Five days of testing were all the field had to get itself ready for the 2023 season, two of which taking place at the Algarve International Circuit which played host to the opening round of the campaign. Therefore, when bikes hit the track for the first practice of MotoGP's revised format, the spread was tight and everyone was dialled in.

Though the new format brought about a new way of working – and plenty of criticism – it was the reigning world champions Ducati and Francesco Bagnaia who emerged with a total haul of 37 points to put its pre-season money where its mouth is.

The sprint race drew mixed opinions, while Marc Marquez went from zero to hero in the space of a day and Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo found himself coming up against the same old problems.

1. Jury's still out on sprint races

Sprint race provided entertainment on its debut, but still left opinions mixed

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The biggest format shake-up in MotoGP's 75-year history drew a mixed reception when it was first announced last August. But sprint races are here, and for the time being, they're here to stay.

The half-distance contest is worth a maximum of 12 points and has no bearing on the main grand prix. What ensued was a fun scrap with a fair bit of action, with Bagnaia emerging victorious after a last-lap mistake from Pramac's Jorge Martin.

As two days of testing had already taken place at the Algarve track prior to the first round, future sprints in theory shouldn't be as hectic as the performance spread should be slightly wider

Given the chaos that ensued in the main race (more on that later), it's hard to know after the first sprint just how much value it has added to a grand prix weekend as – for the most part – the main race looked like it was going to follow not dissimilarly to the sprint.

Opinion on it was split, with the main detractors of it highlighting the safety aspect brought about by what they felt was a heightened level of aggression (again, more on that later).

As two days of testing had already taken place at the Algarve track prior to the first round, future sprints in theory shouldn't be as hectic as the performance spread should be slightly wider.

Only after a few rounds will we truly see how worthwhile the sprint is to the weekend. But, for the time being, it's earning its keep.

2. Aggression levels in MotoGP do need checking

Bastianini was injured in sprint crash with Marini, which will put him out of the Argentinian GP too

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

One of the key complaints about the sprint race from some riders was the level of aggression that was being offered. As the sprint and the grand prix are decided by Saturday morning's qualifying, with only the top nine scoring in the shorter contest, starting from behind requires some risk.

On lap one, Joan Mir clattered into Fabio Quartararo as attempted a pass, with the Honda rider falling off and copping a long lap penalty for the grand prix. And on lap two, Luca Marini crashed into Enea Bastianini at Turn 5, leaving the factory Ducati rider with a broken shoulder blade and out of this week's Argentina round.

Quartararo, who was 10th in the sprint, warned that current aggression levels mean a "big accident" was only a matter of time.

"No, not at all," the 2021 champion said when asked if he liked the sprint. "There will be a big accident soon. It's a jungle. We are not in car, we are not in cars that in the end you can touch and it's not a problem. It's much safer. I was super far behind, so I tried to do my best. But luckily there was nothing, but there is 20 sprint races missing [this season]. So, let's see."

Some of this was put down to first-round 'nerves' by those who felt the sprint wasn't too bad. Sprint winner Bagnaia said riders had to take it upon themselves to realise going all out for 12 points when 25 is on offer in the grand prix is not worth going over the line, while Marc Marquez felt the risk in the sprint was "more or less the same" as in the full-distance contest.

Indeed, if you take Marquez's controversial Miguel Oliveira crash and various scraps around the field, the sprint really isn't that different to the grand prix.

"When everyone was saying the sprint race is a jungle, more or less it was the same today," Bagnaia said after the grand prix. "So, 25 laps with soft and medium [tyres] are not [going] in the same way [as the sprint] to be a jungle or not. It depends on the approach from each rider. This is the biggest thing, I think."

Given one rider broke his shoulder and is out for a race, another broke his wrist in an incident he instigated which left another with a broken toe and one lucky to escape with only heavy bruising – after just one round – it's clear that, sprint or otherwise, deterrents need to get stronger.

3. New weekend format and brutal schedule already taking a toll

Pol Espargaro's crash on Friday as riders put their focus on qualifying preparation was a talking point

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The addition of the sprint has led to a reorganisation of the entire grand prix weekend format. Friday has now become a pre-qualifying day, with the combined times at the end of FP2 deciding who goes into the pole shootout and who has to face Q1 first.

This already claimed its first victim in the luckless Pol Espargaro, who suffered a violent accident in the time attack phase of FP2 and was left hospitalised with fractures to his jaw and back.

Espargaro's incident was made worse by the safety of the track at Turn 10 where he crashed, which is an important factor to consider when talking about the strain of the new format.

People will point to World Superbikes and its multi-race format. But Superbikes aren't as demanding to ride as MotoGP bikes

However, a number of riders felt having qualifying on Saturday morning, then fan and media commitments prior to the sprint, left them no time to decompress and was mentally quite draining.

The risks of the sprint race were made apparent by Bastianini's incident – something that could well have happened in the grand prix, but definitely wouldn't have had the old format been in place.

People will point to World Superbikes and its multi-race format. But Superbikes aren't as demanding to ride as MotoGP bikes, and even with three races per round this season for WSBK, MotoGP will still have more.

With 20 rounds and 40 races still to follow, with the next one in just a few days' time, the riders are in for a punishing time in the name of entertainment.

4. Bagnaia really is a "changed" man

Bagnaia began his title defence in perfect fashion with sprint and feature race victories, underlining Miller's point

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Francesco Bagnaia's title challenge in 2022 was messy and that was largely through his own mistakes. In testing earlier this month, former teammate Jack Miller said Bagnaia looked like "a changed man", which was translating to his riding.

Miller was spot on. Though Bagnaia's march to both race wins in Portugal wasn't easy, with his sprint victory coming after a last-lap mistake from Pramac's Jorge Martin and Aprilia's Maverick Vinales hounding him all the way in the grand prix, he is clearly operating at a new level.

While admitting he was "in a bit of trouble" with his tyres in the final laps of the grand prix