A Sprint to exit MotoGP: Will it be Yamaha or Honda next?

2023 marks a revolution in the MotoGP schedule, the Sprint Race makes its debut. After the first weekend of racing, 4 riders had suffered injuries which saw them miss R2 in Argentina.

Luca Marini collided with Bastianini, Espargaro crashed into Turn 10’s tyre barriers, Oliviera was wiped out by Marquez at turn 3. Marquez, who also made contact with Martin, was hit with a double long lap penalty which should have been served at Argentina, if Marquez was fit to participate. Should it be carried over?

For those of you chanting Hero to Zero and believing Marquez is completely at fault, perhaps tactically, I’m sitting firmly on the fence. A race error, albeit perceivably avoidable, is not easy to prevent in the chaos of the Sprint.

Livio Suppo, former team manager of official Ducati, Honda and currently manager of team Suzuki, is extremely sceptical of the new race format and claims “Saturday is a day with an excessive format from a psycho-physical point of view”.

It was decided Marquez will now serve the penalty at the AmericasGP, however Honda is set to appeal this decision in court. A statement explains Marquez will not attend R3 and is “still in the healing process”. Is his absence from the next round a tactic to buy time and appeal the penalty?

Remember with the new Sprint format, another non-start will only see Marquez wave away his hopes for the title this year. Perhaps the Sprint race crash really has been catastrophic to his ability to partake.

Then why have the Sprint? Good question! I’m afraid the answer is not so… The main reason is for spectatorship. As the iconic line goes ‘ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?’

The new schedule follows more closely the F1 style. What seems to have been overlooked is that theoretically riders are more prone to harm on two wheels. And the reality reflects this. Arguably, crashing is an integral component of racing, but is it worth it if it means less on the grid for the next round?

“I hope that, as the races go by, the riders realize that they have to spare themselves and not get involved in accidents and therefore that they all settle down … Maybe they’ll realise that by going all out, they won’t be able to make it to the end of the season” – Livio Suppo.

It sounds unrealistic to expect riders (who are there to win) to slow the pace during their pursuit for P1. Luckily, there weren’t any threatening casualties in Argentina.

Let’s see how the rest of the season plays out…

See you at the next round!

Reactive Parts Workshop Rat