Why Did MotoGP Stop Going To Brno?

The Czech motorcycle Grand Prix at the Automotodrom Brno dropped off the MotoGP calendar after the 2020 season and stayed off it for four years, before returning to the schedule in 2025. The race is back: the 2026 calendar lists the Czech Grand Prix as round 9, run over the weekend of 19 to 21 June 2026, with the grand prix itself on Sunday 21 June. For a city of about 404,000 residents in South Moravia, an inland city better known for Špilberk Castle and Villa Tugendhat than for motorsport, the return put Brno back on the international racing map. This page from the Brno Travel Guide sets out the timeline, the 2026 dates and what else the city offers around a race weekend.

Why Did MotoGP Stop Going To Brno?

The Czech Grand Prix at Brno was off the MotoGP calendar after 2020 and did not return until 2025, per the championship's own calendar announcements. The 2020 season was the last with a Brno round before the gap, and the comeback edition ran in 2025, with the race now confirmed for 19 to 21 June 2026 as round 9 of the championship.

The championship's own calendar pages are the place where this story is written down. They show the Czech Grand Prix at Brno as a fixture through 2020, then absent from the following seasons, then restored to the schedule for 2025 as the series rebuilt its European summer run. The 2026 calendar, published on motogp.com, keeps Brno as round 9.

For travellers the practical reading is simple: the gap is over. Anyone planning around the Brno weekend should work from the official calendar rather than older articles that still describe the race as cancelled, and the 2027 calendar had not been announced, so check the official calendar for future editions before booking anything non-refundable.

The city's wider race-weekend draw is covered in the site's dedicated Automotodrom Brno and MotoGP guide, which goes deeper into attending a race weekend in the city.

When Is The Brno MotoGP Race In 2026?

The 2026 Czech Grand Prix runs from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 June 2026 at the Automotodrom Brno, with the grand prix race itself on Sunday 21 June, per the championship's published 2026 calendar. It sits as round 9 of the 2026 season, in the championship's first visit back after the 2025 return.

June is a strong month to be in the city beyond the racing. The fireworks festival Ignis Brunensis ran 30 May to 4 July in 2026, per its official site, which means the race weekend falls inside the festival period, with shows over the Brno Reservoir, the water body on the city's western edge. The Vinobraní wine festival arrives later, 25 September to 3 October 2026, so June visitors get the racing and the fireworks rather than the wine season.

Weather planning comes from the ERA5 reanalysis, 1991-2020, for the city: June shows a mean daily high of 22.9 C, a mean daily low of 13.3 C and 74.8 mm of rain across the month. July, by comparison, carries 82.8 mm. In plain terms, expect warm days, cool evenings and a real chance of rain, and pack accordingly for both the circuit and the walk back through the city centre.

A race weekend leaves gaps between sessions, and the city centre fills them well. The 3-hour walking tour with a choice of three themes is the related pick on this page because it slots into a free morning or afternoon; the trio above also includes a food-tasting walk and a guided trip to the Macocha Abyss and Punkva Caves for a day away from the circuit. Between the circuit sessions and the evening fireworks, a guided walk is the easiest way to see Špilberk Castle's hill, the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul on Petrov and the two old squares, Náměstí Svobody and the Cabbage Market, without planning a route yourself.

What Else Can You Do In Brno On A Race Weekend?

A Brno race weekend can pair the grand prix with the castle, the cathedral and the city's two old squares, plus daytime trips out to the Moravian Karst about 21 km away in a straight line or the Lednice-Valtice UNESCO landscape about 46 km away, with the fireworks of Ignis Brunensis over the reservoir on race-weekend evenings in 2026.

Inside the city, the headline sights are walkable and cheap by western European standards. Špilberk Castle's grounds are open daily 6:00 to 23:00, and its guided Story of the Castle tour costs 180 CZK full and 110 CZK reduced, per the castle's own ticket page. The Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul on Petrov Hill is the city silhouette's twin spires, and its bells famously ring at 11:00 rather than noon, in memory of the 1645 Swedish siege. Villa Tugendhat, the UNESCO-listed modernist house of 1928 to 1930, needs planning: the interior is entered only with a previously purchased ticket booked through Brno iD, the villa is closed on Mondays, and prices rise on 1 January 2027. Other pages covering the same trip are gathered on Brno Travel Guide.

For a break from engines, the Moravian Karst lies about 20 km from the centre in a straight line, with the Punkva Caves about 21 km away and the Macocha Abyss about 22 km. The cave tour runs about 60 minutes and includes a boat on the underground river, with trains from Brno to Blansko taking 18 to 24 minutes, per the cave administration's own materials. Booking ahead is the rule there, and the current price is on the official caves site.

The straight-line distances below are computed values, not road distances, and they show how compact the region around the city is.

One caution that matters in June: several city sights keep shorter hours than summer listings suggest. The Mendel Museum, at the Augustinian abbey where Gregor Mendel worked, has been open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00 and closed on Mondays since 1 October 2026, and the same Monday closure applies to Villa Tugendhat and to Špilberk's museum exhibitions. A race weekend that starts on Friday gives you two full sightseeing days before the Monday closures bite.

Wine travellers should note the timing trade-off. The city's Vinobraní festival ran 25 September to 3 October in 2026, well after the race, so June visitors who want Moravian wine should look at the city's wine bars and the tasting stops on the food walk rather than a festival. The dedicated Moravian wine tour guide covers the region's cellars in detail.

How Many Days Do You Need In Brno Around A Race?

A full race weekend works well as a three- or four-day trip: Friday for the city centre, Saturday for practice and qualifying plus Špilberk or the cathedral, Sunday for the race, and an extra day for the Moravian Karst or the Lednice-Valtice UNESCO landscape if the schedule allows. The Brnopas city card, at 370 to 610 CZK for one to three days, covers the main city sights.

The Brnopas card costs 370 CZK for one day, 490 CZK for two and 610 CZK for three at adult rate, per the official tourism site, and its free-entry list includes the Old Town Hall tower, the Ossuary, the cathedral tower and the zoo. A three-day card also includes a seasonal boat on the reservoir route between the Bystrc wharf and Veverská Bítýška, which in a race weekend overlaps neatly with Ignis Brunensis viewing. A version bundled with a Villa Tugendhat tour, Brnopas+, runs 870 to 1110 CZK depending on length.

Public transport inside the city runs on zones 100 and 101, with paper tickets at 20 CZK, 25 CZK for 60 minutes and 33 CZK for 90 minutes from 1 October 2026, and a 24-hour Brno ticket at 90 CZK. For the trip out to the reservoir or the karst, check the current connections before travelling.

If the race weekend is your first visit, the site's how many days you need in Brno answer breaks the itineraries down day by day, and the broader is Brno worth visiting answer makes the case for the city beyond motorsport. For anyone extending the trip, the small-group downtown walk and the food tasting route above both fit a spare afternoon, and there is Check availability on the operator's live listing if the themed walk suits your group.

Common Questions About MotoGP In Brno

Why Did MotoGP Stop Going To Brno?

The Czech Grand Prix at Brno was off the MotoGP calendar after the 2020 season and returned in 2025, per the championship's own calendar announcements. The 2026 edition is confirmed for 19 to 21 June.

Is MotoGP Racing In Brno In 2026?

Yes. The 2026 calendar lists the Czech Grand Prix at the Automotodrom Brno as round 9, held 19 to 21 June 2026, with the race on Sunday 21 June.

Will MotoGP Return To Brno In 2027?

The 2027 calendar had not been announced, so check the official MotoGP calendar before planning around a 2027 date.

What Else Happens In Brno In June?

The Ignis Brunensis fireworks festival ran 30 May to 4 July in 2026, per its official site, so the race weekend falls inside the festival period, with displays over the Brno Reservoir.

Is Brno Worth Visiting Outside The Race Weekend?

Yes: the city holds Špilberk Castle, the UNESCO-listed Villa Tugendhat, the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul and the Moravian Karst about 20 km away in a straight line, all reachable on a short trip.

How Much Does The Brnopas City Card Cost?

The standard Brnopas costs 370 CZK for one day, 490 CZK for two and 610 CZK for three at adult rate, per the official tourism site, with free entry to the Old Town Hall tower, the Ossuary, the cathedral tower and the zoo.

Whether the grand prix is the reason for the trip or a happy accident of timing, the race weekend sits inside one of the city's liveliest stretches of the year, and the walks, tastings and cave trips above fill every gap the on-track schedule leaves open.