New qualifying rules for MotoGP
2012-10-14 07:40
THIS CLOSE IN FUTURE? Honda's Casey Stoner overtakes BQR's Ivan Silva of Spain at Motegi 2012. New qualifying rules will apply in 2013. Image: AFP
MOTEGI, Japan - MotoGP organisers have announced a new split qualifying system for 2013 which involves seeding riders into two groups based on free-practice results.
The 2012 and earlier MotoGP grids have been decided on riders' speed during an hour-long qualifying session on Saturday afternoon after two 45-minute free-practice sessions.
TWO QUALI GROUPS
Under the new format, riders will be seeded into two qualifying groups based on their performances in those three free-practice rides. The 10 fastest from practice will be placed in Qualifying Practice 2 (QP2), the rest in Qualifying Practice 1 (QP1).
The fastest two riders in in the 15-minute QP1 will advance to QP2, where 12 riders will compete for the first 12 grid positions in a separate 15-minute session.
The rest of the riders will take the remaining positions according to their times in QP1.
The new procedure applies for MotoGP only.