The postponement of the races scheduled for Argentina (11 April) and the United States (18 April), due to the increase in cases caused by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, promoted the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve as an alternate to the championship’s circuit.

Portugal will receive the third stage of the MotoGP World Championship, which starts on 28 March, in Losail, Qatar, the same circuit that will receive the second stage, the Doha GP, on 4 April.

In 2020, Portimão received a MotoGP race for the first time, on 22 November, when Miguel Oliveira (KTM) snatched his second victory.

This will be the 15th edition of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Portugal, after 12 editions, between 2002 and 2012, were held at the Estoril race track and the 1987 one at the Jarama circuit in Spain.

The 2021 MotoGP World Championship calendar now has 19 races planned, keeping the Mandalika circuit in Indonesia as a reserve and waiting for the rescheduling of the events in Argentina, at the Termas de Río Hondo, and in the United States, at the Americas circuit.

The championship is scheduled to end in Valencia, on 14 November, after the 2020 season ended in Portimão.