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Motorcycling Grand Prix Great Britain

MotoGP brings forward change to weekend format effective for British Grand Prix at Silverstone

ByTNT Sports

Updated 18/07/2023 at 12:24 GMT+1

Eight races into the new season, organisers have confirmed that there will be a change to the weekend format in MotoGP. Rather than having both free practice sessions on a Friday counting towards Qualifying 2, there will now be just one dedicated session on Friday related to Q2, while the other session on a Friday will be FP1 with no impact on qualifying.

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A unanimous agreement has been reached amongst MotoGP teams to bring forward a change to the weekend format.

An updated format for 2023 saw the introduction of the Sprint at every weekend race. It also saw the times from both the Friday free practice sessions being used to determine who progressed to the second qualifying session on a Saturday.

In a statement released on Monday, it was confirmed that a new format would now come into effect ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on August 6.

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"After unanimous agreement between the MotoGP Class Teams, the Grand Prix Commission has approved a proposal to change the sessions timed for entry into Qualifying 2… and now, it all comes down to Friday afternoon," the statement read.

"The first premier class practice session of a Grand Prix weekend will no longer be timed for qualifying/entry into Qualifying 2, so it’s now called Free Practice 1 and is just that – a completely free 45-minute session that riders, teams and factories can use to set up, dial in and anything else.

"The second, 60-minute practice session on Friday afternoons will now be named Practice. It will be the sole practice session timed for entry into Q2.

"Come rain or shine or anything else, that one-hour session is when riders need to set those fast laps to secure a place in the top 10 and that crucial spot in Q2 qualifying."