MotoGP sprint races were introduced at every Grand Prix in the 2023 season.
The new Saturday sprint was designed to add a shorter, more aggressive race to the traditional Sunday Grand Prix weekend. Sprints covered roughly half the distance of the main race, while qualifying set the starting grid for both contests. Unlike earlier experiments or special formats, the 2023 system applied across the entire calendar.
The sprint awarded championship points to its top nine finishers: 12 for first, then 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. These points counted toward the riders’ and constructors’ championships, but sprint victories were recorded separately from regular Grand Prix wins.
A common mix-up is confusing MotoGP’s 2023 introduction with other motorcycle series that had already used shorter races or with pre-2023 proposals. The 2023 season was the first complete MotoGP campaign with a sprint at every scheduled Grand Prix.