BANGKOK, 19 June 2017: The Sports Authority of Thailand says Thailand won the right to host the MotoGP, a global motorcycle racing championship, during the season 2018 to 2020.

SAT said on its Facebook page, last week, that MotoGP owners Dorna Sports formally gave it the green light after talks late last week in Florence, Italy.

“The talks took three hours and concluded with Dorna Sports confirming Thailand has now the rights to host the MotoGp race for three years beginning 2018 through to 2020.”

The first race is scheduled for 5 to 7 October in 2018 ahead of races in Japan, Australia and Malaysia.

Dorna Sports will now write a formal notification to the SAT confirming the appointment, it said.

The Buriram United International Circuit will be the race venue.

The Thai Cabinet approved, 21 March, payments of THB100 million a year to cover the licensing fee for Thailand to host the Moto GP annually, 2018 to 2020.

The annual fee covers the hosting of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix, which is the premier class of motorcycle road racing.

Oganising the event would help to build Thailand’s image through the TV broadcast to over 600 million viewers in more than 200 countries.

It will help to illustrate the country’s ability to host major sports events as well as boost Thailand’s tourism industry.

At present, there are 18 MotoGP venues around the world, with four of them in Asia and Oceania – Qatar, Japan, Malaysia and Australia.