The 2023 season is going to see significant changes for the weekend schedule, with Saturday sprint races making their debut.
These sprints are going to have a significant impact, especially on Saturday’s track action.
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Here’s a rundown of the brand-new weekend format below.
FRIDAY
Friday will remain a practice day and will include two sessions for MotoGP™. The first is at 10:45 and lasts 45 minutes; 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™ has two 35-minute sessions. Both count towards the combined timings, but Saturday morning’s P3 is also considered for the lower classes.
SATURDAY
Saturday is now an absolute blockbuster. MotoGP™ has a 30-minute free practice session, similar to the previous FP4. 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. The podium will take place at a different location – changeable depending on the Grand Prix – to take the celebrations closer to the fans. After that, 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 the action underway before a MotoGP™ rider fan parade at 10 am 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 a chance to flood to the podium and get to the heart of the celebrations.
