Promoter of the SHARK Grand Prix de France, Claude Michy, was present in Portimao for final talks and planning with Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta ahead of the event at Le Mans on the 16th of May. The Frenchman confirmed that Round 5 of the MotoGP™ World Championship will go ahead, but at this moment looks likely to be held behind closed doors.
However, official confirmation on whether fans will be allowed to attend the race will be made over the next few weeks, with Michy keen to allow fans into the grandstands to cheer on both Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing).
"I came to Portimão to meet Carmelo Ezpeleta and his whole team," started the SHARK Grand Prix de France promoter. "To prepare for the French Grand Prix, which will take place on May 16th. At this point, this event will be without an audience, like many other events. But we hope at the end of April to the beginning of May, we can obtain the right to still accommodate a reduced number of spectators, so that they can support our French riders Fabio and Johann, who are in top form at the moment!
"It is necessary to prepare well for this Grand Prix, with the health standards currently in force in France and those established for the entire paddock by Dorna Sports. We also have our health protocol for the organisation and we have put in place a health protocol, in case we also have the public attending. The idea being that ticket holders would have a PCR test from a lab that would transmit to a platform and allow them to access the paddock via their phone, that's our hope. Now we have to wait for validation from the French government and the Sarthe prefecture. But everyone is trying to do their best to make everything turn out that way.
"I think that difficulty arises for all the organisers, in all the countries. We still have to hope that things will evolve. We're going to have to live with this virus, what we have to do is find the right solutions. Dorna Sports, which kept the sport going, is a fantastic example. Now the public must be able to come back because they are the best setting."