MotoGP's Indian round: one race in 2023, then three straight cancellations

MotoGP held its first Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida in September 2023 — the country's biggest motorsport event since Formula 1 left in 2013. Local promoter Fairstreet Sports had signed a seven-year deal with rights holder Dorna, with the Uttar Pradesh government backing the race, and Marco Bezzecchi won the debut.

It was the last one. In May 2024 reports said India would be dropped from the 2024 calendar over unpaid dues from the promoter — Fairstreet denied it, saying payments had been delayed by the general elections — and the round was eventually postponed, then lost from the calendar. The state government's tender for a new promoter, issued in August 2024, was recalled a month later.

In September 2024 Dorna cancelled the 2025 round citing 'operational circumstances'; on 25 July 2025 India was dropped from the provisional 2026 calendar. Three consecutive years without a race: the Indian round died after a single edition.

The debut ran on promises, not payments; when Fairstreet's dues went unpaid, Dorna cancelled 2024, 2025, and 2026, ending the round after a single edition.

The event was staged on promises instead of payments: within a year of the debut the promoter reportedly had not settled its dues with Dorna, and no money means no calendar slot.

The official story shifted — climate, weather, 'operational circumstances' — while the money question never went away; an event whose real problem cannot be named is an event that cannot be fixed.

The structure leaned on the state: Uttar Pradesh moved from sponsor to co-promoter, and its tender for a new promoter was withdrawn within weeks — the event ran on politics, not a viable business.

A marquee event is a subscription, not a launch: every year after the debut must be paid for again. India's round rested on political backing — when the promoter's money stopped, the slot went.

Dorna kept the door open in wording — a return was floated for early 2026 — but the provisional 2026 calendar has no Indian round, and the Buddh International Circuit, which had already lost Formula 1 in 2013, again has no marquee international race. The 2024 edition had been scheduled for 20–22 September before it disappeared from the calendar.