MotoGP addresses rider criticism of 2027 race weekend format

MotoGP says the new race weekend format was initially pushed for by the teams, however, some riders have voiced concerns with the changes. 

KTM star Pedro Acosta was one of the most vocal riders about the changes, saying the risk of injury could increase, while they could also lead to shorter careers.

But MotoGP Deputy CEO, Carlos Ezpeleta, has moved to calm those fears, saying riders won’t have to risk more.

Earlier this week MotoGP confirmed that next year’s format will include a brand-new sprint qualifying at every race.

There will now be two qualifying sessions to go along with the sprint and Grand Prix, while the free practice schedule has also been altered.

Three practice sessions will take place every weekend, although none of them will have any impact on the standalone qualifying sessions.

Warm-up on Sunday mornings has also been removed entirely to make way for the new sprint qualifying. 

There will also be tighter restrictions on tyres used during qualifying, with Ezpeleta admitting this was not communicated properly to the riders. Essentially, this should mean time attacks do not increase over the course of a full weekend.

Speaking to the media at the Indonesian MotoGP, including Visordown’s sister publication Crash.net, Ezpeleta said: 

“We probably do have to do a better job on the comms side and getting the teams, us, and everyone together on a better understanding. You see some of the riders yesterday in the comms probably not fully understanding the limitation on the tyres and the limitation on the time attacks, which is probably for us to take on the chin, and know that we have to improve that.

“But we don't feel at all that we're jeopardising the riders' safety, because again, they're already doing [the same amount of time attacks]. Again, it's a bit like the comment around having all the riders in a 15-minute session; it's already happening on Friday afternoons in the final ten minutes, so it's not really a point.”

Ezpeleta went on to say that discussions around the new format were initiated by the teams, adding:

“We were approached by the teams in Misano about a revised schedule. Basically, just to put some context, under the new 2027 regulations, the manufacturers had already asked for a number of changes, which were aimed at reducing the amount of track time.

“And that opened the question as to whether the current format is the best. The proposal came from the teams themselves, and there were a number of iterations in which the target was to maintain, or not to increase the level of risk versus today, and get a better output for the fans, media partners, and everybody else.”

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