Qatar, which will host the opening two races of the 2021 MotoGP world championship, yesterday offered the Covid-19 vaccine to the sport’s entire paddock.

“The state of Qatar has significantly ramped up its Covid-19 vaccination programme in 2021, and as a result of this progress, it is able to offer all travelling members of the MotoGP paddock access to the vaccine,” the Qatari authorities said in a statement.

The Losail circuit will stage back-to-back races on March 28 and April 4.

It has also been hosting pre-season testing for MotoGP this week and will welcome Moto2 and Moto3 testing from March 19-21.