If you’re new to MotoGP, we’re here to guide you through a typical race weekend.
No matter what motorsport series you watch, a race weekend usually follows a fairly standard format. Practice, qualifying, race. Sometimes there’s a sprint race to add extra excitement to the weekend. But what does the schedule look like in the world of MotoGP?
Free Practice
Friday morning kicks off with Free Practice 1, which lasts for 45 minutes. Free Practice 2 is a 30 minute session that takes place on Saturday morning. These are timed sessions, but are really only there so that riders and teams can get the perfect bike setup and work on their strategies.
Practice
Not to be confused with Free Practice, the Practice session is held on Friday afternoon. This 60 minute timed session really counts, with the top 10 riders going straight through to the second stage of qualifying (Q2). Riders outside the top 10 go into Q1 to set their qualifying times.
Qualifying
Qualifying takes place on Saturday after the second Free Practice session is done. Riders who are taking place in Q1 head out on track first, and here’s where you’ll find a twist. There are 12 riders competing in Q1, but only the bottom 10 grid positions are determined from the session. That’s because the top two riders will go on to Q2 and have a chance to fight for pole.
In Q2, the top 12 grid positions are established. Qualifying is highly competitive, as it determines a rider’s starting position in both the Sprint race and the Grand Prix. It goes without saying that the fastest lap time earns pole position. The second and third fastest times also line up on the front row, providing a strong opportunity to get ahead at the race start. The remaining nine riders earning their spot on rows two to four, whilst those who didn’t make it out of Q1 fill out the second half of the grid based on their lap times.
Sprint Race
We’ve already mentioned that some motorsports series have the occasional sprint weekend throughout the season. But in MotoGP, every weekend is a sprint weekend, meaning there is no shortage of track action.
The Sprint (or Tissot Sprint to use it’s official name) takes place on Saturday afternoon, shortly after Free Practice 2 finishes. It’s got all the thrills and spills of Sunday’s main event, but in approximately half the number of laps. There’s points on offer, albeit at a reduced rate compared to Sunday’s Grand Prix.
The winner of the Sprint gets 12 points, second place gets nine points, whilst third gets seven. From there on, the points decrease by one for each position, with the last point being awarded to whoever finishes ninth. When you’re fighting for a championship, these points can help make all the difference.
Warm Up
Take a look at a MotoGP schedule, and you’ll see a 10 minute session simply called “warm up”. This is the absolute last possible chance for riders to make their preparations on track ahead of the Grand Prix. The warm up is particularly useful in changing weather conditions, as it allows riders to get a feel for any changes in the track surface.
Grand Prix Race
If you’ve watched any motorsports, you’ll already know that the Grand Prix is the main event. This is where the most points can be earned…and it can get pretty intense.
The race winner bags 25 points, second place earns 20 and third gets 16. Finish in fourth and there’s 13 points on offer, whilst fifth is awarded 11 points. The points then decrease by one for each position until the final point is awarded to the 15th rider.
Of course, as with any sport, there’s punishment waiting for those who break the rules. In MotoGP, penalties are issued for slow riding, jump starts, exceeding track limits, irresponsible riding and exceeding pit lane speed limits.
Penalties
The FIM can impose a number of penalties, which vary depending on the severity of a rules infringement. These can include:
- Warnings (can be made privately or publicly).
- Fines that can go up to €50,000 (roughly £43.5k).
- Change of position – a rider must go back a number of positions decided by the FIM.
- Lap time cancelled – can be applied during practice and qualifying sessions
- Long Lap Penalty – riders must complete the pre-defined route where the track has been extended. This typically costs a rider between two to four seconds.
- Double Long Lap Penalty (complete the Long Lap twice).
- Ride Through – the rider must ride through the pit lane without stopping before re-joining the race
- Time Penalty – the imposition of time affecting the rider’s actual result by up to two minutes in a race.
- Grid Penalty – the imposition of a drop of any number of grid positions, or the imposition of starting from the pit lane exit. This applies to the rider’s next race.
- Disqualification – the invalidation of results that can be applied either during or after an event. Immediate disqualification from a practice session or race will be pronounced by means of a black flag (or a black flag with an orange disc).
- Withdrawal of championship points – can apply to any championship races already run.
- Suspension – the loss of rights to participate for a specified period of time in any activity under FIM control.
- Exclusion – this is the ultimate punishment, with the final and complete loss of all rights of participation in any activity under FIM control.