Trackhouse team principal Davide Brivio sees the sprint races creating a new dynamic in the MotoGP title fight – Why they are now just as important as the GPs
The introduction of sprint races in MotoGP has fundamentally changed the fight for the world championship. This was particularly evident in the 2024 season, in which Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia fought for the title until the last race – with only ten points separating them at the end.
While Martin had a consistent season with three Grand Prix wins and only four DNFs, Bagnaia won an impressive eleven main races but had eight retirements – six of which were in the sprint races alone.
These Saturday races made all the difference: Bagnaia managed to overtake Martin by 33 points in the Sunday races, but at the same time lost 43 points in the sprint races, thereby losing the world title to Martin.
Brivio: Can make a huge difference
The experienced MotoGP team principal Davide Brivio is not surprised by the impact the introduction of the sprints has had on the overall title race. “I was asked about the sprints as early as 2023 and I immediately said, ‘sprints will be a game changer’,” Brivio recalls.
In his view, the twelve points that can be won in a sprint should not be underestimated. “Twelve points per sprint, 20 or 22 times – that can make a huge difference,” says the Italian. This was precisely what was observed in the last MotoGP season.
Brivio points out that it seems strange that Bagnaia was chasing the world title with 11 wins, while Martin triumphed with only three Grand Prix wins. The reason for this is simple: Bagnaia made too many mistakes in the sprints.
Brivio draws a comparison to Formula 1
“I’m not saying it’s wrong, but it’s a big change,” says Brivio about the sprints. For the title fight, it means that riders will now have to consider both races – Saturday and Sunday – as equally important. This applies especially to riders who regularly fight for podium places.
“If you are fighting for sixth, seventh or eighth place, it’s only two or three points – it makes no difference. But if you are fighting for the podium in a sprint, it becomes extremely important for the title,” explains the MotoGP team principal.
He also compares the current system to that of Formula 1, where there are only a few sprint races per season. “It would be very different if we only had five or six sprint races and the rest were classic Grand Prix,” said Brivio. Nevertheless, he emphasized that he liked the new dynamic of MotoGP in 2024.
“It has now become normal for us to have races on Saturdays and Sundays. And from our point of view, that’s exciting. It’s nice. But it has changed the game – the sprint races are now very important for the world championship,” he affirms.
