ABU DHABI // Officials at Yas Marina Circuit are confident that motorsport fans in the UAE will be able to see Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and the rest of the MotoGP grid in the flesh by 2013.
Richard Cregan, the chief executive at Yas Marina Circuit, said that talks were progressing well with the motorcycling series towards bringing a round of the championship to Yas Marina, and it was now more a case of deciding when to host it.
"We are in active discussion with MotoGP as we have said before," Cregan said.
"The big decision for us is whether we would do it for 2012 or 2013."
He added that because they wanted to concentrate on developing their racing school and also the track's drag racing facilities, they ideally are looking to wait until 2013 to bring the series to the UAE.
"It would be a great event for us to do, but it would also have to make economic sense," he said.
"We're looking at 2013 for the MotoGP, to be honest, to give us breathing space that we can develop what we have already started like the [racing] school and also the drag racing and the NHRA [National Hot Rod Association] licences.
"They are both doing well. The school is doing so well it is getting booked up and we're having to do extra days, which is great.
"We need to give ourselves a little bit of time to develop those, and then in 2013 we can add the MotoGP, that would be the ideal situation."
One Middle East MotoGP race is already on the calendar, in Qatar, which has been held since 2004 at the Losail Circuit and has been the season-opening race for the series since 2007.
