MotoGP: Point-Paying Sprint Races On Saturdays Coming In 2023 – Roadracing World Magazine

Sprint races are to be introduced at all Grands Prix from 2023

Saturday 20 August 2022

The FIM, IRTA, MSMA and Dorna Sports are now able to announce a new Sporting format to be rolled out for the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship from 2023. Sprint races will be introduced at all Grands Prix, creating an exciting, action-packed program for fans every day of a MotoGP™ race weekend and maintaining a consistent format across the calendar.

Sprint races take place at 15:00 on the Saturday of each Grand Prix and cover approximately 50% of the total race distance. The sprint race has a 15-minute grid procedure and the sporting rules are the same as a full-length Grand Prix race on Sunday.

In sprint races, points are awarded as follows:

1st place: 12th

2nd place: 9th

3rd place: 7th

4th place: 6th

5th place: 5th

6th place: 4th

7th place: 3rd

8th place: 2nd

9th place: 1st

Sprint races do not determine the starting grid for the Grand Prix race. Drivers must be able to race on Saturday without having to consider their starting position on Sunday. The starting grids for both the sprint race and the grand prix race will be determined in qualifying, which will maintain its Q1-Q2 format.

The introduction of sprint races allows fans and broadcasters to be given the best possible experience on and off the track each day of a race weekend, with track action focusing on maximum spectacle on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to showcase the best of MotoGP™. Additionally, the new format will provide more engagement opportunities for fans, broadcasters and media throughout the event, raising the profile of the MotoGP™ class without diminishing that of Moto2™ and Moto3™.

Race weekends 2023

The MotoGP™ class will have two practice sessions on Friday, which will last longer. The combined timesheets from these sessions determine the direct entrants into the second quarter, guaranteeing increased Friday importance and presence.

A 30-minute Free Practice (similar to the current FP4) will take place in the MotoGP™ class on Saturday morning, followed by Q1 and Q2 for qualifying. The sprint race then takes place at 15:00 and makes for an incredible array of MotoGP™ track action on Saturday.

Sunday remains a spectacle for fans and broadcasters with the Moto3™, Moto2™ and MotoGP™ Grand Prix races. The aim will also be to host MotoGP™ as the last race on Sunday at each event, allowing for an enhanced podium ceremony, on-track celebrations and the possibility of fantrack invasions at each venue.

The MotoGP™ sessions will be the last of each block, further standardizing the race weekend format and maintaining the same order throughout each event. Moto3™ is followed by Moto2™, followed by MotoGP™.

Here are some quotes from the press conference that took place in Austria on Saturday.

Jorge Viegas, FIM President: “The fact is, as I’ve read on social media, this is a sprint race press conference. So you already know that from next year we will be introducing a sprint race on the Saturday afternoon of every Grand Prix; not like in Formula 1, but in every Grand Prix. We think that after two years of COVID, when we all made incredible sacrifices to keep this important championship, it’s time, as Carmelo says, on TV but also among the viewers, to get more attention. We need more viewers, we need a better show and we need to fill the Saturdays. There are some details that still need to be defined, decided together with the teams, together with the drivers, together with the manufacturers. But basically you’ve already announced most of the new stuff! The only thing I still doubt you have is that this sprint race will not count towards the starting grid; the starting grid is determined by qualifying.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “That was the aim of the championship; From the beginning, FIM, IRTA and Dorna have tried to improve everything in the sport as much as possible every time: the safety, the show, everything. We work in all areas, but particularly in this. We’ve been looking for other opportunities in other sports and trying to provide a better show, especially for the fans, the promoters and the television. It is very important for us to offer a new schedule which we believe will improve our presence at all Grands Prix. This has obviously been discussed with the FIM, with the manufacturers and with the teams, and then yesterday I spoke to the drivers in the safety committee. Even though the safety commission is responsible for safety, from the beginning I was very proud to talk to the drivers about different things. Obviously informing the riders is something that has to be done by their individual teams, but yesterday we had some discussions and I am very pleased that the President of the FIM is announcing what we want to announce today.”

Herve Poncharal, IRTA President: “Back from the summer break we had a very important meeting with Carmelo and Carlos Ezpeleta along with Mike Trimby to represent the teams as IRTA. It was really our first time seeing the project and we really liked it from the start. If you’re not moving forward you’re taking a step back I think and while our show is great, maybe the best in the world, that doesn’t mean we can’t have room for improvement and there is room for improvement. As Carmelo also told us, yes we have looked at what is happening elsewhere and we would be stupid not to look at what is happening and working elsewhere. From the first point I really liked it, we had a meeting with all our colleagues in the independent MotoGP teams and they generally supported it and liked it a lot because they thought it also helped the teams’ business will because the media, I’m pretty sure gonna like it a lot, gonna love it; the sponsors will like it very much if the media is more active.

“So all I can say is that we remember not to create inflation, so the engine mapping and the tire mapping stay the same; Weekend mileage stays more or less the same. So there will be no more track action. We will try not to put more work on the riders but there will be more action, more excitement and that’s what MotoGP is about. I am very proud to be part of the championship, to have Carmelo and Jorge next to me to announce this important news. Sure, like Jorge said, there are still important things to refine. We always listen to everyone and if it’s something that’s visible and clearly an improvement, we’ll adapt. But overall I think this is an important day for MotoGP and I believe 2023 will be even more exciting.”