Iran War Forces MotoGP to Shift Race Schedule in Qatar to November

MotoGP Qatar 2026 will be moved to November 2026 due to the war in Iran (Instagram/@motogp).

JAKARTA - The 2026 Qatar MotoGP race, which was originally scheduled to take place in April, has officially been postponed to November 8, 2026 due to the ongoing war situation in Iran.

MotoGP in their official statement said that this decision was taken with the main goal of ensuring the safety, well-being, and the best quality event for all participants and spectators.

"After extensive scenario planning and calendar analysis, the revised date has been chosen to ensure minimal disruption to the wider MotoGP schedule," MotoGP said in a statement on their official website.

The change in the race schedule in Qatar makes the Portuguese MotoGP in Portimao have the opportunity to be held on November 22, 2026 and the last race in Valencia will be held on November 29, 2026, while the other schedule is not affected.

MotoGP CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta said the decision was taken very carefully after full coordination with their partners in Qatar and all the racing teams involved in this year's competition.

"We also recognize the importance of providing clarity to our fans as early as possible and ticket holders will be given the opportunity to transfer their tickets to the next event," he said.

This schedule change has the full support of the parties concerned, especially Qatar as the host and the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM).

The President of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation and Lusail International Circuit (LIC), Abdulrahman bin Abdullatif Al Mannai, said that his party highly respects and supports the MotoGP decision which has a noble goal.

"We sincerely thank our fans, teams, and partners for their continued understanding and support. We hope to welcome everyone back to the Lusail International Circuit," he said.

FIM President Jorge Viegas said that the safety of riders, teams, officials, and fans is always their top priority so they need to make the best decision to deal with the geopolitical situation in Iran.

"We are confident that the updated calendar ensures that events in Qatar can be held in the safest and most professional conditions," he said.

This season's MotoGP has only held one series which took place in Thailand and was won by Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi. The next two races will take place in Brazil on March 20-22, 2026 and the United States on March 27-29, 2026.