The cabinet agreed on Tuesday to postpone Thailand’s five-year contract to stage MotoGP races by one year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The previous plan had been for Buri Ram to stage the coveted event from 2021-2025 but it was on Tuesday switched to 2022-2026 instead.
Traisuree Taisaranakul, deputy spokeswoman for Government House, said the licence to host the event for five years would still cost 900 million baht, a budget already approved by the cabinet.
She said Dorna Sports, the owner of the licence, reiterated the company's commitment to the event, saying it would continue to boost Thailand's image overseas and generate substantial income.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry reported that the 2018 event generated 3.05 billion baht and attracted 222,535 spectators and the 2019 race did even better, raising 3.45 billion baht from 226,655 attendees.