Qatar World Superbike round postponed because of coronavirus fears

The Qatar World Superbike round has traditionally been held under floodlights at the Losail circuit

The second scheduled round of the 2020 World Superbike series in Qatar has been postponed because of fears over the spread of the coronavirus.

The decision was taken after the Qatari authorities imposed travel restrictions on passengers from Italy.

The event had been set to take place in Doha from 13-15 March.

On Monday it was announced that the opening race of the MotoGP season in Qatar this weekend, plus the second round in Thailand, had been called off.

A statement released by World Superbike organisers on Tuesday said the Qatar round of the championship would be "postponed until further notice".

"As the global coronavirus outbreak continues, travel restrictions to Qatar have been enforced, primarily affecting passengers from Italy, amongst others," read the statement.

"People arriving directly from the country or who have been in Italy in the past two weeks will be taken directly to quarantine for a minimum of 14 days.

"Italian participation in World Superbikes - both on track and off - is vital, thus the decision has been taken to postpone the Qatar Round until further notice. Further updates will be published in due course."

Englishman Alex Lowes leads the championship after last week's opening round at Phillip Island in Australia.

The series is held over 13 rounds, concluding in Argentina on 9-11 October.