Written by Owen Bradley
Hungary Circuit Renovations and Formula 1
The Hungaroring Circuit, home to Formula One since 1986, is about to undergo some changes and renovations to its circuit, in hopes of hosting the MotoGP World Championship. This has all been revealed by the new owners of the Hungaroring, State Secretariat for Sport, who are part of Hungary’s Department for Defence.
The Hungaroring currently has a contract with Formula 1 until 2027, making this circuit one of the more historic ones on the current calendar.
Renovations and Facility changes will take place just after the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix in July, adding a new pit lane complex, media centre, control tower and main entrance to the venue. This is due to be completed by 2026, with the circuit working in phases between F1 Grands Prix each year.
Hungary Aims to Host MotoGP events in the near future
With these renovations, the Hungaroring is also targeting MotoGP, as it aims to host the pinnacle of two-wheel racing within the next few years.
MotoGP has previously raced at this circuit, in both 1990 and 1992, back when MotoGP was actually called 500cc Class of Motorcycle Grand Prix Road-Racing. In order to host MotoGP, a sport that is arguably more dangerous than a sport like Formula One, there would need to be pretty significant changes in regards to the safety of the track, as the MotoGP bikes can high-side, and send the riders metres into the air - making this a much more difficult thing to renovate an entire circuit for.
So, what would this mean?
Well, if you switch on BT Sport and watch MotoGP - you will know that a lot of these MotoGP circuits either have, a lot of run off areas for the bikes and riders to simply slide off into, or they have gravel traps - usually used for the tighter MotoGP circuits, like Mugello, Italy or the Sachsenring in Germany, which is one of the tightest tracks that MotoGP races at. If you need an example as to why MotoGP would need these run off areas and gravel traps, then all you need to do is look at the image at the start of this article.
Essentially, this would mean that the Hungaroring will likely end up with a few more gravel traps than it currently does, as it is far from ideal to have riders sliding off at high speeds and hitting the large tyre barriers. Looking at the current layout, it likely means that Turn 1 would need to have its barriers pushed back a little bit, potentially also adding in some gravel too. The fast middle sector Turns 9 and 11 would also likely need to have some gravel put down, and also push the barriers back a few metres too, as currently the bikes would simply slide off straight into the barrier.
So, it seems like the Hungaroring is going to have quite a lot of work done by its new owners with the aim of hosting more major racing championships, something which a lot of circuits seem to want to do as well.
But what do you think? Would you like to see MotoGP at the Hungaroring? Are these renovations going to work? Let us know in the comments below!
In the meantime, If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Divebomb YouTube channel!
Thanks very much for reading! It really does mean a lot!