Leading MotoGP figures moot shorter weekends amid calendar growth
Several MotoGP figures believe shorter race weekends could be an option for the series to explore, as the calendar gets set to expand beyond 20 races
From 2022, MotoGP is set to have a calendar which consists of 22 grands prix, with races in Finland, Indonesia, Brazil and Hungary all set to join the schedule in the coming years, despite riders previously stating 20 events would be the limit for them.
MotoGP organiser Dorna Sports has already announced a reduced testing schedule for next year in a bid to compensate for the additional races.
The post-race Valencia test has now scrapped and just one three-day pre-season outing from 2021 is also part of this move.
Suzuki team boss Davide Brivio believes MotoGP should consider moving to a two-day weekend schedule.
"It's going to be quite demanding for everybody, 22 races," Brivio said. "That's the way we're going to do it.
"Formula 1 just reached 22. Maybe the idea to reduce the weekend, I think it could be one way [to compensate for the growing calendar].
"Personally I would consider it, I would evaluate it. I don't know if it's something we could do, but maybe let's do 22 races and maybe we compress the schedule to maybe Saturday and Sunday.
"We've got to find a solution. Of course, we all know the show. Luckily, MotoGP is becoming more and more popular and there are lots of requests to have races.
"We can go and explore more countries. This is positive and fantastic. Let's try to find the best compromise.
"Reducing the weekend is something we are thinking about and something we would evaluate."
Yamaha's Valentino Rossi says shortening the weekend would be "different", but not impossible" to introduce.
Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivola, who acted as Ferrari sporting director in F1 from 2009 to '18, says he suggested a similar idea a decade ago in F1.
He agreed with Brivio that a shorter weekend should be considered while adding that less track time could negatively impact younger riders.
"To be honest, I think we should think about [shorter weekends]," he added. "I'm only concerned about the fact, especially for young riders, they need a bit of track time.
"Maybe with a different format we could think about that.
"Having Moto2, Moto3, MotoGP in the same race weekend is beautiful and you can really see the future while you are racing your guys, and this is something we can't lose.
"I think it's a key [part] of our sport, to see the next generation coming during the race weekend.
"But it's a valid point and we will start discussing internally."
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