MotoGP 23: How the sprint races work

What are sprint races?

Introduced into Motorcycle Grand Prix racing for 2023, the sprint format consists of a supplementary half-distance race on every Saturday of the MotoGP calendar, with the man race remaining on Sundays.

What is the MotoGP sprint race format?

A sprint race is 50 per cent the distance of the main race at each MotoGP event.

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.

It all starts on the Friday of a race weekend, with the best laps from both Practice 1 and Practice 2 combined. The top 10 riders from this list automatically advance into the second part of qualifying, which is held on Saturday.

Everyone else outside of this top 10 must take part in Q1, with the results setting the rear of the sprint and main race grid. However, the top two from Q1 join Q2 with the top 10 from practice. The times from Q2 set the front 12 places on the sprint and main race grid.

Up to 12 points are handed out for sprint race results, as follows:

1. 12 points
2. 9 points
3. 7 points
4. 6 points
5. 5 points
6. 4 points
7. 3 points
8. 2 points
9. 1 point

This is in addition to the regular points system for the full-length Sunday race, as follows:

1. 25 points
2. 20 points
3. 15 points
4. 13 points
5. 11 points
6. 10 points
7. 9 points
8. 8 points
9. 7 points
10. 6 points
11. 5 points
12. 4 points
13. 3 points
14. 2 points
15. 1 point

Are sprint races in the MotoGP 23 game?

Yes, you can set-up the sprint race format within MotoGP 23, either in a single Grand Prix, online or for the career mode.

MotoGP 23 sprint race options

When setting up a single Gran Prix to participate in within the MotoGP 23 video game, you can opt to switch on the sprint for any track.

The same applies to Practice 1 and Practice 2, Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2.

You can also choose not to participate in any session too, by unticking the box next to each session on the weekend options page.

So, if you simply want to participate in the main race, untick everything else and then select your desired starting position. Or you may want to do the sprint and the race, or the full weekend, or just qualifying and the main race. There are several conditions to select.

The main advantage being if you don’t want to take part in the sprint, so be it.

MotoGP 23 releases 8th June for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It also includes flag-to-flag rules and dynamic weather for the first time.