Ezpeleta admits riders “not fully understanding” 2027 MotoGP race weekend changes

MotoGP deputy CEO Carlos Ezpeleta met with the media, including Crash.net, at Mandalika on Friday.

Understandably, the newly announced 2027 race weekend format dominated the discussion, particularly the addition of Sprint qualifying and removal of Sunday warm-up.

Ezpeleta revealed the revised schedule originated with the teams and manufacturers, rather than MotoGP itself.

He also responded to rider concerns over safety, increased qualifying pressure and how much consultation took place before the changes were approved...

“Teams requested the revised weekend schedule”

“We were approached by the teams in Misano about a revised schedule,” Ezpeleta said. 

“Basically, just to put some context, under the new 2027 regulations, the manufacturers had already asked for a number of changes, which were aimed at reducing the amount of track time.

“And that opened the question as to whether the current format is the best. 

"The proposal came from the teams themselves, and there were a number of iterations in which the target was to maintain, or not to increase the level of risk versus today, and get a better output for the fans, media partners, and everybody else.”
 

Tyre limits designed to restrict time attacks

Despite adding a Sprint qualifying session on Friday and putting all riders into Grand Prix Q1, Ezpeleta insists the number of high-risk time attacks should not increase.

The key will be tighter restrictions on new (Pirelli) tyres during qualifying, something Ezpeleta admits was not properly understood by some riders.

“Speaking to Michelin, they confirmed 80% of the riders do two time attacks on Friday afternoon now. Then twelve riders do two time attacks in Q1, two of them go to Q2 where another twelve riders do another two time attacks for Q2.”

But for 2027, “There's going to be a big limitation on the number of tyres that the riders are able to use in those qualification sessions.”

Ezpeleta also expects having only one set of new tyres available for each qualifying session to encourage riders to leave a greater safety margin.

“When you're limited in the number of tyres, you should be pushing less [in qualifying] because if you make a mistake, you're starting from the back.

“Versus now, where the riders are able to use so many tyres that crashing is, I don't want to say for free, but you have more of a second chance, which you won't have in the future.”

Riders “not fully understanding” tyre limits

Several riders, including Pedro Acosta and reigning champion Marc Marquez, warned on Thursday that adding more qualifying sessions could increase injuries and potentially shorten careers.

Ezpeleta acknowledged that the tyre restrictions designed to prevent an increase in time attacks had not been communicated clearly enough.

“We probably do have to do a better job on the comms side and getting the teams, us, and everyone together on a better understanding,” he said.

“You see some of the riders yesterday in the comms probably not fully understanding the limitation on the tyres and the limitation on the time attacks, which is probably for us to take on the chin, and know that we have to improve that.

“But we don't feel at all that we're jeopardising the riders' safety, because again, they're already doing [the same amount of time attacks].

“Again, it's a bit like the comment around having all the riders in a 15-minute session; it's already happening on Friday afternoons in the final ten minutes, so it's not really a point.”

Split grids designed to reduce Friday “stress”

One aspect welcomed by many riders is the end of one qualifying result determining both the Sprint and Grand Prix grids.

Ezpeleta believes removing the current system, where the fastest ten riders on Friday progress directly to Q2, should also reduce the importance and pressure of Friday afternoon.

“Again, this was born from the teams… There's a feeling in the paddock that if you haven't made it to Q2 on Friday afternoon, your weekend is jeopardised. For a lot of them it feels like it's done if you're not in Q2.

“So separating the grids allows them to have two opportunities and not be that much under stress on Friday afternoon - together with reducing the amount of track time that the riders have and not increasing the number of time attacks.”

Why warm-up was removed

Perhaps the most controversial part of the 2027 format is the loss of MotoGP’s ten-minute Sunday warm-up.

It will be replaced by a ten-minute pre-race pit-lane window, allowing riders to complete multiple sighting laps before forming the grid.

“The teams also proposed to remove the warm-up because initially it was there to test any problems that you would have on the Saturday, and they believe that by opening the pit lane for a longer time, they can do that. That's of course their decision,” Ezpeleta said.

Were the riders consulted on all this?

The strength of rider criticism towards parts of the new format raised questions about how closely they were involved before the changes were approved.

Ezpeleta said MotoGP expected teams and manufacturers to consult their riders, while the Safety Commission also provided a direct opportunity to discuss the proposal.

However, only four riders reportedly attended the Motegi Safety Commission where the 2027 weekend format was debated.

“We open our doors every Friday afternoon [at the Safety Commission] for the riders, and some of them show up, and we explain our ideas and walk them through the reasoning,” Ezpeleta said.

“I would say we pushed, or we really asked the teams to speak to the riders, and there's been mixed levels of that during the last couple of GPs. 

"To be honest, with the change of so many riders, I think many teams have had different positions in terms of how they brought their riders in.”

"It's a task of the teams"

Asked whether relying on the teams to represent riders was sufficient, Ezpeleta replied:

“MotoGP's door is more open [to riders] than any other sport in the world. There are the governance points of the Grand Prix Commission, which changes the rules, and there's the input from IRTA.

“But we're very clear with the teams that we should only make these changes once they've spoken to their riders and once they've brought them in. Again, I think it's a task of the teams to do.”

Asked whether that meant MotoGP might not know exactly what individual riders had told their teams, Ezpeleta added:

“Or the other way around. To understand how much a warm-up is necessary to check the bikes' safety, I think the teams are in a better position for that. 

"The riders will have an element of that, of course, but again, we don't have any contracts with the riders. We have contracts with the teams. They are part of the governance model of the championship.

“By no means are we saying that the riders shouldn't be involved, and again, our door has always been open, and there's been a Safety Commission for a very long time, and in that, we always comment on every change that we want to do.”

Could MotoGP warm-up return?

Despite the format already being announced, Ezpeleta indicated MotoGP remains open to further changes.

He also revealed that some riders had personally asked him to remove Sunday warm-up, despite the strong public opposition expressed by others.

“We continue to be open to change and to improve the schedule.

“It's funny… and I think it's a bit unfair the fact that there's various riders who have actually asked me personally for the warm-up to be removed. Those riders haven't come out and said it publicly, because maybe they don't like the changes on Friday, and then the other way around.

“So again, we encourage the riders to speak to the teams. 

"And again, we were very clear that our position was we should only consider removing the warm-up if the riders were informed and consulted, and then the teams voted on that.”

Alex Rins was one of the few to say he welcomed the removal of warm-up. However, Rins won't be in MotoGP in 2027.