Here is a wild shift on the horizon for grand prix racing. According to Motorsport.com Italia, the MotoGP world championship is planning to introduce two separate timed sessions starting from 2027—one for the main grand prix and another specifically for the sprint race, taking a direct page right out of the Formula 1 playbook.
This initiative has already been brought to the table of dialogue established between the teams, the organization, and the manufacturers, with a green light expected over the coming days so it can apply starting from the next season. It is the exact format adopted by the Formula 1 world championship during events featuring a Sprint, which are set to increase to ten next year compared to the six of this 2026.
While the measure seems to have been met favorably by the majority of actors involved, including both teams and constructors, the path to writing it into the rulebook still has to follow the normal regulatory procedures. Before that happens, the exact scheduling of each weekend program needs to be nailed down.
The main difference between the Formula 1 model and the MotoGP approach will lie in the timing, as MotoGP will still position its sprint in the late afternoon. In Formula 1, by contrast, the sprint takes place on Saturday morning, while Saturday afternoon is reserved for the qualifying session of the main race. At the same time, there is a party interested in splitting the qualifying into three elimination sessions (Q1, Q2, and Q3), following the Formula 1 model, instead of the two sessions (Q1 and Q2) currently in force.
It is significant that it was precisely at Spielberg, where the Austrian Grand Prix takes place this Sunday, that the intention by the MotoGP organization to introduce sprints emerged four years ago, something Formula 1 had inaugurated back in 2022. Unlike the Circus, which chose to start with three sprint events and then progressively increase the number in subsequent years, MotoGP opted to standardize this format and make it permanent across all its events—curiously undertaken three years before Liberty Media completed the acquisition of Dorna, the company holding the rights to MotoGP, an operation concluded in mid-2025.
As for the 2023 format change, riders place heavy emphasis on the level of stress and risk they are called upon to face. The competitors have a single free practice session on Friday morning before facing the pre-qualifying, which already determines an initial sorting between those who directly access the second qualifying session (Q2) and those who have to go through the preliminary session (Q1).
