MotoGP, today the first Sprint race: how it works

MotoGP, today the first Sprint race: how it works

The wait is over. The engines are turned on in Portimao for the first GP of the 2023 World Championship. Pol Espargaro will not be there, the victim of a bad accident in the second free practice session which caused him a pulmonary contusion and a fractured dorsal vertebra and jaw. Today is the day of one of the most important innovations of this MotoGP season, the Sprint Race.

How the Sprint Race works

At 11:50 the riders will take to the track for qualifying, while at 16:00 there will be the Sprint Race which will not change the positions on the grid in view of Sunday's GP, but will assign points in the standings. It is a short race that will be held on the half-distance of Sunday's long race, in this case, here in Portimao, it will be run over 12 laps. Only the first nine will get useful points for the world championship: 12 points for the winner, 9 for second, 7 for third and so on up to ninth who will get just one point.

The news of the weekend

The novelties of this year have not been reduced only to the Sprint Race. The entire weekend program has been completely changed compared to the past. There will be only two free practice sessions for all three classes with reduced time for Moto3 (30') and increased afternoon time for MotoGP (45') which from now on will race after Moto2. The two free sessions will be essential to access Q2. In fact, the top 10 riders will take a step forward in anticipation of qualifying. The Saturday program has been revolutionized with a half-hour session for all MotoGP classes and qualifying sessions in the morning with Q1 and Q2 remaining 15'. Qualifying will determine the grid of both the Sprint Race and the race. Moto3 and Moto2 qualifying, however, remain in the afternoon.



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