Hungary Motogp Race Put Back Until 2010

The organisers of motorcycling series MotoGP have postponed the inaugural Hungarian Grand Prix for a year until 2010.

The race, which was due to take place on 20th September, cannot be held as building work at the Balatonring Circuit is behind schedule due to a harsh winter and financial reasons.

The International Motorsport Federation will not replace the race on the 2009 schedule so the MotoGP season will only have 17 races.

It also means there will be a four-week gap between rounds 13 in San Marino on 6 September and round 14 in Portugal.

Despite the delay, all parties involved in the project remain committed to bringing MotoGP to Hungary on a five-year contract, just starting a year later than planned.

The 2009 championship, where Valentino Rossi will be defending his world title, starts in Qatar on 12th April, with Hungary having been scheduled to replace China when the provisional schedule for the season was announced.

Although there are no Hungarian riders in MotoGP this season, Gabor Talmacsi and Imre Toth are both competing in the 250cc class.