The first season of Sprint races in MotoGP has ended, and it was exhausting: in total, the riders competed in almost 40 races between March and November. Marc Márquez believes that the number of Sprints could be reduced in the future, as injuries are becoming a concern.
The six-time champion of the premier class told journalists that the format is very demanding, but also benefits the show: ‘Of course, Sprint races are good for the show, but very demanding for the riders. For me, it’s not easy, in my personal opinion, to do 22 races plus 22 Sprints. But it’s true that it’s good for the show – sometimes the Sprint is even better than the main race. But it’s true that it’s super demanding and some riders have already asked for a half/half solution. But at the moment, it seems that we are on this schedule’.
According to Márquez, the aspect of injuries is particularly worrying for the riders after this first year with Sprint races: ‘One of the things that worries the riders a little is the amount of injuries we had this year, and most of these injuries occurred in Sprint races. So, it’s something to analyze for the future’.
