Warm up alert! It's a matter that has not yet crossed the barrier between the paddock and the journalists, but, in silence, it is making its way: Sunday morning warm-ups could be a thing of the past from 2022...
This is a project that has been under consideration since the last Grand Prix of Catalonia. And who could change the Sunday program in a Grand Prix. And for good reason: We would no longer see the morning warm-ups there. An upheaval which is far from unanimous, but the will of the officials is strong...
At the beginning of June, during the period of the Catalan Grand Prix, theIRTA questioned the teams in writing to ask them if they were for or against the elimination of warm-ups on Sunday morning. An alternative solution was also offered in the form of 2 or 3 laps of the track just before the race. We can assume that the idea comes more from Dorna Sports than IRTA…
But why this desire for change? With the extension of the Sunday program (MotoE, Red Bull Cup, Nothern Cup), the warm-ups begin at 8:40 a.m., often in the cold, conditions that bear little relation to those of the races and possibly lead to falls.
Elimination of the warm up: the teams have an unfavorable a priori
For the moment only Moto3 et Moto2 its concerned. And for the moment, the teams' responses are generally negative. Above all, technical reasons are given for rejecting the idea. So, right now, the tanks are designed to be able to last the duration of the races, not a few more laps. However, putting fuel back on the grid is prohibited by the regulations.
Likewise, it is no longer possible to change the engines on Saturday evening, as is currently done and it would be unwise to show up for a race with an engine that has not been tested during warm-up. Despite everything, the idea of deletion is gaining ground, despite the reluctance of the teams... To be continued!
