The delayed Argentina MotoGP weekend looks increasingly likely to start on Saturday morning, with MotoGP’s missing freight now nearing Argentina after arriving in Brazil.
And it will do so at an even earlier hour of 8:15 a.m., following more changes to a Saturday schedule that had already been drastically changed.
Owing to the cancellation of all Friday track action due to late freight, which has left the likes of VR46 and Gresini with ‘nothing,’ the initial Saturday plan was for the MotoGP class to have three Free Practice sessions (two for Moto3 and Moto2) followed by Qualifying 1 and 2.
However, the 30-minute MotoGP FP3 session has been replaced by one-hour FP1 and FP2 sessions, which will now begin after the Moto3 and Moto2 classes have completed FP2.
As a result, the first MotoGP track practice of the weekend has been moved from 10:35 to 12:35, giving teams two more hours to prepare their bikes and pit boxes after a long night.
Despite the absence of FP3, it is expected that the cut-off point for the top ten riders to gain direct entry to MotoGP Qualifying 2 would remain at the end of FP2 as it was announced on Friday.
The premier-class warm-up has also been extended to 40 minutes, which is double the typical period.
The free practice sessions for Moto3 and Moto2 have been extended to 50 minutes, but Qualifying 1 and 2 for all classes will continue at 15 minutes a piece.
Saturday
08:15-09:05 Moto3 FP1 (12:15-13:05 UK)
09:20-10:10 Moto2 FP1 (13:20-14:10 UK)
10:25-11:15 Moto3 FP2 (14:25-15:15 UK)
11:30-12:20 Moto2 FP2 (15:30-16:20 UK)
12:35-13:35 MotoGP FP1 (16:35-17:35 UK)
13:50-14:05 Moto3 Qualifying 1 (17:50-18:05 UK)
14:15-14:30 Moto3 Qualifying 2 (18:15-18:30 UK)
14:45-15:00 Moto2 Qualifying 1 (18:45-19:00 UK)
15:10-15:25 Moto2 Qualifying 2 (19:10-19:25 UK)
15:40-16:40 MotoGP FP2 (19:40-20:40 UK)
17:05-17:20 MotoGP Qualifying 1 (21:05-21:20 UK)
17:30-17:45 MotoGP Qualifying 2 (21:30-21:45 UK)
Sunday
09:20-09:40 Moto3 Warm-up (13:20-13:40 UK)
09:50-10:10 Moto2 Warm-up (13:50-14:10 UK)
10:20-11:00 MotoGP Warm-up (14:20-15:00 UK)
12:00 Moto3 Race – 21 laps (16:00 UK)
13:20 Moto2 Race – 23 laps (15:20 UK)
15:00 MotoGP Race – 25 laps (19:00 UK)
