The Good, Bad & Ugly Side to the New MXGP Calendar

If there’s one job I don’t envy, it’s that of the person/people who have to put together the MXGP calendar. Especially during these “unprecedented times”.

As you’re probably aware, the MXGP calendar v.57 came out yesterday and, in all honesty, if I was in charge, I’d have probably released it today, and then to anyone who complained I’d have just said “April Fools… sucker!” It’s a no-win situation and seeing how some of Europe is moving into Lockdown 3 (or is it 4?), the thought of travelling anywhere just seems laughable, so to see 19 races dotted around the globe is hard to imagine. Still, we’re optimists over here and we’re going to break down this latest incarnation.

The Good

1. Bali in December.
2. Matterley is back! I’m not sure what my fellow Brits will complain about now (scrub that, they’re already kicking off that the UK National series has to change dates) but this is great news. Maggiora is also back, and everyone loves going there. In fact, overall, the tracks are a really solid line-up. Four sand tracks, with Lommel and Kegums being joined by Oss and Riola should please Herlings, while elevation fans should rejoice with Loket, Orlyonok, Uddevalla, Teutschenthal, Agueda and Trentino on the list. There are a couple of ‘pop-ups’ and some complete unknowns, but that’s a good mix of tracks with something for everyone.
3. Bali in December.

The Bad

1. No one wants to be racing in December…. Even if it is in Bali
2. COVID is still around and chances are, this calendar isn’t going to be the last version we see. Right now, crossing borders in Europe is tricky and this calendar crosses a whole bunch of them.
3. Anyone looked a globe and see any problems going from Argentina to Indonesia? I did (see below), and it isn’t nice. It’ll take about 48hrs of travel to get from one to the other and that’s not to mention the price to do it. And by having it at the end, a lot of riders with nothing to play for might just tweak a fingernail and decide not to bother.

The Ugly

1. Starting with Russia. I admire the optimism but I can’t help but feel this will be tough. Visas aren’t easy to get for a few different nationalities and who knows what the extra requirements will be.
2. Getting a stick shoved up your nose 87 times throughout the season and the logistics involved in making sure you get tested 72hrs before you leave, but actually getting the results back before you leave. Although if we do end up in Russia for round one, perhaps we can slip some rubles into the right hands and get Sputnik’d and not have to worry about it anymore.
3. Right now, we can’t get into Bali, or Russia, or Argentina, or….

Featured Image Credit: Bavo Swijgers / HondaProRacing