‘MotoGP should consider double win, fastest lap bonus points’

“This is a scoring system that has been there forever” Francesco Bagnaia is reported as saying during Ducati’s 'Campioni in Festa' celebration in Bologna on Tuesday night.

The current MotoGP scoring system has been in place for a long time, since 1993, or four years before Bagnaia was born.

But the addition of Sprint races from 2023, adding an extra 12 points per weekend on top of the usual 25 for a grand prix win, means Bagnaia feels the points system could now benefit from some ‘bonus’ tweaks.

“This is a scoring system that has been there forever, since before the Sprint races arrived, which changed a lot the system in which to get points in a race weekend,” GPone.com quotes Bagnaia as saying.

“With the introduction of this [Sprint] race, I think we should consider the idea of incorporating bonuses for those who win both races [per weekend], or maybe the fastest lap… something to reward those who are faster.”

Bagnaia lost out to Jorge Martin by ten points in this year’s MotoGP title fight.

The Pramac rider out-scored Bagnaia significantly on Saturdays, although the Italian was still the second-highest Sprint scorer of the season and matched Martin with seven Sprint wins.

Bagnaia emphasised that the current system is 'balanced' and that he had benefitted by staying in the title hunt despite eight non-scores (five in Sprints, three in GPs).

However, he feels ‘something more’ should be considered.

“[MotoGP] has always been a championship that has rewarded consistency and the scoring system that is in place today has [also] allowed me to fight for eight zeros [non-scores], so it’s balanced,” he said.

“However, in my opinion, the Sprint influences on several fronts, not just the show, so perhaps something more should perhaps be considered.”

Counting only Sunday grand prix races, Bagnaia - who won 11 GPs this season compared with three for Martin - outscored the Spaniard by 370 points to 337 this year.