Following a frantic start to the new MotoGP season and the debut of the sprint race, the series doesn’t miss a beat as it moves straight to Argentina for the second round this weekend.
The MotoGP grid will be without four regular riders due to injuries from Portugal; with Pol Espargaro ruled out after his heavy practice crash, Enea Bastianini absent after a collision in the sprint race and both Marc Marquez and Miguel Oliveira sidelined by their respective injuries from their clash in the grand prix.
It means as things stand the MotoGP grid will be slimmed down to 18 riders for the Argentina GP, won last year by Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, with plenty of unknowns facing the pack – including how the new sprint race format will shake-up proceedings at a new venue.
Reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia leads the early standings having won both the sprint race and grand prix in Portugal, putting him 12 points clear of nearest rival Mavrick Vinales.
2023 Argentina MotoGP session timings
MotoGP will run its new schedule across the Argentina GP weekend, with two practice sessions on Friday and then a shorter final practice on Saturday. The top 10 riders on the combined Friday practice timesheet automatically enter into Q2 of qualifying.
Q1 of qualifying sees all riders who did not finish in the top 10 of the Friday practice times take part, with the top two finishers progressing into Q2 alongside the top 10 who gained automatic spots on Friday.
Q2 is the pole position shootout which decides the order of the front four rows, with the rest of the grid organised on Q1 times, for both the sprint race and full grand prix.
The second-ever MotoGP sprint race takes place in Argentina on Saturday, with the same starting grid order for the full grand prix on Sunday.
Moto2 and Moto3 are also in action during the Argentina GP.
Friday 31 March 2023
Free Practice 1: 2:45pm-3:30pm BST (10:45am-11:30am local)
Free Practice 2: 7:00pm-8:00pm BST (3:00pm-4:00pm local)
Saturday 1 April 2023
Free Practice 3: 2:10pm-2:40pm BST (10:10am-10:40am local)
Qualifying: 2:50pm-3:30pm BST (10:50am-11:30am local)
Sprint race: 7:00pm BST (3pm local)
Sunday 2 April 2023
Warm-up: 1:45pm-1:55pm BST (9:45am-9:55am local)
Race: 6:00pm BST (2:00pm local)
How can I watch the Argentina MotoGP?
Channel: BT Sport 2
Channel numbers: Sky – 414 (BT Sport 2)
Channel numbers: Virgin Media – 528 (BT Sport 2)
BT Sport’s live coverage of Sunday’s action starts with the warm-up sessions at 1:30pm BST, taken from the world feed, before switching to its own broadcast at 2:15pm BST for the pre-race show ahead of the Moto3 race.
The build-up to the MotoGP race starts from 5:30pm BST, or when the Moto2 race finishes, ahead of lights out at 6:00pm BST.
Can I stream the Argentina MotoGP?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can also stream the Argentina GP by purchasing a video pass from MotoGP.com. A one-off video pass, for the 2023 MotoGP season, costs £175.85p.
The video pass gives access to every live session, qualifying and race, plus world feed content and the chance to watch previous races.
Weather forecast for the Argentina MotoGP at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo
The Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo is set for mixed conditions throughout the entire race weekend. Highs of 23 degrees Celsius are forecast on race day with a strong chance of rain showers conditions.
Most Argentina MotoGP winners (premier class only)
Marc Marquez: 3 wins (MotoGP – 2014, 2016, 2019)
Mick Doohan: 3 wins (500cc – 1994, 1995, 1998)
