MADRID:
MotoGP’s sprint format is no longer an experiment but its Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta knows it remains one of the championship’s most contentious talking points, even as TV audiences soared this season to watch the shorter format.
Introduced in the 2023 season, the half-length races have turbo-charged television audiences with a viewership increase of 26% on Saturdays while overall TV audiences are up 9%, according to figures published by MotoGP.
Moreover, the 22-round season brought 3.6 million fans to race tracks, breaking nine attendance records as MotoGP celebrated one of its most memorable seasons yet when Ducati’s Marc Marquez returned to the summit with his seventh crown.
To the outsider, it looks like a win-win: more races, more viewers, more money. To the riders, however, 22 Grand Prix races and 22 sprints is a different proposition that results in a much heavier workload.
Formula One has sprint races only at select circuits and no more than six a season, but Ezpeleta left little room for ambiguity about its future as MotoGP tries to strike a balance between sporting tradition and accessibility for new audiences.
“We think having the same format every weekend is really crucial to our sport, especially in a phase where we’re so focused on capturing new fans,” Ezpeleta told Reuters.
“Having a sport that’s easy to understand, that’s the same every weekend… The same points are on the table every weekend. It gives that consistency of a world championship and we think that’s very important.”
Ezpeleta’s defence of sprints comes despite persistent concerns from riders over the dilution of the traditional Sunday Grand Prix and injury risk with fewer practice sessions.
But Ezpeleta rejected the idea that sprints undermine MotoGP’s marquee Sunday races.
“I don’t see that, the points difference is so big,” he said.
“It was always going to take some time for the riders and teams to get their head around the format of the weekend, where you want to push and where you want to be more passive.
