Rebellion before news of sprint races for 2023 became official

Almost all MotoGP riders are opposed to the idea of ​​adding a second shorter race ‘in the sprint’ to the Grand Prix weekend which, according to all indications, they will announce this Saturday at 11:45 am in a rare press conference, the president of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), the Portuguese Jorge Viegas, the CEO of Dorna Sports, the Spaniard Carmelo Ezpeleta, and the president of the International Association of Teams (IRTA), the Frenchman Hervé Poncharal at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Spielberg.

According to information this Saturday on the website motorsport.com, those responsible for the championship are studying the introduction in 2023, and they want to share with the drivers this Friday at the Safety Commission, the format of sprint racing that works hard in F1 . The difference is that they want it every Saturday of the Grand Prix and not just for the select few like in F1 and in return the free practice sessions will be reduced. The problem is that the pilots were not very attracted to the idea and also, as they revealed, no one consulted them before the news was released this Saturday.

The champion of the world Fabio Quartararo He assured that he had not been consulted and “the idea of ​​adding a race to every GP weekend seems absolutely stupid to me”.

“They didn’t consult me. I find the idea totally stupid, it doesn’t make sense. It would be stupid because 21 races is already too much and if you get injured, you skip a lot. In some grand prix, it might be interesting, but all in all… a race on Saturday before another race is dangerous, especially on weekends like Assen or Mugello, because on Sunday you are very tired,” he argued.

His championship rival, Aleix Espargaro He made sure that he did not like it: “zero, this is MotoGP and it is not, in all it should be, a championship of street bikes, a lot of work, a lot of electronics and a lot of engineers and already in the current format, as if qualification, It’s difficult to prepare the bike, because you have to put tires all the time, if they take away more training hours and put us in another race…”.

“I love the race and I will skip the pre-season training sessions, which I hate, and I love the race, but let’s not get too far because these prototypes are difficult to set up”, insisted of Aprilia riders who, regarding the fact that they have not been consulted yet say they have “an opinion on this”.

The Italian Pecco Bagnaiathe third in arguing the fight for the championship, was a little more careful insisting that “we have to wait for all the details, when they will be finished, if it is in all the circuits…”.

“For sure it’s more difficult mentally and it’s an important decision that they didn’t tell us about anything, so we’ll see what they tell us, although I think our voice should be counted by a little,” he stressed somewhat critically. the Italian.

Pol Espargarois also against the possible decision, although he admits that “I understand that it is more than a show for people, but it is a double risk for us, more work and clearly thinking about myself and my physical that integrity, I don’t want to see myself on the starting grid twice in one weekend.

“I understand that if they do it this way it’s for people to have fun and in the end we’re putting on a show and we have to live with them.”

There are also pilots in favor

Among those who weren’t too upset was South African Brad Bender, who said he didn’t know “the details very well”, adding immediately that “if Dorna does it it’s because there’s an interesting reason for the championship. . What is certain is that it will be good for the viewers and for you journalists”.

Maverick Viñales is also enthusiastic: “I have never tried a sprint race. What I saw in Superbike and I like it; I think we will have fun. This is a show and we have to promote it”.