MotoGP has revealed how their grand prix weekend will look like in 2023 with the addition of sprint race on Saturdays.
New year, new MotoGP! The season ahead is going to be the biggest yet, with more Grands Prix in more countries reaching more fans than ever before. And that’s not all, as the MotoGP Sprint prepares to debut across the calendar and inject even more adrenaline into Saturday’s track action.
Here’s the rundown:
Friday
Friday will remain practice day and will include two sessions for MotoGP. The first is at 10:45 and lasts 45 minutes, and the second has been extended to 60 minutes. That starts at 15:00, with the combined times from P1 and P2 determining direct entrants to Q1 and Q2 qualifying for MotoGP. They’re no longer called Free – because they aren’t!
Moto2 has two 40-minute sessions on Friday, and Moto3 two 35-minute sessions. Both count towards the combined timings, but for the lower classes Saturday morning’s P3 is also taken into account.
Saturday
Saturday is now an absolute blockbuster. MotoGP has a 30-minute free practice session, similar to the previous FP4, and then it’s time to qualify as Q1 starts at 10:50 before Q2 finalises the rest of the grid at 11:15. Once that’s concluded, our new post-qualifying show will take riders to a new stage for some live interviews in front of the fans. Then, it’s time to sprint!
The MotoGP Sprint will have its own identity. After a condensed 15-minute grid, the new event gets underway at 15:00 every Saturday and the podium will take place at a different location – changeable depending on the Grand Prix – to take the celebrations closer to the fans. Thereafter, a Sprint press conference will take place at 16:15, where we’ll be able to hear from the top three in the Sprint Race, the polesitter and the Championship leader.
Before the Sprint, Moto2 and Moto3, will each have a 30-minute P3 session on Saturday morning, with the combined times from P1-P2-P3 determining their direct entrants to Q1 and Q2. Moto3 qualify first from 12:50, before Moto2™ from 13:45.
Sunday
There are no Warm Up sessions for Moto2 and Moto3, so the MotoGP class opens and closes the show on Grand Prix race day. 9:45 sees a 10-minute Warm Up session get action underway, before a MotoGP rider fan parade at 10am lets the packed stands see their heroes ahead of lights out. The riders will head around the track and make a couple of pitstops before landing back at the Hero Walk for more face-to-face fan time.
Racing begins at 11:00 for Moto3 before the Moto2 race at the slightly earlier time of 12:15. The MotoGP Grand Prix race begins at 14:00, with the traditional Grand Prix podium set for 15:00. The structure of Moto3 – Moto2 – MotoGP is to be maintained throughout the season, and the MotoGP Grand Prix race will always be the final track action on Sunday. At many events the fans will be given the chance to flood to the podium and get to the heart of the celebrations.
[Note: The story is as per press release]
