Ahead of the inaugural MotoGP Bharat event to be held this weekend, key team personnel and riders, including six-time champion Marc Marquez, have not yet received their Indian visas and had to miss their flights.
The 13th round of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship is set to be held at the Buddh International Circuit from September 22-24.
Honda rider Marquez and his teammate Joan Mir were supposed to be in India on Wednesday morning for an event at the Honda India factory in Manesar before the organisers called it off on Tuesday morning.
Marquez took to his social media account and posted a picture of himself on a bicycle with a caption in Spanish that translated to “Flight delayed due to lack of visa for #Indiagp, so we’re going to pedal for a little while.”
Later on Tuesday evening, a statement from Grand Prix of India acknowledged the issue and said, “We have been updated about the current issue of delays in the visa issuance process. We would like to share that we have been working relentlessly to resolve the same in the best possible manner. Close to 500 visas have been cleared, and a large number will be done shortly.”
“The dedicated teams are doing everything possible to ensure every rider, team, and technical officials’ visa is issued at the earliest. This incident was unexpected, and we are doing whatever is required to address the same immediately,” it further read.
Earlier in the day, former MotoGP Rider Loris Capirossi, the Safety Advisor to MotoGP organiser Dorna Sports, expressed his satisfaction with the circuit after driving around it.
The Italian has been inspecting the track for the last few days, and the official homologation by the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) is expected within the next two days.
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