SATURDAY MXGP QUALIFYING COULD DECIDE THE 450 CHAMPIONSHIP AS PRADO WINS THE SPRINT AGAIN

In the past, Saturday’s qualifying positions only determined the order of the gate pick for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but after a rider strike at the 2022 French Grand Prix, over having to race on a poorly prepared and what the riders deemed dangerous course (and when they talked to the promoter about fixing it, they said they were “treated like dogs by the FIM”). The big name riders chose to strike and refused to race the French 450 qualifier.

In retaliation against the striking riders, the FIM, really Giuseppe Luongo, decided that he could force the riders to race Saturday’s qualifiers, if he paid points to the top ten (10 for first, 9 for second, 8 for third and so on down to 1 point for tenth). The ramification of this season’s Saturday qualifying points has sent shock waves through the MXGP field as Jorge Prado has earned 113 extra 450 Grand Prix points and 9 outright point positions on Saturday. That is the equivalent of winning almost five GP motos worth of points. Jorge, who is a brilliant starter, currently leads Romain Febvre by 100 points after winning Saturday’s qualifier at the Finnish Grand Prix. There are only 5 GPs left in the schedule after Finland.

 

\