The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, in Portimão, will once again host a stage of the MotoGP World Championship, on 7 November, after the cancellation of the Australian stage, due to travel restrictions related to the pandemic.

The Algarve circuit, which hosted the Grand Prix of Portugal on 18 April, is now confirmed to host the 18th race of the year, a week before the race in Valencia, which closes the competition.

In a statement, Dorna, promoter of the competition, also announced the anticipation of the Malaysian Grand Prix by one week, to 24 October.

This will be the third time that MotoGP comes to the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, after its debut in 2020, which saw the Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (KTM), take victory.

“I would be very happy to be able to race back home again. My ambition is to race under different conditions and to change the result that resulted in the premature crash at the Portimão GP. The objective for me will obviously be to aim for victory”, said Oliveira.

While in 2020 Oliveira won the on home turf, the return to the Algarve track in 2021 yielded very different results following a crash at the start of the race which then led to him being unable to rise above 16th position.

For Miguel Oliveira, “all races are important, especially when they are on consecutive weekends”, as is the case of Salzburg, which hosts the Grand Prix of Styria and Austria, on 8 and 15 August, following a break of a month.

“It’s always important to win in these races, they’re good opportunities, especially when we have a past that favours us. Every year is a particular situation and we always have to do better, but we won’t go to a race where we won last year with lower goals”.