According to Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, the claims of weekend track time by MotoGP will not be changing after the launch of Sprint races in 2023.
As revealed by Motosports.com on Friday, MotoGP officially confirmed to add sprint races to every round of the season from 2023 on Saturday at the Austrian Grand Prix. This proposal got mixed reviews from the riders. Among them, Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro was against the idea. He is feeling that the idea was wrong for the championship.
During the announcement press release, the President of the International Race Teams Association (IRTA), Herve Poncharal, claimed that adding these sprint races will have no effect on-track time available for riders.
Moreover, in the press release that was issued later, MotoGP talked about two slightly longer practice sessions before a 30-minute long FP3. It is going to be the deciding factor for both the sprint and the main Grand Prix.
However, Espargaro considered the claim of the track time is similar in the next season as bullshit. He said that he really want to think and believe that the management for the championship will be the best for the show and the popularity of the series.
He also said that he does not share this idea as it was his opinion. He thinks that it is not the solution but the risk that is going to be very high. According to him, the 44 starts in MotoGP is a lot and as the organizer says that the track time will be the same, he thinks it is ‘bullshit’ because it is not similar to FP4 that the race where the point will be given.
He further says that they all have to try and adapt to the championship. He hoped that it is proved to be a good solution.
He also shared his disappointment concerning the things said in Saturday’s press conference and preferred not to comment anything about it. He said that he still has to do a lot of work this weekend and still bearing a tremendous pain in his heel caused by his Silverstone crash. So, he wants to be relaxed.