PERNAT WARNS MOTOGP’S 2027 WEEKEND FORMAT COULD PUT RIDERS AT RISK

Rider agent Carlo Pernat has condemned MotoGP’s planned 2027 race-weekend format, warning that it could put riders at greater risk and praising Marc Marquez, Pedro Acosta and Francesco Bagnaia for speaking out.

The changes will accompany a major technical-regulation overhaul. Friday’s running will end with a Sprint qualifying session, while Saturday will feature a separate qualifying event in which all 22 riders contest Q1, followed by the Sprint. The Grand Prix remains on Sunday. Under the current format, Friday afternoon practice helps determine which riders advance directly to Q2 for Saturday’s qualifying.

Pernat said the new schedule had been badly conceived. “They’ve really screwed up,” he told Formula Passion, predicting it would become “a parade of ambulances.” He also questioned the existing number of race starts, saying “it’s already absurd to have 44 starts,” and raised concerns about putting the entire field on track together for Saturday qualifying.

On a circuit where a lap takes about two minutes, Pernat argued, a yellow flag or another interruption could leave riders with time for only one lap. He said he might have been able to accept the idea if MotoGP held only 10 Sprints, as in Formula 1, but added that even then it would be difficult. “I don’t know how it will turn out, but it’ll be very dangerous. I’m against this sort of thing,” he said.

Pernat expressed “a lot of respect” for Marquez, Acosta and Bagnaia, describing them as the only riders who had become angry about the changes and saying they were right to do so. His comments follow Marquez’s remarks at the Indonesian Grand Prix, where the Spaniard said riders had no input into the decision and would have to “take it or leave” if they disliked the new format.

The concerns echo those raised by Andrea Dovizioso, who warned that the revised schedule could “destroy” riders by increasing the time they spend exposed to danger. Pernat’s criticism centres on the compressed qualifying session and the risks he believes could come with more riders sharing the track at once.