MotoGP confirms Sprint races for 2023 world championship
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The news leaked out on Friday at the Red Bull Ring and was officially confirmed in a special press conference on Saturday.However, the final details are still to be agreed.The only things certain at this stage is that there will be a Saturday afternoon Sprint race at every round, of half the normal distance and awarding half points (12.5 for a win), and that it will not replace the normal (Q1 and Q2) qualifying sessions.Ducati’s BIG DECISION coming soon! | .Net MotoGP Podcast 59Video of Ducati's BIG DECISION coming soon! | .Net MotoGP Podcast 59“It has been the aim of the championship to try to improve everything as much as we can, working in all areas,” said Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta. “We have been looking at other sports, different possibilities, to offer a better show.“It has been discussed with the FIM, the manufacturers and teams.”However, the Sprint race idea received a mixed reception from the MotoGP riders on Friday.Addressing complaints that the riders didn’t know about the decision beforehand, Ezpeleta added:“The riders must be informed by the teams. Those that hadn’t been informed I spoke to yesterday in the Safety Commission. We shared different opinions and we will consider different positions.“We will have a Saturday sprint race, it will not count for the grid, and the rest [of the details] we can discuss.”Related Austrian Moto2 Grand Prix, Red Bull Ring – Free Practice (3) Austrian MotoGP, Red Bull Ring – Free Practice (3) Results IRTA president Herve Poncharal said: “If you don’t move forward you make a step back. Although our show is great, it doesn’t mean you cannot improve.“Yes, we look at what is happening somewhere else and what works somewhere else.“We had a meeting with all the Independent MotoGP teams and they unanimously supported the idea. It will also be better for the media and sponsors.“There will be no more [costs] because there will be no more track action, so we won’t need to change the tyre or engine allocation.”We will try not to give more work to the riders, but provide more action and excitement.”Over 40 MotoGP races in 2023The addition of a Sprint race at every round will mean over 40 MotoGP races in 2023.Which practice session(s) will be dropped to make room for the new Sprint race remains to be decided, as is the issue of whether a Sprint race victory will be considered a ‘grand prix win’.On the one hand, it’s still a MotoGP race, on the other it would effectively render results comparisons with past riders (total wins, podiums, points etc) largely meaningless.FIM president Jorge Viegas made his preference clear: “A victory is a victory, so why shouldn’t it count?”The MotoGP rules currently award full points if a race is stopped after 3/4 distance, while the minimum length allowed for a restarted race is just 5 laps.Moto2 and Moto3 will continue to have a single race, on Sundays.
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