MotoGP hoping to stage final race of season in Barcelona

MotoGP is in talks with local authorities to stage their season-ending race in Barcelona, promoter Dorna's chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta said on Sunday.

MotoGP said on Friday it would not stage the Nov. 15-17 race in Valencia due to catastrophic floods in the region, which have killed at least 214 people, with dozens still unaccounted for.

Barcelona already hosts the Catalunya Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya.

"We have been looking at all the possibilities we had, it's very challenging to organise an event in two weeks, but during the last 48 hours we've looked at all possible alternatives," Ezpeleta said in a video posted on the MotoGP website.

"We think that Barcelona is the best possible place given the proximity to Valencia, given that a lot of people were already travelling through to get to the finale, and especially for fans – we think it's the best possible place for them.

"We also know we will be able to help the community of Valencia from that location as well."

Ezpeleta added that MotoGP had reached out to the local government and was awaiting confirmation.

"They want to communicate and align themselves with both the government of Spain and that of Valencia before confirming the event, and we hope that confirmation comes in the next 48 hours," he added.

"But the urgency right now is Valencia – not confirming our GP. It's something we can wait for and once it's confirmed we'll start working as hard as possible."

The race will decide the outcome of the championship with the tussle between Pramac Racing's Spaniard Jorge Martin and Ducati's Italian two-times champion Francesco Bagnaia going down to the wire after Bagnaia's win in Malaysia on Sunday.

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