By ROBO46 and Thomas Harrison-Lord
Right at the end of March, this season’s official game of Motorcycle Grand Prix racing boasted impressive graphics, dynamic weather and a revised career mode. But, several important features were shrouded in mystery, to the point where we published our questions.
Two new tracks and the sprint format
However, we now know that the two new circuits on the real-world MotoGP calendar – the Sokol International Racetrack in Kazakhstan and India’s Buddh International Circuit – will be included in MotoGP 23 at its release.
The community-focused session was led by Executive Producer and Creative Director at developer Milestone, Michele Caletti.
The team also confirmed that the new sprint race format will also be included, despite 2023 being the debut season for the set-up.
This will mean a 50 per cent length race on the virtual Saturday will also take place alongside the main Sunday event at every round, should you select the full weekend format.
Online flag-to-flag, Quick Restart for supports
In addition, the flag-to-flag ruleset, where riders visit the pitlane should the dynamic weather change its mind to swap bikes, will indeed be functional in online races. The feature kicks in for races above six laps in length and works both ways – wet-to-dry and dry-to-wet.
However, that only applies to the top MotoGP class, to reflect the real-world. Many were wondering then if dynamic weather options excluded the Moto2 and Moto3 support classes. However, should the weather change, they will have the Quick Restart rules replicated in-game.
Worth bearing in mind, that as per the initial announcement, the Nintendo Switch version will not feature flag-to-flag rules due to the hardware limitations of the less powerful machine, but the dynamic weather and Quick Restart rules will apply to all classes.
Physics changes
The team was keen to emphasise potential physics improvements, although until we’re able to test them, the verdict is of course withheld.
It was highlighted that the contact patch from the bike to the asphalt has been altered, in line with the gyroscopic effects on the bike.
Asymmetric tyres will be in the game for certain circuits, but will still be labelled as soft, medium and hard. For those out of the loop, this is a multi-compound tyre, with different formulations on either side, used at particularly demanding circuits.
Last of the main details, is that ranked racing will indeed implement a leaderboard like in Monster Energy Supercross 6, but it will also pair you into races with similarly-ranked riders.
Those are the main points, but with a release date of 8th June 2023, we expect finer details to be discussed and showcased in the run-up to launch.
Images: Motorsport Images
