Marco Bezzecchi
Since Liberty Media acquired MotoGP, several changes to the current race weekend format have been touted, and Davide Brivio thinks they must make one amendment to make the premier class even more ‘spectacular’.
With how successful Liberty Media’s project in F1 has gone, it seems natural for the American conglomerate to translate some of its successful initiatives over to the premier class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
So far, a number of changes have been suggested, including a ‘mega’ weekend that would include both F1 and MotoGP, as well as the premier class taking to some of the most daring street circuits on its four-wheeled counterpart’s calendar.
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has confirmed that street circuits are on the way, but the amendment that Davide Brivio had in mind would further bring MotoGP in line with how F1 race weekends pan out.
- READ MORE: Liberty Media could make a MotoGP calendar change that would be a ‘real problem’ for Moto2
Are you concerned that Liberty Media may try to remove MotoGP’s style?
Davide Brivio outlines the change MotoGP needs to make race weekends ‘more spectacular’
During an interview with GPOne at MotoGP’s pre-season test in Sepang, the Trackhouse chief gave his opinion on the current race weekend format and how it could be improved.
He said, “It’s my personal opinion, but I don’t like Friday afternoon, when you have to be in the top ten already, and it affects the whole weekend.
“Friday should be the sprint qualifying, and then there should be a real qualifying session for Sunday’s race, so that you have two different lineups and you don’t compromise the weekend if something goes wrong on Friday afternoon.
“In my opinion, it would also be more spectacular, it would create more interest, and there would be more results to follow over the weekend.
“This is to say that the sporting side works; we have great riders and very committed manufacturers with a lot of technical competition, and as always, everything can be improved.
“However, I believe that Liberty’s priority is more on the promotional and media side now.”
F1 currently run its sessions on the Sprint weekend in the way that Brivio has described, and it puts more emphasis on the shorter format sessions as being their own standalone events.
Marc Marquez’s Sprint dominance last season saw many call for an amendment to the way they are held, and so Brivio’s proposal could be the first real mark that Liberty Media leave on the sport.
Should MotoGP implement Davide Brivio’s idea for a new qualifying format?
MotoGP is becoming subject to more and more F1-style rules following Liberty Media’s takeover
As well as the changes that are necessary in the Sprint race department, there have also been calls from KTM for MotoGP to impose a cost-cap to promote a closer calibre of racing.
The Austrian constructor believes that a limit on the financial prowess that teams have would be good for the sport, but many feel like the current MotoGP concessions system already deals with dominating teams appropriately.
One change that is set to take effect this season is the introduction of a team radio, which has already been tested by some riders ahead of its arrival.
Marquez doesn’t see the point in MotoGP riders having a radio, given the lack of strategy calls that occur compared to F1, so it remains to be seen how useful it will actually be once each rider is plugged in.
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