FIM Grand Prix World Championship
Decisions of the Grand Prix Commission
The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Paul Duparc (FIM); joining remotely, Hervé Poncharal (IRTA) and Biense Bierma (MSMA), in the presence of Carlos Ezpeleta (Dorna), Mike Trimby (IRTA, Secretary of the meeting) and Corrado Cecchinelli (Director of Technology), in a meeting held in Aragon on 16 September 2022, made the following decisions after numerous prior discussions:
Sporting Format – Effective season 2023
Grand Prix weekend schedule – MotoGP class
With the introduction of Sprint Races for the MotoGP class from 2023, the weekend schedule for each Grand Prix will change. MotoGP sessions will be the last session of each block, following Moto3 and Moto2.
Practice 1 for the MotoGP class will take place on Friday morning and will be 45 minutes long. Practice 2, on Friday afternoon, will be 60 minutes long. The combined times of P1 and P2 will decide the direct entrants to Q2.
The MotoGP class will have a 30-minute Free Practice session on Saturday morning, similar to the current FP4, from 10:10 to 10:40 LT. Q1 qualifying will begin at 10:50 before Q2 at 11:15.
Every Sprint Race will take place on Saturday at 15:00.
On Sunday morning, Warm Up for the MotoGP class will be reduced from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.
Grand Prix weekend schedule and race lengths – Moto2 and Moto3 classes
The Moto2 and Moto3 classes will each have three practice sessions followed by Q1-Q2 qualifying.
Moto3 Practice 1 and 2 will be 35 minutes long, five minutes shorter than current sessions. Moto2 Practice 1 and 2 will remain 40 minutes long. These sessions will take place on Friday and determine automatic entry into Q2.
For both Moto2 and Moto3, the third practice session will take place on Saturday morning and be 30 minutes long. This session will be a Free Practice for each class and will not be counted on the combined timesheets nor for entry to Q2.
There will be no Warm Up sessions for Moto2 and Moto3.
Race distances for both classes will also be shortened. To bring Moto2 and Moto3 in line with other competitions on similar machinery, it has been agreed to target new approximate race durations of 36 minutes for Moto2 and 34 minutes for Moto3.
MotoGP Sprint Race Regulations – effective season 2023
Race length, points and grid procedure
Each Sprint Race will be 50% of the Grand Prix race distance at the same event. Uneven numbers will be rounded down.
Points will be awarded as follows from 1st position to ninth position: 12, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
There will be a 15-minute grid procedure and same rules as the Grand Prix race regarding rain on the grid, flag-to-flag races and quick restarts. If a Sprint Race is interrupted the quick restart procedure will apply. Restarts will be in order to complete the original race distance, minus one lap, with a minimum distance of five laps. Results will be declared at ¾ of Sprint Race distance.
Technical Regulations – Fuel limitations
The limitation for fuel usage in Sprint Races has been agreed as approximately 12 litres.
Technical Penalties
Failure to abide by the technical rules during Practice or Qualifying sessions can result in a disqualification from Qualifying. This disqualification will apply to the grid for both the Sprint Race and Grand Prix Race.
Track Limit infringements
MotoGP Sprint Races will follow the same track limit infringement protocol as MotoE, which also has shorter race distances:
• 1 infringement = Track Limits Warning
• 3 infringements = Long Lap Penalty
Jump Starts
Jump Starts will result in the same penalty as in Grand Prix races: a double Long Lap penalty.
Disciplinary Penalties
Penalties awarded following incidents in any session – after the session in question has concluded – will normally apply to the Grand Prix race. For example, a Long Lap penalty awarded for irresponsible riding in Practice 1 will be served during the Grand Prix race.
The grid for both races will be the grid set by Q1 and Q2 qualifying. However, should a rider incur a grid penalty for
irresponsible riding or similar, this grid penalty will only be served on the grid for the Grand Prix race.
Moto3 and Moto2 Aerodynamics – Season 2023
Following confirmation by email from the FIM, this proposal was approved unanimously.
A regularly updated version of the FIM Grand Prix Regulations which contains the detailed text of the regulation changes may be viewed shortly on HERE.
