This is how the war in Ukraine has affected the Argentine GP: pilots without a motorcycle waiting for a Boeing 747

Rarely has the World Cup

been so attentive to the route of a Boeing 747. The one on flight BSC4042, bound for Buenos Aires, carried heavy boxes and boxes with the occasional motorcycle, such as that of MotoGP rookie Raúl Fernández, spare parts for the Ducati team , suits for drivers such as Alex Rins and entire boxes that remained to be assembled on the first day of testing, this Friday, which had to cancel all activity on the track scheduled for the Argentine GP.

The delay in the arrival of that flight due to various breakdowns and various logistical problems also affected this Saturday's program.

Finally, that only free practice day will host one of the two practices that should have been held on Friday (valid to go directly to Q2 in the fight for

);

with which each category will have two sessions: FP1 and FP2 before the classification.

In addition, the last MotoGP free test, the so-called FP4, had to be removed from the final schedule, which is used by the riders to work on the set-up of the bike and study the behavior of the tires before the race.

Thus, the queen category will have two free practices less than usual this weekend.

The changes were considered essential, because early this Friday afternoon in Argentina there were still some empty workshops.

The technical problems that affected the flight in question and the effects of the war in Ukraine have unraveled the entire plan for the grand prix, where it has not been run since 2019 due to the effects of the covid pandemic.

That Boeing 747 that was expected this Friday night like May water in the Termas de Río Hondo circuit arrived with some other problem in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, but had to return to Lombok, in Indonesia, where it had been held the last race of the championship.

There was still part of the material from the races to collect.

But the plane was forced to make a technical stop in Mombasa (Kenya) due to another fault.

And there he was stranded for more than a day.

Sanctions on Russia

We had to wait to repair the damage because the organizers of the World Cup could not find relief.

"There are about 140 flights available in the world for cargo, but we need special ones and it is not easy to change from one plane to another," explained Carmelo Ezpeleta, executive director of Dorna, on Thursday.

The added problem was that of those 140 flights, 20% cannot be used.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused severe sanctions to Russian companies, owners of that 20% of available cargo planes.

This is how the war has ended up affecting a motorcycling grand prix on the other side of the planet.

What's in the @37_pedroacosta box?

Don't worry, he gives us a quick tour 🤣#ArgentinaGP 🇦🇷 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/kI9t4fj8vt

– DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) April 1, 2022

The day on Friday, while flight BSC4042 took off from Mombasa, made a technical stop in Lagos and crossed the Atlantic in the early afternoon, was strange for the athletes.

Some, however, made better use of the time than others.

Aleix Espargaró, for example, spent the day off riding a bike, one of his great passions.

Raúl Fernández, one of those who did not even have a motorcycle, assumed that he could not lose the day.

He had to study.

A rookie in MotoGP, he is the least experienced rider on the track in northern Argentina, so he dedicated himself to reviewing the data from previous years and talking to the team about him.

Riders from the small categories such as Jaume Masià, Augusto Fernández or Pedro Acosta went to the circuit to hang out.

Literally.

His boxes barely had the carpet on and little else.

Others, like Jorge Martín, a Ducati rider,

The

, yes, opened at noon.

There were no training sessions, but the fans were able to meet their idols, who were seen in the

before eating.

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