The first MotoGP race in India is planned for next weekend. The journey to New Delhi is complex for the teams, journalists and photographers. Due to visa issues, many members of the paddock missed their flights from Europe to India earlier this week.
MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports is working with local Indian agency Fairstreet Sports. In advance, paddock members were recommended to work with a specific visa agency to handle the process for everyone.
But that didn’t work out as planned. Many waited in vain for their visa to be delivered electronically on Monday and Tuesday. Without a valid visa you are not allowed to board the plane to India at the airport. As a result, many missed their flights.
This affected the entire Honda team, for example. Marc Marquez posted a photo on his Instagram story on Tuesday showing him riding his mountain bike: “Flight postponed because there is no visa for India, so I’m training with the bike.” He hopes to fly on Wednesday.
Problems are not new
Since many people had the same problem, new flights had to be booked as quickly as possible. The team association IRTA has already reported that these additional costs will be reimbursed for the teams.
This does not apply to journalists and photographers, many of whom are freelancers. They incur high additional costs. In general, India is described as the most expensive race of all because the costs for hotels and shuttle services are also exorbitantly high.
The problems are not new. When Formula 1 came to India for the first time in 2011 on the then newly built Budd International Circuit, there were also visa problems and customs difficulties. That’s why Formula 1 turned its back on India after 2013.
Motorcycles and equipment are already on site
The transport boxes with the motorcycles and the material are already in the boxes of the Buddh International Circuit. After Misano, they were flown from Italy to India and then hunted down from the airport by truck and a lot of police presence.
It is currently hoped that all paddock members (around 2,000 in total) will arrive in India by Thursday at the latest. If that doesn’t work, there is also the option of adapting the Friday program.
This already happened in Argentina last year. At that time there were problems with air freight, which meant that the material arrived late in Termas de Rio Hondo. Friday training sessions were canceled at that time.
There is another question mark regarding India. The FIM homologation will not take place until Thursday. FIM safety advisor Loris Capirossi is already on site and has signaled that the changes to the run-off zones and safety look in order.
But it is also up to the drivers whether the situation is acceptable to them. Before the first training session, they want to walk and inspect the track together. Then the drivers want to decide whether they think the system is safe enough.
The Grand Prix of Japan is already taking place a week after India. Then there could be the next race against time. All of the team’s material has to go through Indian customs on Monday before the air cargo can take off for Japan. The teams were informed in advance that the cargo would not arrive in Motegi until Wednesday if everything went according to plan…