Herve Poncharal: We’d be ‘lucky’ to have MotoGP back in June

Like the rest of the sporting world MotoGP is currently on lockdown with no clear indication as to when it will resume.

Dorna has currently earmarked the Jerez round starting on May 1 as the opener for the new 2020 season but Poncharal wasn’t as optimistic.

"We still have 19 Grand Prix to do. For me, however, it seems impossible that we will have the opportunity to do this number. But I emphasize that this is just my personal view of things…” Poncharal told Speedweek.

"We are seeing all countries tighten their measures day by day and I strongly suspect the grands prix in May are in great danger, i.e. Jerez, Le Mans and Mugello.

"We can count ourselves lucky if we can restart in Catalunya in early June."

Poncharal pointed to the global pandemic affecting everyday life as well as massive sporting events as a reason that any decision is still a long way off.

"At the moment we can't gloss over anything, we have to be honest and admit: Nobody has a clue how far the virus will spread and nobody has any idea how long the strict new regulations and measures will remain in force," Poncharal added.

"Most countries in Europe have cordoned off. The big sporting events have been cancelled, all the well-known bike races, the Roland Garros tennis tournament, the European Championships will only take place in 2021, and there is a huge question mark behind the Olympic Games in Japan in July…

"So before we can return to normal life and gather 100,000 people on a race track on a Sunday... a lot of water will still flow under the bridge."