Thailand Is On The Motogp™ Calendar For 2018

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MotoGP™ will visit Buriram from 2018-2020


Thailand has been confirmed on the MotoGP™ calendar from 2018. Sakon Wannapong, the Governor of Sport Authority of Thailand, and Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna Sports CEO, signed the contract in a ceremony in Bangkok chaired by his excellency General Tanasak Patimapragorn, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, with Pongpanu Svetarundra, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, also in attendance for the historic occasion. More than 200 members of the media gathered at the event in a new market for the World Championship, with interest in Thailand incredibly high as they prepare to welcome MotoGP™.

With the deal now finalised, the Thai Grand Prix will be staged in Buriram, north east of Bangkok, from 2018 - with the initial deal sealing it as a fixture until 2020.

Dates: to be advised...
 
Sep 19, 2006
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And now the Mad Scramble starts with everyone trying to get Accommodation anywhere near the Track which will be Basically impossible unless You take a Camper or a Tent! Should be a Great Event for Thailand just a Shame they never made the Track somewhere else in Thailand which was more easily accessible and with the Infrastructure to cope !!!
 

DavidFL

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Fantastic news indeed.
Now how to get a room in the frenzy.

The provisional 2018 calendar
1 QATAR GP Losail International Circuit 18th MARCH
2 ARGENTINA GP Termas de Rio Hondo 08th APRIL
3 AMERICAS GP Circuit of the Americas 22nd APRIL
4 SPANISH GP Circuito de Jerez 06th MAY
5 FRENCH GP Le Mans 20th MAY
6 ITALIAN GP Autodromo di Mugello 03rd JUNE
7 CATALUNYA GP Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 17th JUNE
8 DUTCH GP TT Circuit Assen 01st JULY
9 GERMAN GP Sachsenring 15th JULY
10 CZECH GP Automotodrom Brno 05th AUGUST
11 AUSTRIAN GP Red Bull Ring - Spielberg 12th AUGUST
12 BRITISH GP Circuit to be announced 26th AUGUST
13 SAN MARINO GP Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli 09th SEPTEMBER
14 ARAGON GP MotorLand Aragon 23rd SEPTEMBER
15 THAI GP Chang International Circuit 07th OCTOBER
16 JAPANESE GP Twin Ring Motegi 21st OCTOBER
17 AUSTRALIAN GP Phillip Island Circuit 28th OCTOBER
18 MALAYSIAN GP Sepang International Circuit 04th NOVEMBER
19 VALENCIA GP Circuit Ricardo Tormo 18th NOVEMBER
 

DavidFL

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Some history of the Buriram "Beer Chang" circuit

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The Buriram United International Circuit has exploded onto the motorsports scene, propelling Thailand onto the international stage for the first time. Now also known as Chang International Circuit thanks to a sponsorship deal with a brewery, the circuit has been created to the highest FIA and FIM standards, potentially putting it in line to host Formula One and MotoGP races in the future.

The project is the mastermind of wealthy local politician and former cabinet minister Newin Chidchob, who also owns the football club with its lavish new stadium a short distance from the track. The aim was to build the rural city (whose name in the Khmer language means 'City of Happiness') into a sporting destination in a bid to boost its profile and attract tourism to the north east of Thailand.

Construction on the 2 billion baht (around £38 million) circuit began in March 2013 and progressed very quickly. Hermann Tilke was employed to design the masterplan, with the brief that as much of the track as possible should be viewable from the main 50,000 seat grandstand. With a 1,200 acre site available, this still allowed for the inclusion of two long straight sections (one of which is 1km in length), as well as a more compact complex in front of the grandstand.

Unusually, the pit garages themselves are located under the main grandstand so as not to obstruct the view and the result is a very imposing structure which dominates the skyline, reminiscent of the pit buildings at Le Mans.

A total of six circuit variations are available, three of which can be run simultaneously. The shorter layouts have been configured with local racing championships in mind, as these typically use much lower powered near-production vehicles which would not be well suited to the long straights.

The circuit was also designed from the outset with night racing in mind and features floodlighting around its length to FIA standards. Another quirk is the addition of two large ponds inside the perimeter, designed to help air circulate around the complex to lessen the effects of Thailand's humidity.

Construction was largely complete by September 2014 and an FIA inspection confirmed the circuit's Grade One status later that month following a track inspection. Originally, the circuit had been intended to meet Grade Two status only but the circuit's backers decided to press ahead with the higher grade in order to attract a greater selection of world series.

The circuit was inaugurated on October 4 and 5, 2014, with the visit of the Japanese Super GT series. Strong promotion of the event prompted 130,000 curious spectators to turn out across the race weekend, in many cases to see their first ever live motorsport event. They defied the baking heat and humidity to witness a victory for Kazuki Nakajima and James Rossiter of Petronas Tom's RCF in the GT500. Kazuki Hoshino and Spain's Lucas Ordonez of Japanese NDDP Racing team took the GT300 honours.

Several other races completed the 2014 racing calendar, including the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship and the Thailand Super Series.

World Superbike and World Supersport made their debut in March 2015 and produced good races in front of a large crowd. The circuit drew praise from the riders, not least local hero Ratthapark Wilairot: "I really love it because you can see all the track if you are in the grandstand. Also when I'm riding I really enjoy it - it looks easy, but when you want to ride fast you cannot push accuracy. You have to go smooth and keep the corner speed fast."

Kawasaki rider Jonathan Rea also singled out the hairpin for praise: "Turn 3 is like a big balls corner because you enter in sixth gear and it's back three gears and you tip it in on bumps. That's a good feeling," he says.

With Super GT returning later in the year and the Asian Le Mans Series likely to be back in 2016 when it resumes a longer series schedule, the ambition to make Buriram one of the most important circuits in Asia appears to be well at hand.

Source: Home
 

Lucky33

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I was at the races also and had a great time. My fist time to attend a motorcycle race in Thailand was the Superbike Races in Buriram back in March and I had such a good time going to them that it convinced me to attend the MotoGP races as well. My worst fear was that it would rain on me most of the way going and coming from Pattaya but it was bright and sunny every day, not a drop of rain going or coming and it didn't rain the whole time in Buriram, very unusual for this time of year.

Here are a couple of photos from the races. The first one is from one of the motorcycle parking lots, the second is one of the sets of metal detectors that spectators had to walk through to get to the races, the Thai government wasn't taking any chances, and the last one is of one of the grandstands. I bought my tickets in advance from the Ducati dealer here in Pattaya and exchanged them at the Buriram Ducati dealer for the actual tickets as well as tee shirts and caps. This also entitled me to use Ducati parking and their refreshment stand. I also sat in the Ducati section of the grandstands so everything worked out great with Ducati which isn't always the case :).

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DavidFL

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I was at the races also and had a great time. My fist time to attend a motorcycle race in Thailand was the Superbike Races in Buriram back in March and I had such a good time going to them that it convinced me to attend the MotoGP races as well. My worst fear was that it would rain on me most of the way going and coming from Pattaya but it was bright and sunny every day, not a drop of rain going or coming and it didn't rain the whole time in Buriram, very unusual for this time of year.

Here are a couple of photos from the races. The first one is from one of the motorcycle parking lots, the second is one of the sets of metal detectors that spectators had to walk through to get to the races, the Thai government wasn't taking any chances, and the last one is of one of the grandstands. I bought my tickets in advance from the Ducati dealer here in Pattaya and exchanged them at the Buriram Ducati dealer for the actual tickets as well as tee shirts and caps. This also entitled me to use Ducati parking and their refreshment stand. I also sat in the Ducati section of the grandstands so everything worked out great with Ducati which isn't always the case :).

View attachment 125527 View attachment 125529 View attachment 125530 View attachment 125528

Thanks for the photos. It was a great event too. I had my doubts prior to the event,m expecting it to be a bit of a shambles, but everything ran smoothly. The organization they set up worked. It was highly impressive for a first time MotoGP event. And then all the races were fantastic! An incredible bonus. So I'm going next year too.
Interesting about your post with the metal detectors. I never noticed anything.
Here are a few photos I took. But maybe we can start a separate "My Buriram MotoGP 2018" if enough guys are interested to post their photos.

I had a solo ride down from Chiang Khong, with a night in Chumpae on the way.
In Buriram I hooked up with the Chiang Mai Ductai guys, with whom I got my tickets & accommodation = a bog TQ to Kevin & Pepper at DART / Chiang Mai Ducati for their generous assistance.
After Buriram I rode back with Richard & Youngie meeting up in Loei, then part of the way to Uttaradit where we split up again.
I then had a night in Phrae & next day home to Chiang KHong.

For the record
Chiang Khong - Chumpae = 713
Chumpae - Buriram = 317
Buriram - Loei = 447
Loei - Phrae = 342
Phrae - Chiang Khong = 325
Total kms return trip = 2,144 kms.

A few happy snaps
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The early bird gets lots of parking space to choose from.

Welcome to Buriram
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The Etan tak taks were a brilliant idea
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An empty track at practice
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The back of the VR46 Stand
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A packed Ducati Stand
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James Assero proudly cheering Rossi in the Ducati stand. A brave man with a sense of humour indeed.
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DART / Ducati Cnx turned on the food every night & breakfast at the resort they booked.
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Breakfast
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The Snail & I at the track cheering Dovi
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Lucky33

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It looks like you had a great time also :). What made me decide to see the MotoGP races were the SBK races in March. I made a mental note to buy and bring earplugs for the earsplitting noise that the bikes make but then I forgot to get them. Thankfully I found a vendor selling them at the track and that saved the day. I also stayed in Buriram and made my reservations early but most of my friends from Pattaya ended up staying in Surin, still not that much of a commute for the races although it's obviously better to stay in Buriram if possible. Like you, I'm definitely going to be doing it again next year.
 
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DavidFL

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It looks like you had a great time also :). What made me decide to see the MotoGP races were the SBK races in March. I made a mental note to buy and bring earplugs for the earsplitting noise that the bikes make but then I forgot to get them. Thankfully I found a vendor selling them at the track and that saved the day. I also stayed in Buriram and made my reservations early but most of my friends from Pattaya ended up staying in Surin, still not that much of a commute for the races although it's obviously better to stay in Buriram if possible. Like you, I'm definitely going to be doing it again next year.

I enjoyed the sound & noise of the bikes. Ear plugs not necessary - that's all part of the special atmosphere for me.
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