The MotoGP world championship will launch in 2023 a format of sprint races on Saturday during Grand Prix weekends, announced the president of the International Motorcycling Federation.
“It’s time to give (MotoGP) more exposure on TV but also to spectators – we need more spectators, – we need a better show and we need to fill the Saturdays”explained FIM President Jorge Viegas.
The sprint race will take place every Grand Prix Saturday. It will represent the equivalent in distance of half of the Grand Prix contested on Sunday and will offer drivers half of the points awarded on Sunday during the main race.
No qualifying value
The proposed format is reminiscent of the one adopted since last year in Formula 1, except that in F1, the presence of a sprint race is not systematic from one GP to another.
In addition, in MotoGP, the sprint race will have no qualifying value unlike F1. Qualifying will continue in the current format and will determine the starting grid for the main race the following day.
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