The MotoGP format changes from the 2023 season. The new programming illustrated during the Aragon GP.
The introduction of the sprint race in the MotoGP format, scheduled for the 2023 season, it will revolutionize race weekends. Dorna has decided to modernize the look of the World Championship to provide a more compelling package for sponsors, TV and fans, adding an unprecedented element that is inherited from the Superbike World Championship.
It will be deleted the fourth free practice session of the premier class. FP1 will last 45 minutes, FP2 60 minutes, FP3 30 minutes. The two qualifying sessions Q1 and Q2 will be held on Saturday morning, while in the early afternoon there will be the new Sprint Race, with half the number of laps compared to Sunday’s race. The sprint race will award 12 points to the winner, 9 to the second and 7 to the third classified.
The new format of MotoGP
Sprint Races and a handful of changes to the race weekend format! 😎
All the details on how # MotoGP2023 will work! 👇 pic.twitter.com/WEkssbRAzu
– MotoGP ™ 🏁 (@MotoGP) September 17, 2022
Shortly before qualifying for the Aragon Grand Prix, Dorna holds a press conference to detail the new MotoGP weekend format that will come into effect from next year. A radical change decided in just over a month and which now lacks only small details. To speak is Carlos Ezpeletadirector of Dorna: “The sprint race will be present from next year, it was important to keep the same format throughout the calendar, so that fans can understand that all the GPs have the same importance, the same programming and the same points up for grabs. The grid will be the same, for both Saturday and Sunday, this means that the riders will be able to take risks on Saturday without compromising their position on the Sunday grid.“.
Carlos Ezpeleta also talks about assigning points and above all about statistics: “The sprint races will have half the number of laps compared to the Sunday race, those that have an odd number will be rounded down. They will last about 20 minutes, the winner will have 12 points, 9 the second, 7 the third and gradually climbing up to 1 point for the ninth position. As for the statistics, the winner of the GP will be the one on Sunday, there will be another historical statistic for all the manufacturers, drivers and teams for the sprint races. The two statistics will not be confused between normal races and sprint races“.
Finally the director of the Dorna explain other details. “MotoGP practice will last 45 minutes, but the afternoon session (FP2) will last an hour, which will allow the teams to work on the set-up and then attack in the last part. The FP3 will be followed by qualifying that will draw the grid for both the sprint race and the traditional race. At 15:00 there will be the new Sprint Race. On Sunday there will be 10 minutes of warm-up compared to the current 20, then there will be an event with the fans, but we cannot give further information at the moment. The sprint race will be limited to 12 liters, a message of sustainability because the manufacturers will have to work with that capacity“.
