In MotoGP in this 2023 season, there will be no sprint races, but simply sprints, an identification desired by Dorna and its president Carmelo Ezpeleta now a little over a month before the start of hostilities. We thus clearly distinguish this new competition from the traditional Sunday Grand Prix, a development which shows that there are still adjustments to be made for what the promoter wishes to be the powerful lever to boost the interest of his championship among public. Fans that Carmelo Ezpeleta thinks he has surrounded while he has a grudge against the teams who grew up when the change in the format of the Grands Prix was announced. Which does not push him to dialogue on the question of the bonuses to be granted to the drivers in this unprecedented race, still pending…
Carmelo Ezpeleta opened up to his compatriots AS about what the big novelty of this 2023 season will be, namely the sprint from Saturday 15:00 p.m. in a remodeled Grand Prix format. We therefore no longer speak of a “sprint race”. But the competition is validated, even if skepticism seems to dominate among the fans for whom it is nevertheless put in place to arouse their interest a little more. A posture that does not surprise Carmelo Ezpeleta who remembers: “I expect all these changes we have proposed to go well, like the other times we have proposed changes ».
He adds : " I understand that there are criticisms. I always said people were very conservative. The first big thing we did was move from 500cc to MotoGP and it was brutal. With the arrivals of Moto2 and Moto, it was the same.” And the Spaniard has this conviction: “all the things we have changed have been criticized, but so far we have not had to go back ».
Carmelo Ezpeleta: “ I have nothing to do with the money the drivers earn in their teams«
Carmelo Ezpeleta still recognizes that there was a hiccup during the launch of what seems to be shaping up to be a new era for the Grands Prix. “ We started it badly, I don't understand why something that was an advantage for the championship went wrong » regrets the boss of Dorna who does not hesitate to point out those responsible for this failure in terms of communication: “ we thought that the teams would inform the drivers of what we had agreed with them, because everyone had been warned among the teams factory and private. But we were wrong ».
He specifies : " they did not do it and we announced it to the Security Commission. We were supposed to have the meeting the next day and I should have informed the pilots directly but I hoped the teams would inform them. The pilots said no at first, then almost everyone said it seemed like a good thing ».
This atmospheric element explains more clearly why the question of bonuses for these new races is still unresolved. The teams, that Carmelo Ezpeleta clearly defined as the great hypocrites of this story, want these bonuses to also be Dorna's business. But here comes the backlash for the culprit of this great silence which embarrassed the promoter at the time of the announcement of the new format… “ It's a driver problem with the teams. I have nothing to do with the money the drivers earn in their teams ».
The subject is therefore not settled and the start of the season is approaching. Charles Pernat, who is leading the battle and trying to beat the call to form a united front, clarified that the drivers were contractually obliged to compete in the first two Grands Prix of the season. And after ? This will be the third to Austin where the Italian manager dreams of a big union movement paralyzing the starting grid...
