Side effects of the new MotoGP format

The upcoming MotoGP World Championship represents the most significant change for the world championship since the advent of the 4T bike in the early 20th century. The changes the World Cup organizers decided to implement to revitalize the format, which was showing signs of wear and tear.

A series of cascading factors led to MotoGP abandoning the interest and audience leadership it enjoyed within motorsport. The slowdown that the two COVID-adjusted years brought to everyone was not sufficiently ‘digested’ by MotoGP. Alternatively, it would be more correct to say that other motor specialties emerged from these difficult years with a more coastal, perhaps new approach.

Add to this the retirement of MotoGP planetary icon Valentino Rossi and the disappearance of his successor at every level, Marc Márquez, from the scene due to a very serious injury. Honda’s technical and results crises didn’t help either, dragging in the loss of a reference pilot. In a nutshell, he has generated one of a series of situations that have caused a great deal of damage to the MotoGP show.

To stop this indentation and reverse the situation: At the competitive level, the weekend introduced a second race in the premier class of MotoGP. The race will be held on Saturday afternoon with half the number of laps, meaning that in 2022 he will go from 21 races to 42.

These changes were publicly announced at last year’s Austrian Grand Prix celebrations. This is because neither pilot was informed of the major changes being introduced. A fact that most of the main characters of the MotoGP show did not like.

The question of whether it is a good idea to run these short races in all GGPPs instead of experimenting with a few first is a common feeling among drivers and managers. In fact, even the president of the League of Nations himself confesses that it probably should have been tested first. is done.

This idea, approach is definitely more appealing to fans. There are more races, more starts and the strategy for the new GP concept has yet to be discovered by teams, engineers and drivers. So the 2023 World Cup will undoubtedly be much more interesting.

At the same time, however, the new format created a shockwave with effects that the World Cup organizers could not have foreseen. Some can be resolved quickly, some over the winter, and some I was looking for a solution to just a few weeks ago.

Impact on the MotoE World Championship

The new Moto E World Championship is one of those influences. The newly created ‘Electric World Championship’ found itself suddenly without space to celebrate at least one of his races on Sunday, the big day of the GP. Until last season, electric bikes closed out the GP on the Sunday after the MotoGP race. This year he lost his ‘slot’ to the novelty of invading the track with fans on the circuit.

The new GP Sunday had a very tight schedule and no place for Moto E, which caused some ‘drama’ here. Both of his races are on Saturday. It’s a ‘rare’ start to a category that has world championship status and is the reason for the ire of the sponsors that exist in this category, and it is assumed that Ducati is not amused either. Track the first true electric competition motorcycle.

We recognize that many sponsors ask sponsors to “clarify.” This means that it was not the format that was sold to the sponsors. The team also didn’t like the fact that the head of Moto E requested that they remain on the circuit on Sundays to accommodate sponsorship and marketing events. I noticed that the new Sunday schedule had already been published.

pilot’s bonus

Another side effect of two races every weekend is the bonus to the results a driver gets on a contract. Shorter races, officially called sprint races, are not considered in the signed contract, but are races and therefore must or should be paid according to the contract. , and claims that doubling the bonus is not feasible on their budget.

Meetings have been held over the past few weeks to reach consensus on the issue, but to this day the issue remains unresolved. The drivers are split as they failed to unite and manage the situation. Some are more demanding, others throw the ball – because they negotiated explicitly and individually. Wash your hands, claiming it’s a contractual matter.

Moto2 and Moto3 lose weight

The third victims of the new MotoGP shockwave are the lower categories Moto 2 and Moto3. In theory, the pre-race morning warm-up is curtailed because there is no room on the Sunday schedule. So they are forced to race without having a chance to roll new components that are supposed to race. A check that MotoGP riders have instead.

Amazing to see the same people who were rejected 10 minutes before the MotoGP warm-up (starting at 9:45) on Sunday morning and then ‘pushed out’ by the track at 8:40 on Saturday morning is. Problems are inevitable. Why is it possible one day and not the second?

After Moto 2 and Moto 3, the buildup of Saturday’s main stars (top 3 in qualifying and first 3 in the short race) led the organizers to exclude Moto Poleman from the mass press conference 2 and moto 3. I was. It has been common in recent decades. The already low awareness and visibility of the middle category is further undermined. Teams are finding it harder to meet their budgets every day.

As you can see, the urgency that the World Cup organizers have decided to give their championship to unveiling the new format has left a series of key issues that have caused discomfort to sponsors and headaches on the one hand. I was. For those sponsored, on the other hand, it was a “labor” conflict, sending his two-thirds of its “actors” into the coldest shadows.