turkey. The night thing has lost its shine and only covers up the lack of spectators. In Turkey at least some people might turn up to watch.
We've swapped Estoril for Portimao, enough said. We've replaced Le Mans with Paul Ricard as let's face it, there is only one circuit at Le Mans and that's the 24hr La Sarthe circuit. Silverstone gets replaced by Donington, even though we know the facilities at Silverstone are better than Donington's offerings, it's not a world tour of decent toilets and well-organised car parks, it's about the best, most exciting circuits for the fans.
We then do a bit of a tour of central Europe: Assen, Sachsenring and then Spa. Yes, Spa is probably unlikely, but GPs used to race there and still hold plenty of races at this amazing circuit. Run-off is tight in places but that's nothing doubling up on the air-fences couldn't sort. Probably. If they can endurance race classic shonkers around there for 4 hours in darkness, the GP boys can do it for an hour in broad daylight.
Our next change is the Indianapolis nightmare. If you were Dorna, you might well look at the US and think 'there's a massive audience of motor lovers here, let's pander to them' but let's be honest, unless it goes around an oval 500 times, most yanks aren't that interested. Let them stick to what they're good at and that's V8s, not Indy MotoGP. So we've replaced Indy with Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Brazil - the same circuit the F1 goes to. It's fast, flowing and who wouldn't want to see a lunge into the first corner? Where's the love for South America? Right here.
Then we start our month-long triple-header in Italy. We swap out Misano for Monza. That might be a controversial call, but Monza is a truly great circuit, much simpler than Misano and with three flat-out straights, it's a perfect place for last-minute braking battles. Monza is followed by Imola - host to some amazing WSB battles - and finally Mugello. You can't not have Mugello.
We've then added Suzuka and Motegi to share the Japanese round; one on one year, the other the following.
Instead of ending the season at Valencia - which might only mean a short drive home for most of the Dorna execs - we end at Phillip Island, one of the best circuits on the calendar. If the championship came down to a drag race over the line at Phillip Island, you wouldn't forget that in a hurry.
Visordown's Revised 2012 MotoGP Calendar
15 April, Turkey - Istanbul
29 April, Spain - Jerez de la Frontera
6 May, Portugal - Portimao
20 May, France - Paul Ricard
3 June, Catalunya - Catalunya
17 June, Great Britain - Donington
30 June, Netherlands - Assen
8 July, Germany - Sachsenring
15 July, Belgium - Spa
29 July, United States - Laguna Seca
19 August, Brazil - Autódromo José Carlos Pace
26 August, Czech Rep. - Brno
16 September, Italy - Monza
23 September, Italy, Imola
30 September, Italy Mugello
14 October, Japan - Motegi / Suzuka
21 October, Malaysia - Sepang
28 October, Australia - Phillip Island
What do you think to our revised calendar?
