Image: Supplied.

A new sporting format will be introduced for the MotoGP World Championship from 2023 which will see the premier class contest a sprint race on the Saturday of each round.

The sprints will not determine the grid for Sunday’s race and will be approximately half of the race distance, with half the points on offer. The Q1, Q2 qualifying format will take place prior and determine the grid for both days.

MotoGP riders will have two practice sessions on Friday, which will be of a longer duration. The combined timesheets from these sessions will determine the direct entrants to Q2. On Saturday morning, the MotoGP class will have one 30-minute free practice session (similar to the current FP4) followed by Q1 and Q2 for qualifying. The sprint race will then take place at 15:00.

“It has been the aim of the championship; FIM, IRTA, and Dorna, from the beginning to try to improve every time, as much as we can, everything in the sport: the safety, the show, everything. We are working in all the areas but especially in that,” said Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta.

“We have been looking at other sports for different possibilities and we are trying to offer a better show, especially for the fans, the promoters, and television. It’s very important to us to offer a new schedule which will, in our opinion, improve our presence in all the Grands Prix.

“This has been something discussed obviously with the FIM, with the manufacturers, and with the teams, and then yesterday, I talked with the riders in the Safety Commission. Even if the Safety Commission is for safety, since the beginning, I have been very proud to talk with the riders about different things.

“Obviously the matter to inform the riders is something that must be made by their individual teams, but yesterday we had some discussions and I’m very happy to hear the President of the FIM announce what we want to announce today.”

The Moto2 and Moto3 classes will remain with the standard single race format on Sunday for 2023.