BAGNAIA BACKS SPRINT LAP TIMES TO SET MOTOGP’S SUNDAY GRID

MotoGP is weighing changes to its qualifying format from 2027, and Francesco Bagnaia has backed a way to separate the starting grids for the Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix without adding another session to the weekend.

Since Sprints began in 2023, one Q1-Q2 qualifying shootout has set the grid for both races. That makes qualifying especially consequential: a poor result affects two starts, while a lap can be cancelled if a rider encounters a yellow flag at the wrong moment.

Options under consideration include holding separate qualifying sessions, as Formula 1 does, or using the Sprint’s finishing order to set the Grand Prix grid, as in WorldSBK’s Superpole race. Bagnaia instead favours a system used in Supersport and British Superbikes: qualifying would determine the Sprint grid, then riders’ fastest laps during the Sprint would help set the Sunday order.

“For me the best [idea] could be that the lap times in the Sprint race would be the grid of the Sunday race. As they do in Supersport,” the two-time MotoGP champion said. He called it “a clear idea” and “clever”, explaining that Saturday’s race could help riders prepare for Sunday. In Supersport, race times determine the first three rows, with qualifying order used from 10th place onwards to account for riders who do not finish.

Bagnaia has felt the cost of the current arrangement this season, qualifying 16th at Silverstone and 14th at Misano. “Having the same qualifying for two races is a problem,” he said. A Sprint lap could also offer a second opportunity after a qualifying crash, he added: “Sometimes you can crash in qualifying and having a second chance with the lap time of the Sprint could be good.”

He is wary, however, of solutions that make Saturday longer. “I just hope that they will not increase any sessions because Saturday is already a tough day for us,” he said. Bagnaia also rejected using Friday afternoon Practice—which determines the 10 riders who advance directly to Q2—to set the Sprint grid. “For me, it's also not correct to put the qualifying within the practice session,” he said, adding that “we need a balance on that.”