Motorland boss doubts 2011 calendar to have 20 races

The vice president of the Spanish region Aragon has played down rumours the local Motorland circuit could be drafted in to bring the 2011 calendar back up to 20 races.

Jose Angel Biel is quoted by the Europa Press agency as insisting he has "never raised" that issue with F1 authorities following the cancellation of the Bahrain race.

But he also did not rule out that Bernie Ecclestone will "call" him to find out the Alcaniz venue’s "potential" to host a race this year.

If there is potential, a meeting "to study" the possibility cannot be discounted, Biel added.

"But I have the impression that the (20th) grand prix will not take place anywhere," he said.

Biel said his real aspiration for Motorland is MotoGP. "Once we overcome that challenge, only then will we consider formula one," he added.

Ecclestone has said he will try to reschedule the Bahrain event for later in 2011, but many insiders consider that unlikely.

"We’re looking to see how we can slot it in. We don’t know," the F1 chief executive is quoted as saying by the Guardian.

He told the Telegraph: "If everything is peaceful, which we hope it will be, then we will try our best to fit it in."

But Toro Rosso team manager Gianfranco Fantuzzi said that would be a "very complex" task.

"The sea freight schedule is very tight, with the equipment moving from one race to another and then another, with very little flexibility in this area," he explained.

"So putting the race back on the calendar later in the year would be very difficult, while replacing it with another event in Europe - to restore the calendar to 20 grands prix - would be more straightforward."