In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Portuguese Grand Prix returned as the season finale on an altered calendar in the 2020 MotoGP World Championship. The venue chosen to host the round was the Algarve International Circuit, which has been a reserve circuit since 2017. The race was held with no spectators after a lack of social distancing on the grandstands at the Formula 1 race held one month before. In 2021, the originally one-off race was brought back as the third round of the season.