MotoGP has officially announced major changes to its race weekend format starting in 2027, introducing separate qualifying sessions for Sprint and main races.
The revised weekend schedule will take effect alongside technical regulation updates and a reduction in motorcycle engine displacement to 800 cc.
Under the new structure, track action will feature two distinct qualifying sessions. A Friday session will determine the starting grid for Saturday's Sprint race, while a Saturday session will establish the starting order for Sunday's full-length Grand Prix.
Organisers said the changes aimed to offer a greater spectacle to fans and add new incentives to each session while maintaining balanced track time for riders, teams and manufacturers.
MotoGP is the world's premier motorcycle road racing championship, governed by the International Motorcycling Federation. The championship introduced Saturday Sprint races in 2023 to increase track action, running half the distance of Sunday's main race and offering half the World Championship points.
Friday practice and Sprint qualifying schedule
Friday track action will begin as before with a 45-minute first free practice session. A second practice session lasting 30 minutes will then replace the current Practice session.
This new, shorter FP2 session will not count toward qualifying rankings. Friday will instead conclude with a new 15-minute Sprint qualifying session featuring all riders, which will set the starting grid positions for Saturday afternoon's Sprint race.
In the current Grand Prix structure, Friday afternoon practice directly decides which ten riders automatically advance to the second phase of Saturday qualifying. The 2027 update separates general practice evaluations from Sprint grid placement completely.
Saturday qualifying and Sprint race format
Saturday track action will begin with FP3, a 20-minute free practice session, before competitors participate in qualifying for the main Grand Prix race.
All riders will participate in the Q1 qualifying session, with the 12 fastest riders advancing to Q2 to compete for pole position and the front rows of Sunday's grid.
The Saturday Sprint race will close the second day of each Grand Prix weekend, using the starting grid established during Friday's Sprint qualifying session.
Sunday schedule and warm-up cancellation
On Sunday, the traditional morning warm-up session will be eliminated. The session had previously been reduced to ten minutes and scheduled before the Moto3 and Moto2 races.
Sunday action will now start directly with the Moto3 and Moto2 lower-category races. Track time previously allocated to the MotoGP morning warm-up will move to immediately before the main Grand Prix race.
The pit lane will open for ten minutes prior to the main race, allowing riders to complete multiple reconnaissance laps and make final checks on their bikes before line-up.
Reflecting on the competitive field ahead of the upcoming changes, MotoGP World Championship leader Jorge Martin said that even when riding well, a competitor could never relax when racing against Marc Marquez.
