The Grand Prix road motorcycling world championship event will return to Brno next year, after a five-year absence, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) told reporters after today’s government meeting.
The state will provide financial support for the event through the National Sports Agency, he added.
Dorna Sports, the promoter of the championship, has agreed with the Autoclub of the Czech Republic, the government, the South Moravian Region, the City of Brno and the owner of the Brno circuit to go ahead with the event.
While in past years, the race was organised by the association founded jointly by the city and the region, it will now be organised by the Autoclub. The South Moravian Region and the City of Brno will help fund the event, but according to Autoclub President Jan Stovicek, private entities will provide a large part of the money.
Municipal and regional councillors have approved a contribution of CZK 35 million for each of the next five years, the period for which the organiser has signed the contract with the promoter. It is not clear how much the state will contribute.
Fiala, a native of Brno, said the sum was not yet fixed and would be part of the state budget for next year. “However, it will definitely amount to tens of millions of crowns,” he told journalists in Brno, adding that the MotoGP in Brno is not just economically important, but is also an event that has a cultural dimension with a great tradition.
However, the entry fee, i.e. the money the local organiser has to pay to the main promoter, is not yet clear. Last time, the entry fee amounted to about CZK 160 million. Since the local organiser (the city and the region) previously received the information about the state budget contribution at the very last minute, the organisation went bankrupt.
“The current amount is a trade secret,” said Stovicek. In addition to public funds, it will be largely paid for by admission fee revenues, he added, noting that Creditas Group, the main partner of the Brno races, is also important.
Stovicek also said that the date of the Brno race was not yet fixed. However, he said he was pushing for it to be in the middle or the second half of August, as in the past.
Significant investments are necessary to repair the Brno circuit; in previous years, there were discussions about reconstruction of the race track for CZK 100 million.
- This article was updated at 6.58pm on 28/8/2024 with further information.
