MotoGP to introduce sprint races for 2023
Dorna Sports, in conjunction with the FIM, IRTA and MSMA, has announced the biggest shake up to grand prix racing since the introduction of 990cc four-strokes in 2002 that started the MotoGP era. From 2023, all MotoGP rounds will include a sprint race for the premier class on the Saturday afternoon that will count for points toward the riders’, teams’ and manufacturers’ championships.
Similar to the Tissot Superpole Race that was added to the World Superbike programme in 2019, the MotoGP sprint race will run approximately half the normal race distance and count for half the amount of points toward the World Championship.
However, unlike the WSBK Superpole Race, the MotoGP sprint will be held at 3:00PM on the Saturday and the finishing order will not determine grid position for Sunday’s feature race.
So, using the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix as an example, Sunday’s 27-lap feature race would be unchanged, but on the Saturday afternoon, a 13 (or 14) lap sprint would be held, with grid positions for both set by the Q1 and Q2 qualifying sessions, which would be held earlier on Saturday than usual.
Championship points for MotoGP sprint races start at 12 for first place, then 9 for second, 7 for third, then decreasing by single units down to a single point for ninth place. Riders who finish the sprint in tenth place and lower will receive no points.
Interestingly, engine allocation across a season and tyre allocation over a race weekend won’t change under the new format, according to International Road Racing Teams Association (IRTA) President, Herve Poncharal. However, details are still to be fine-tuned, so some concession, on tyres at the least, may be implemented.
MotoGP’s adoption of a sprint race follows not only WSBK, but also Formula 1, which added a sprint race to selected rounds last year.
“We have been looking at other sports for different possibilities and we are trying to offer a better show, especially for the fans, the promoters, and television,” said Dorna Sports CEO, Carmelo Ezpeleta at a press conference on 20 August when the sprint race was announced. “It’s very important to us to offer a new schedule which will, in our opinion, improve our presence in all the Grands Prix.”
Dorna says the introduction of sprint races will allow “every day of a race weekend to offer fans and broadcasters the best possible experience on track and off” and ensure a “maximum spectacle to show off the best of MotoGP”.
The motivation behind the new format for 2023 was put more succinctly by FIM President, Jorge Viegas: “We need more spectators, we need a better show and we need to fill the Saturdays.”
Adding a sprint race will see other changes to the programme for each round, but no additional track time for the premier class, as it essentially replaces one of the Free Practice (FP) sessions.
A MotoGP race weekend will start with two FP sessions on the Friday, as per usual, but both of these will be of longer duration than previously. These will determine entry into Qualifying 1, which was previously set by the FP3 and FP4 sessions.
On Saturday morning, a third Free Practice session will be held and this will be shorter than usual, at around 30 minutes. This will be followed almost immediately by Q1 to determine the back section of the grid and those that advance to Q2, which determines the rest of the grid and pole for both Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s feature race.
Normally, Q2 would get underway mid-to-late afternoon on a Saturday, but with the new format, all qualifying should be completed by around 1:00PM. This part of the programme has not been finalised, but will presumably apply in order to allow teams and riders to prepare for the 3:00PM sprint.
Instead of the long spectacle that is the grid for the feature race, the sprint race grid will be of just 15 minutes’ duration, with the race itself taking around 20 minutes, depending on circuit length and lap count. All other rules that apply to a feature race will also apply to a sprint.
Not applying the grid shuffling that is an element of the WSBK Tissot Superpole Race is designed to prevent riders riding too aggressively in order to improve their starting position for Sunday’s feature race; a concern that was raised when the WSBK sprint was introduced.
According to Dorna, “riders must be free to race on Saturday, without the need to consider their Sunday grid position”.
Other changes include standardising all MotoGP sessions as the final instalment of each day at each round. This includes race day Sunday, which isn’t the case currently, as Moto2 or Moto3 races are held after MotoGP at some rounds. This will allow “an improved podium ceremony, on-track celebrations and the possibility of fan track invasions at each venue”.
IRTA President Poncharal says MotoGP teams, particularly the independent teams, are enthusiastic about the new format, as it’ll bring more people to the GPs and more eyeballs to screens, which will benefit sponsors.
“We had a meeting with all our colleagues in the Independent MotoGP teams, and universally they liked it a lot, thinking that it’s going to help the teams’ business, because the media, I’m quite sure, will love it.” Poncharal said. “The sponsors, when the media are more active, will like it a lot.”
Rider response to the sprint races was mixed, with Fabio Quartararo initially calling the idea “stupid”, but Jack Miller was more positive. The fact that riders were the last to be consulted made some of them irritable, but most have now got on board and accepted the coming change, even if they haven’t all welcomed it.
Further details on MotoGP’s sprint format will be announced closer to the 2023 season.
Photos: MotoGP, Michelin
