Attendance numbers at MotoGP races in 2022 have significantly decreased. The French Grand Prix lived up to its end of the agreement by attracting 225,000 people over the course of the race weekend. On the other hand, calendar mainstays such as Mugello (in Italy) and Silverstone (in Great Britain) failed to sell tickets.
Whether fans believe that the decrease in interest is due to Rossi’s retirement or the current state of the economy, there is one thing that is certain: MotoGP needs a solution as soon as possible.
MotoGP calls on its allies in Formula One (F1) and the Superbike World Championship to help it win back fans and get them back to the circuit (WSBK). On Saturdays, the shorter races that are part of both racing series take place, followed by longer races held on Sundays. While the F1 only contains the demi-races at certain tracks, the WSBK features a sprint race at each and every round of the championship.
The MotoGP series is planning to run the additional competitions in a manner analogous to the current format. The first and second free practices (FP1 and FP2) on Friday will continue as scheduled, however, on Saturday, qualifying sessions will come after FP3.
FP4 would be replaced with the half-distance sprint races, and the qualifying session would be used to determine the starting grid positions for both the Saturday and Sunday races. However, not everybody is on board with this idea, and the defending champion and Yamaha Factory rider Fabio Quartararo is one of those people.
Quartararo was honest enough to admit, “I think it’s totally stupid,” admitted Quartararo. “If we do it from time to time, like in Formula 1, I think it can be interesting. But, every Saturday? Honestly, there are circuits where you are physically exhausted, like Assen, Mugello.”
Sprint competitions, on the other hand, have a reputation for being highly subjective among riders. Joan Mir, the defending champion of the MotoGP series in 2020, is unfazed by the additional labor. She cites entertainment value and personal taste as the primary motivating elements.
“Well, at the end, for the show, it will be better,” the Suzuki man said. “This is a fact. More races means on a Saturday there will be some more entertainment. For me, at the end I enjoy racing, I enjoy when I take overtakes and everything more than a free practice (session).”
Even with Mir’s victory, the paddock is still divided. Miguel Oliveira, a rider with Red Bull KTM, is anxious about the consequences of the sprint race, which raises concerns over the knock-down effect it could cause throughout the course of the race weekend.
Oliveira commented, “I quite like how it is at the moment,” Oliveira also said “Right now, it’s quite stressful. Like today I made this little mistake (crashing in FP2) and I’m out of Q2, and if tomorrow morning rains, it will be quite stressful.”
Unfortunately, MotoGP will not be able to make a formal statement until they have consulted with the teams, riders, organizers, and sponsors first. They will need to find a means to increase the number of people sitting in seats by the year 2023, regardless of whether or not they use the new sprint race style.