Sprint races were introduced at all Grands Prix in the 2023 MotoGP season, contested only in the premier MotoGP class. Each sprint covers approximately 50 percent of the total race distance of the corresponding Grand Prix. Grid positions for the sprint use the same qualifying results as the main race, with the Q1 and Q2 qualifying format unchanged. The introduction of sprint races also resulted in one fewer practice session and the removal of the warm-up session from the weekend schedule.
Points are awarded to the top nine finishers in each sprint race on a 12-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, a structure comparable to the Superbike World Championship's Superpole race points system. Sprint race wins are recorded as a separate statistic from Grand Prix victories and do not count toward a rider's official race win tally.
The inaugural sprint race was held at the 2023 Portuguese Grand Prix, won by defending champion Francesco Bagnaia ahead of Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez. Bagnaia went on to win the main race as well. Over the 2023 season, Bagnaia won multiple sprint races en route to retaining the Riders' Championship at the final round in Valencia — his second consecutive title.
Jorge Martín was among the most active sprint race winners in 2023, claiming nine sprint victories across the season. Martín's sprint consistency made him a consistent championship rival to Bagnaia throughout the year, with the points accumulated on Saturdays proving significant to the overall standings.
One sprint race, at the Australian round on Phillip Island, was cancelled due to inclement weather after the schedule was rearranged to run the main race on Saturday because of forecast conditions.
Because sprint races carry their own points allocation separate from Sunday's race, a full MotoGP weekend now offers more points in total than before 2023. The Saturday points are sufficient to influence the championship standings meaningfully. In 2023, the gap between Bagnaia and Martín fluctuated regularly across sprint and main race weekends, with sprint outcomes repeatedly shifting the standings before Sunday competition.
Sprint race wins, podiums, and pole positions are tracked separately in official MotoGP statistics. As of 2023, they are not considered equivalent to Grand Prix victories for the purposes of historical comparison.
The MotoGP sprint format shares structural similarities with the Formula One Sprint introduced in 2021, in that both add a shorter Saturday race to the weekend while preserving the main championship race on Sunday. Like the F1 Sprint, the MotoGP format drew debate about whether increased competitive mileage benefited or diluted the main event, and whether additional races altered rider behaviour or risk-taking patterns across the weekend.