KymiRing, This Time Russia and Ukraine are to be Blamed!

It is said that there are no winners in the war. Seems like the motorsport segment is hit with the Russia-Ukraine tussle as well. How do you ask? Well, let me tell you.

As sanctions against Russia continue to rise, several breaches in global supply chains have resulted as a result of the Russia-Ukraine tussle.

As a result, Finland, a neighbouring country, has stated its intention to join NATO, a move that has been met with scepticism in Russia. The FIM, the governing body of motorcycle racing, has said that homologation work at the KymiRing circuit will not be finished in time for the scheduled MotoGP race on July 10th and has thus decided to postpone the event until 2023.

FIM in a statement said, “Homologation works at the KymiRing, together with the risks caused by the ongoing geopolitical situation in the region, have sadly obliged the cancellation of the Finnish Grand Prix in 2022. The current circumstances have created delays and put the ongoing work on the new circuit at risk. All parties have therefore agreed that the track’s debut must be postponed to 2023 when MotoGP™ looks forward to returning to Finland for the first time in four decades. The final 2022 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar is therefore expected to comprise 20 rounds.”

Following the COVID-19 epidemic, the event at the KymiRing track was scheduled to join the MotoGP calendar in 2020, however, it was postponed to 2021. However, due to travel limitations inside Finland, this was once again cancelled, pushing the event back another year before being postponed again. It’s been 40 years since the Imatra street circuit hosted a Finnish motorcycle grand Prix, with 125cc, 250cc, and 350cc motorcycles competing.

The top tier category, then the 500cc class, had its final race in Finland the previous season at Imatra, won by Suzuki’s Marco Lucchinelli. Despite having a five-year contract to host a MotoGP race, which began in the 2018 season, the KymiRing has failed to produce any of its races due to global events beyond its control. With the 2022 event cancelled, there will be a six-week break between the Dutch TT on June 26 and the British Grand Prix on August 7 at Silverstone.