Early practice sessions at the Grand Prix of Argentina were cancelled at Termas de Rio Honda due to complications in some freight not arriving for many of the teams.
An official statement from MotoGP regarding this third round of 21 reads:
“Logistical issues affecting freight for the FIM MotoGP World Championship have obliged a schedule change for the Grand Prix of Argentina.
“Five cargo flights were scheduled to ship paddock material from Lombok, Indonesia, to Tucuman, close to Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina, in the week following the Indonesian GP.
“Due to two separate issues affecting two different flights, the final freight for the Argentina GP will now arrive in the country on Friday (today NZ time). The flight contains freight for all classes of the FIM MotoGP World Championship, with changes to the time schedule therefore obliged for all classes.
“Free Practice sessions will now begin and take place for all classes on Saturday morning (Sunday, NZ time).
“Of the sessions that normally take place on Friday, only one has been cancelled, with the other moved to Saturday. Qualifying will take place on Saturday afternoon, with a slightly later start time.
“Warm-up sessions on Sunday morning (Monday, NZ time) have been extended, with each race set to begin at the same start time as originally scheduled.
“The trip from Lombok to Termas consisted of five flights. Three of the planned cargo routes took freight from Lombok to Tucuman via technical stops in Mombasa, Lagos and Brazil.
“The two other routes saw freight planned to travel from Lombok to Doha, Doha to Accra in Ghana and then on to Tucuman.
“The chain of events started last Wednesday when one of the five airplanes suffered a problem during a technical stop in Mombasa, Kenya.
“The first plane which had already arrived in Tucuman was then returned to Lombok to collect more freight, and unfortunately has also suffered a technical problem during a layover this past Wednesday night.
“As of Thursday morning local time in Argentina, one cargo load remains grounded in Mombasa, Kenya.
“The plane is awaiting a part in order to return to the air, with two parts – one dispatched from Europe and another back up part, dispatched from the Middle East – already en route.
“The plane is expected to take off this evening and will follow the route from Mombasa via Lagos and Brazil, arriving in Tucuman on Friday.
“Dorna and IRTA would like to thank the teams and paddock personnel for their effort and understanding, as well as the promoter of the Grand Prix of Argentina for their invaluable support and assistance.
“We also would like to thank fans for their patience, both those in Argentina and those watching around the world, and we look forward to enjoying some fantastic track action and racing on Saturday and Sunday.”
Photo courtesy Suzuki
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2022 MotoGP World Champs standings after round two:
1 Enea Bastianin (ITA) Gresini Ducati (GP21) 30 points
2 Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM (RC16) 28 (-2)
3 Fabio Quartararo (FRA) Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 27 (-3)
4 Miguel Oliveira (POR) Red Bull KTM (RC16) 25 (-5)
5 Johann Zarco (FRA) Pramac Ducati (GP22) 24 (-6)
6 Pol Espargaro (SPA) Repsol Honda (RC213V) 20 (-10)
7 Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) 20 (-10)
8 Alex Rins (SPA) Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 20 (-10)
9 Joan Mir (SPA) Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 20 (-10)
10 Franco Morbidelli (ITA) Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) 14 (-16)
11 Jack Miller (AUS) Ducati Lenovo (GP22) 13 (-17)
12 Marc Marquez (SPA) Repsol Honda (RC213V) 11 (-19)
13 Darryn Binder (RSA) WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) 6 (-24)
14 Takaaki Nakagami (JPN) LCR Honda (RC213V) 6 (-24)
15 Luca Marini (ITA) Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) 5 (-25)
16 Maverick Viñales (SPA) Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) 4 (-26)
17 Alex Marquez (SPA) LCR Honda (RC213V) 3 (-27)
18 Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) 2 (-28)
19 Remy Gardner (AUS) KTM Tech3 (RC16) 1 (-29)
20 Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati Lenovo (GP22) 1 (-29)
2022 PROVISIONAL MOTOGP DATES:
Rd 1: March 6: Losail International Circuit / Qatar.
Rd 2: March 20: Mandalika International Street Circuit / Indonesia.
Rd 3: April 3: Termas de Río Hondo / Argentina.
Rd 4: April 10: Circuit of the Americas / Texas.
Rd 5: April 24: Algarve International Circuit / Portugal.
Rd 6: May 1: Circuito de Jerez-Ángel Nieto / Spain.
Rd 7: May 15: Le Mans / France.
Rd 8: May 29: Autodromo del Mugello / Italy.
Rd 9: June 5: Barcelona-Catalunya / Spain.
Rd 10: June 19: Sachsenring / Germany.
Rd 11: June 26: TYT Circuit Assen / Netherlands.
Rd 12: July 10: KymiRing / Finland.
Rd 13: August 7 : Silverstone Circuit / GB.
Rd 14: August 21: Red Bull Ring-Spielberg / Austria.
Rd 15: September 4: Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli/ San Marino.
Rd 16: September 18: Motorland Aragon / Spain.
Rd 17: September 25: Twin Ring Motegi / Japan.
Rd 18: October 2: Chang International Circuit / Thailand.
Rd 19: October 16: Phillip Island / Australia.
Rd 20: October 23: Sepang International Circuit / Malaysia.
Rd 21: November 6: Comunitat Valenciana-Ricardo Tormo / Spain.