what is sprint race motogp

Sprint races are a new addition to the MotoGP World Championship in 2023, where a supplementary half-distance race will take place on every Saturday of the MotoGP calendar, with the main race remaining on Sundays. The sprint race will take place at 3 p.m. local time on the Saturday afternoon of race weekends, and it will not replace the two usual qualifying sessions, which will exclusively decide the grid for both the sprint and Sunday races. The sprint race lasts roughly half the amount of time of Sundays race, which will vary from Grand Prix to Grand Prix. So, if Sundays race is 20 laps, for example, then the Sprint will be 10 laps. The grid is set based on the results of qualifying, with the main race also featuring the same grid – the sprint race does not contribute to its starting order. Sprint race victories will be counted separately to grand prix wins, meaning the winner of a sprint will not go in the history books as an official GP winner. Up to 12 points are handed out for sprint race results, with only the top nine riders scoring, and half points will be awarded for the sprint race. The technical rules for the sprint race are mostly unchanged, except for the limited fuel loads of 12 liters allowed for the sprint race, compared to the 22L allowed for the grand prix. There are also some modifications to the track limits rules, with the number of allowed infringements before a penalty is awarded being cut from five to three.