India to host MotoGP for first time in 2023

India will stage a MotoGP race for the first time from 2023, organisers said on Friday, in a bid to expand the sport outside its traditional heartlands. 

The inaugural event is scheduled to take place at Buddh International Circuit in Uttar Pradesh, to the south of New Delhi, on September 22-24 next year.

The track has already played host to Formula One, staging three F1 grands prix between 2011 and 2013.

“We have a lot of fans in India and we’re excited to be able to bring the sport to them,” Carmelo Ezpeleta, chief executive of MotoGP organiser and promoter Dorna, said in a statement.

“India is also a key market for the motorcycle industry and therefore, by extension, for MotoGP as the pinnacle of the two-wheeled world.”

Sports minister Anurag Thakur hailed the announcement as a historic day for his country’s sporting sector. – AFP