MotoGP says Yamaha’s lack of participation at next weekend’s event in Lusail ‘carries sporting implications’.
Published On 1 Nov 20261 Nov 2026
Yamaha has withdrawn its MotoGP team from next weekend’s race in Qatar, citing “the situation in the Middle East”.
The Japanese manufacturer announced its decision shortly after the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.
“Yamaha has not identified sufficient grounds to change its existing company-wide travel restrictions,” Yamaha said in a statement.
Among the racers on the MotoGP grid riding Yamaha bikes is France’s Fabio Quartararo, the 2021 world champion. Alex Rins of Spain is the other racer on the Yamaha team.
The sport’s governing body, the MotoGP Group, said it was “disappointed” by the decision and “Yamaha’s non-participation also carries sporting implications”.
“While we recognise the team is subject to a broader corporate policy restricting travel to the Middle East, we do not believe this decision reflects the extensive assurances provided to all championship stakeholders,” it said.
MotoGP said talks with the organisers in Qatar and safety advisers had not flagged any reasons to change plans for the event, which will run from Friday to November 8 at the Lusail International Circuit outside Qatar’s capital, Doha.
“We communicated that position, together with the latest available information, to all manufacturers and teams today and welcome the confirmation from the remainder of the grid that they will compete in Qatar, and we thank them for that commitment,” the MotoGP Group said.
The statements were released shortly after the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang, after which there are just three races left in the season.
Ducati’s reigning seven-time world champion, Marc Marquez, won the race at Sepang and could clinch the title in Doha.
Qatar was subject to Iranian attacks from February to April after the United States and Israel began a war on Iran. On Friday, a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker was hit by unidentified objects in the Gulf, and in September 2025, Israel carried out an air strike on Doha that killed and injured Hamas leaders.
Al Jazeera has requested a comment from the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation.
The Qatar Grand Prix is held at the Lusail International Circuit [File: Ibraheem Al Omari/Reuters]
WASHINGTON — First Lady Melania Trump has brokered an upcoming ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the war-ravaged Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians, the White House announced on Friday.
The localized ceasefire is set to begin Thursday, with the American first lady saying in a news release that the situation there is “on the brink of disaster.”
The White House said Trump had initiated the discussions and that she and a representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the ceasefire.
Ukraine’s lead negotiator for the agreement thanked Trump for her involvement and said the deal would be “extremely challenging to implement.”
“Under our agreement: first a ceasefire will be put in place; second, humanitarian aid will be delivered to Oleshky; and third, civilians will be allowed to move freely out of Oleshky,” Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, said in a video message posted online. “The operation will be carried out gradually and is extremely challenging to implement. I will therefore keep Ukrainian society informed and share the results of the operation.”
Russia’s chief of the general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, said Russian forces “will cease fire on the Kherson axis” starting at 4 a.m. TuesdayMoscow time “in connection with the humanitarian operation near Oleshky.” The Russian forces will also carry out “engineering reconnaissance” and ensure “safe movement of the humanitarian convoy” into the city, Gerasimov said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Moscow was grateful to the first lady and that effort was discussed during the latest call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump, he said.
Peskov said “those who want to leave it would be able to do so.” He would not say whether those who evacuate will be taken to Russia or Ukraine-held territory. He also demurred when asked how long the evacuation will last, saying only it would likely take several days.
Saving children is first lady’s focus, president says
Melania Trump has made helping children in conflict one of her signature issues and hosted a U.N. Security Council meeting on the issue earlier this year. She has written Putin to work on efforts to reunite families with children who have been displaced by the war.
“What she wants to do is save children, and that’s her focus,” the president said of the first lady during a question-and-answer exchange with journalists in Washington.
Tensions between Washington and Kyiv are rising
The development comes as tensions have increased to new highs between the Trump administration and Ukraine’s government. Kyiv has faced restrictions on the satellite internet system that it relies on to knock down Russian attacks, with Trump and other top U.S. officials sending mixed messages about who was responsible for throttling the Elon Musk-made Starshield system.
Trump also has recently waived new Russian sanctions, reached an agreement with Russia to import diesel and pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to make a deal to end the war that began in February 2022. In renewed efforts to revive the peace process, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Norway this week for talks with Zelensky before meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Zelensky did not mention the ceasefire in Oleshky during a remote appearance at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank. He did note that American Patriot missile interceptors were still on hold and Starshield and Starlink speed limits were still in place.
He also spoke of the importance of the United States to renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war, including a possible joint meeting with Trump and Putin.
Dire situation in Oleshky
Food and medical supplies have been scarce for months in Oleshky, which sits on the Dnipro River that separates Ukrainian forces from the city’s Russian occupiers. There is no electricity, heat or running water. Roads leading from town are mined and dotted with burned-out cars. Drones buzz overhead.
Once a city of about 24,000 residents, Oleshky was captured by Moscow’s forces on the first day of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Its buildings were shelled and burned, and its infrastructure damaged. In June 2023, floodwaters inundated the city after the Kakhovka Dam collapsed from an explosion that an Associated Press investigation found was likely caused by the Russian military. Hundreds of residents were killed.
Those left in the city along Ukraine’s southeastern front face death from hunger or disease as another harsh winter looms. Ukraine has appealed repeatedly for a local ceasefire to organize evacuations. Russia, as the occupying power, is obligated by international law to ensure civilians under its control have what they need to survive.
Melania Trump details the mission
Melania Trump said in the White House news release that civilian leaders from Ukraine and Russia will visit Oleshky residents to determine the level of assistance they require.
“Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination,” she said. “I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine.”
Melania Trump also said “an impartial American media organization” will accompany and document Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground throughout the process.
“This will play a significant role in ensuring that the wishes of each family are faithfully respected,” she said.
The statement did not identify the media organization.
Finley writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Seung Min Kim and Konstantin Toropin in Washington; Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.
Let’s take you through the critical decisions Roberts made Wednesday night, the ones you second-guessed at home. They all pretty much backfired on him.
Situation: In the third inning, and again in the fifth inning, Tommy Edman comes to bat with Miguel Rojas on first base, none out, and the Dodgers trailing, 1-0. By the end of the fifth, the Dodgers had gone nine consecutive innings without scoring, and with a game plan of getting ahead before the Brewers’ vaunted bullpen could take over. Roberts does not ask Edman, one of the team’s most accomplished bunters, to sacrifice the runner into scoring position.
Roberts: “I just didn’t feel like giving up an out right there. … We could have bunted, but I felt I wanted to give Tommy an opportunity to drive in a run. … We haven’t been getting hits with runners in scoring position (3 for 32 in the postseason). To give up an out, to bank on getting a hit with runners in scoring position, I’d rather just try to maybe slug, hit a double.”
Result: Edman flied out both times. The Dodgers did not score in either inning.
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Situation: In the sixth inning, with the Dodgers still trailing, 1-0, the Brewers turn to Abner Uribe, who had faced 26 batters and walked two in the postseason. Uribe walks the first two batters, and Roberts deploys his primary left-handed bench threat, Max Muncy. That takes right-handed Andy Pages out of the game; the only Dodgers with more hits than Pages this October are Kyle Tucker and Mookie Betts.
Roberts: “Abner is death on righties. You’re trying to guard against — you want to keep the inning going, and you don’t want a double play ball. Muncy’s not starting, and you want to fire that bullet in a leverage spot. First and second base, nobody out, it gives us the best chance to keep the inning going, in my opinion, and it gets Shohei up, and you have a chance to build an inning.”
Result: Muncy struck out.
———
Josue DePaula’s presence was wasted in Game 3.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Situation: After Muncy, Ohtani walks to load the bases, and Will Smith follows with a two-run double to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. With the right-handed Rojas due up, Roberts opts for the left-handed Josue De Paula as a pinch-hitter. Brewers manager Pat Murphy promptly replaces Uribe with left-hander DL Hall, who had been warming up. Roberts counters with the right-handed Kiké Hernández.
Roberts: “It’s a decision: Do I want Uribe facing Rojas? Then I chose De Paula, and they made the move. At that point in time, I felt we had the matchup advantage with Kiké. … For me, all the experience that Kiké’s had, I feel very confident with Kiké taking a bat with a guy on second and third, infield in.”
Result: Hernandez struck out, and so did Edman. The inning was over, and the Dodgers would not advance another man past first base the rest of the evening. The Dodgers could have used De Paula to bat against right-handed closer Trevor Megill in the ninth inning, but Roberts had already burned him.
Murphy said Uribe was coming out after Smith’s double no matter what — at that point, Uribe had thrown six strikes and 14 balls — so Roberts could have saved De Paula had he waited to see what Murphy would do.
———
Situation: Blake Snell has retired 14 consecutive batters entering the seventh inning, with the Dodgers leading, 2-1. It’s the first time the left-handed Snell has pitched beyond the sixth inning this season, with the right-handed Andrew Vaughn leading off and the left-handed Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell to follow. Evan Phillips is warming up in the Dodgers bullpen.
Roberts: “His stuff was really good. I don’t think they were seeing him well. I was trying to get him three more hitters. We had Evan for that fourth hitter.”
Result: Vaughn walks, on six pitches. Bauers homers, on 11 pitches. The Brewers have the lead, 3-2.
Roberts: “Hasn’t given up a homer all year, but it just — it’s baseball. For me, I felt good with where Blake’s stuff was at. You’ve got to give Bauers credit.”
Situation: By that time, Snell is at 99 pitches, two shy of his season high, after the exhausting battles with Vaughn and Bauers. Roberts sticks to his plan: Snell for Mitchell, then Phillips for the right-handed Cooper Pratt.
Result: Mitchell homers, giving the Brewers a 4-2 lead. Hall and Megill combine for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, and the Dodgers are one defeat from winter vacation.
