Dorna has confirmed the MotoGP World Championship will undergo a radical change in format for next season with introduction of an additional ‘sprint’ race at each round.
Though the news was anticipated after it was leaked on Friday, Dorno CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta confirmed the news and provided greater detail during an extraordinary press conference at the Red Bull Ring, where the 2022 Austrian MotoGP is taking place this weekend.
Mirroring a trend adopted by both F1 and WorldSBK, what sets MotoGP’s plan apart is how extensively it is being rolled out and how significant it will be in the context of deciding the title fight.
As of now, F1’s sprint races are to date only taking place at a handful of venues and only offer a small handful of points for the top eight finishers (as well as deciding the grid for the main race) and WorldSBK caps its third ‘Superpole Race’ at 10 laps, offers points down to ninth and decides the grid for Race 2.
While the final details are still to be agreed, MotoGP confirms all events will have a Saturday sprint race run to half of the distance as Sunday’s ‘feature’ race, it won’t set any grids and de facto half-points (rounded to full figures) will be implemented.
It means the number of races will swell greatly from (a provisional) 21 races to 42 races over the course of the year - three more than the triple-header WorldSBK calendar.
“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."
“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.”
Why is MotoGP changing its weekend format?
A surprisingly broad change of direction for MotoGP, which has always run to a single-race format on Sunday afternoons, the fresh format is seen as Dorna’s reaction to injecting fresh interest in a series that has noticeably suffered from declining popularity in terms of ticket sales and TV viewing figures.
While the reasons are multiple, including duller races blamed on ostentatious aero packages that make it more difficult to overtake, none of the bitter rivalries that sparked interest in the past and, perhaps more frustratingly for Dorna given its ‘the sport is the star’ mentality, the lack of big superstar personalities to fill the shoes of the retired Valentino Rossi.
Indeed, while MotoGP has been praised for levelling the playing field between six (soon to be five( manufacturers to ensure unpredictable results, it has had the double-edged sword effect of preventing one or two big stars to establish a profile as the sport’s figurehead star.
As such, by doubling the number of races and giving more emphasis to attending on a Saturday, Dorna is hoping to reverse declining ticket sales and TV audiences.
However, the move has met a mixed reception from riders, with some agreeing with Dorna’s need to shake up the format for the sport’s good, while others are upset at the doubled competitive toll on the teams and bikes, as well as their own physical condition.
Moreover, the announcement came as a surprise for the riders, with many expressing disappointment at not being consulted beforehand.
