IRTA president and Monster Yamaha team boss Herve Poncharal believes there will be a 20-round MotoGP calendar next year, taking in two more non-European countries.
The likeable Frenchman explained that in the current economic climate, pulling in sanctioning fees from new promoters is the only way to grow the series as sponsor and TV money is not on the rise.
"We have factory teams and independent teams. For most of the indpendent teams we have to remember our promoter, Dorna, has three sources of income. Sponsors, but because of the economy, they are going down, TV rights and people wanting to run a GP race," said Poncharal.
"We should be grateful as lots of people are knocking on the door to hold a race. This a way to improve income. All the teams have financial support from Dorna and for that to carry on, we need to understand Dorna have to make the money.
"I have not been assured we will go to 20 next year but we have reduced testing a lot. We used to have five or six tests, now it is three. When we go to a Sepang test in winter, this is much more expensive than a GP, so we will have to see. Carmelo (Ezpeleta) is very aware of the maximum number of races we can do. I am supporting more racing when Thailand, Brazil and Russia are knocking on the door."
