until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
According to The Race’s sources, MotoGP is set for its first considerable format shake-up in decades, with a proposal to introduce Saturday afternoon sprint races in 2023 set to be announced in Austria this weekend.
The sprint races, replicating the experiment carried out by Formula 1 this year and in 2021, will be half distance and worth half the championship points.
Unlike F1, which holds three sprint races each year, MotoGP’s plan would be for a full-season rollout.
A format change is something that has been under discussion for some months as the series attempts to address falling circuit attendances and TV viewing figures, with the idea of sprint races mooted in MotoGP’s first global fan survey conducted earlier this year.
It is also something that series promoter Dorna has experimented with already, introducing superpole races to its other series, World Superbikes, in 2019.
It is understood that feedback to the idea of introducing sprint races in MotoGP was positive, with the idea being proposed on Friday afternoon to team bosses at the Red Bull Ring ahead of what is set to be a formal announcement on Saturday.
Speaking to The Race at the Red Bull Ring, Gresini Racing team boss Carlo Merlini said that the news should come as a welcome boost to the series.
“I cannot of course disclose details,” he explained, “but it’s good that the championship is open to refreshing the format.
“Whatever attracts more spectators, whatever attracts more TV audience and whatever creates more interaction with the fans at the circuits are all good things for the benefit of the championship.”
The new format, first reported by Motorsport.com Spain’s Oriol Puigdemont, will see one of Saturday’s two practice sessions scrapped and qualifying moved forward to earlier in the day, clearing time in the schedule for a half-distance race – which should be 10-15 laps long – in the spot traditionally held by Q1 and Q2. Half-championship points will be awarded for them.
However, unlike in F1 and WSB, it is believed that Dorna’s proposal to the team bosses indicated that the sprint races will not count towards qualifying, with the grids for both races still being set by Saturday’s qualifying.
