2023 MotoGP World Championship

2023 MotoGP World Championship
The 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship is the premier class of the 75th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Francesco Bagnaia came into the season as the defending World Champion. Ducati secured the 5th constructors' championship in Indonesian round.
Season summary
The defending champion, Francesco Bagnaia won the first sprint race in history in the Portuguese Grand Prix. He managed to get ahead of Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez. Meanwhile, in the main race Francesco Bagnaia won his first victory this season. In this race there was an incident involving Marc Márquez and Miguel Oliveira.
At the second round in Argentine, KTM rider Brad Binder sensationally stormed to victory in the sprint race. Then in the main race, Marco Bezzecchi with the Mooney VR46 Racing Team took a maiden premier class victory in a wet race. Bagnaia made a mistake that crash in the gravel trap with eight laps remaining in the race.
In the third series that took place in Americas, Álex Rins won the sprint race. And in the main race, Rins took another victory while Francesco Bagnaia made a blunder and crashed. Rins was more than three seconds ahead of Luca Marini in second place and Fabio Quartararo on the third podium. This victory marks the LCR Honda team's first win since Argentina 2018.
In the fourth series in Spain, Bagnaia won the sprint race, then in the main race despite the drama of the red flag on the first lap due to an incident that occurred between Miguel Oliveira and Fabio Quartararo, finally from the race that was repeated Bagnaia won his second victory at this season. Followed by Brad Binder and Jack Miller.
The next race and the 1000th Grand Prix took place in France. In the sprint race, Jorge Martin took the victory. In the main race, Marco Bezzecchi emerged as the winner, followed by Jorge Martin in second, and Johann Zarco in third. Meanwhile, Bagnaia was involved in a crash with Viñales.
At Mugello, Bagnaia and the factory Ducati took their second win of the season in front of the home crowd. He won both the sprint race and the main race.
In Germany, Jorge Martín, won both the sprint and the main race after several close duels with Bagnaia, who could only manage second place.
In Assen, Bezzecchi took pole position and victory in the sprint race. Then in the main race, it was Bagnaia's turn to take the victory. Meanwhile, his closest competitor Bezzecchi finished second.
Back in Britain, Bezzecchi took pole position again. In the sprint race, Álex Márquez surprisingly took the win, with Bezzecchi in second and Vinales in third. Bagnaia, meanwhile, failed to score any points. Then in the main race, Aleix Espargaró took the win after a duel with Bagnaia a few laps earlier. It was unfortunate that Bezzecchi made a blunder and could not continue the race.
In Austria, Bagnaia was untouchable and won the sprint race. In the main race, he was 5.1 seconds ahead of Binder, with Bezzecchi taking third on the podium. With this result, Bagnaia was 90 points ahead of Jorge Martín.
Then in Catalunya, Aprilia Racing's Aleix Espargaró was more dominant than world champion Francesco Bagnaia, who took pole position. He took the victory in the sprint race, Bagnaia also finished second after being tacked by Maverick Viñales until the end. In the main race, drama ensued. When the race had just started, five Ducati riders crashed in quick succession. Álex Márquez, Enea Bastianini, Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Johann Zarco were involved in the incident. Shortly after that, at the front, another Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia crashed. His foot was run over by Binder's bike, which resulted in a minor injury and he was unable to participate in the race. Espargaró took another win, followed by Viñales in second and Martín in third.
At Misano, Martín took pole position and victory in the sprint race, second place went to Bezzecchi and Bagnaia third. The podium result was repeated in the main race.
The next race was held in India for the first time. Jorge Martín won the sprint race, which was delayed by more than an hour due to heavy rain. He was followed by Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez. While in the main race, Bagnaia crashed after being involved in a duel with Martín. Bezzecchi took the victory with a gap of over 9 seconds, followed by Martín and Quartararo in third place. With this result, Martín managed to reduce the point gap to 13 points.
In the Japan round, Jorge Martín won the sprint race. In the main race scheduled to be run for 24 laps, was red-flagged during lap 13 due to adverse weather conditions on the track. The race was supposed to be restarted over the remaining 12 full laps with the grid based on the classification after lap 12. However, the race was again red-flagged during the warm-up lap of the second race, and race direction decided not to start the race again. Per regulations, full points were awarded since 50% or more of the original race distance (i.e. 12 full laps) were completed. Jorge Martín won the race, ahead of Francesco Bagnaia in second and Marc Márquez in third.
Next round in Indonesia, Jorge Martín set the best rider in the sprint race, ahead of Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi. After Martín's win in the sprint, Ducati secured its fourth straight Constructors' Championship.
After the victory in the sprint, Martín took over the lead of the standings. From being 3 points behind Francesco Bagnaia, he can now lead the standing points with a 7-point advantage.
In the main race, Francesco Bagnaia returned to the top of the standings after winning after starting from 13th position. Meanwhile, his closest competitor, Jorge Martín, crashed on lap 13 while trying to pass Turn 11. With this result, Bagnaia is 18 points ahead of Jorge Martín. Maverick Viñales occupied the second podium and was followed by Fabio Quartararo on the third podium. The Grand Prix race winner on Sunday will be the 500th for Michelin. The first Michelin victory was back in 1973 with Jack Findlay.
At Phillip Island, MotoGP race schedule will change with the main race moved to Saturday. This is due to weather factors at the Phillip Island circuit because of heavy wind expected on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Sprint Race will be shifted to Sunday. The Moto3 and Moto2 classes are still on schedule, still held on Sunday morning.
Teams and riders
All teams use series-specified Michelin tyres.
Team changes
RNF Racing switched to Aprilia after a season with Yamaha.
Suzuki withdrew from the MotoGP class at the end of the 2022 season.
Tech3 KTM Factory Racing were rebranded as GasGas Factory Racing Tech3. The team used KTM bikes. Tech3 continued to own and operate the team.
Rider changes
Jack Miller moved to the KTM factory team from the Ducati factory team, replacing Miguel Oliveira. Oliveira then moved to RNF Aprilia MotoGP Team.
Álex Márquez moved to Gresini Racing MotoGP from LCR Honda, replacing Enea Bastianini. Bastianini was then promoted to the Ducati factory team, replacing Jack Miller.
Álex Rins moved to LCR Honda from the now defunct Suzuki MotoGP team, replacing Álex Márquez.
Pol Espargaró moved to the newly rebranded GasGas Factory Racing team from the Honda factory team. He was replaced by Joan Mir, who moved from the now defunct Suzuki MotoGP team.
Raúl Fernández moved to RNF Aprilia MotoGP Team from Tech3 KTM Factory Racing.
Remy Gardner left MotoGP for the Superbike World Championship. He was replaced by Moto2 World Riders' Champion Augusto Fernández, who entered the MotoGP class with the rebranded GasGas Factory Racing team.
After being left without a place in the MotoGP grid, Darryn Binder went down to Moto2 to make his debut in that class.
Mid-season changes
Pol Espargaró missed seven Grands Prix starting from the Argentine round after suffering numerous injuries during P2 of the Portuguese round. He was not replaced for the Argentine round, but was replaced starting from the Americas round by Jonas Folger.
Enea Bastianini missed several races during the season. He missed the Argentine and Americas rounds after suffering a fractured right collarbone due to a collision with Luca Marini in the sprint of the Portuguese round. He was not replaced for the Argentine round, and was replaced for the Americas round by Michele Pirro. Bastianini also missed the French round after a failed return in the Spanish round which saw him withdraw from the race after P2 due to continuous shoulder pain. He was replaced by Danilo Petrucci. Bastianini also missed the San Marino, Indian, and Japanese rounds after undergoing surgery on his fractured left ankle and left hand that were sustained during the Catalan race. He was not replaced for the San Marino round, and by Pirro again for the Indian and Japanese rounds.
Marc Márquez missed several races after suffering a broken first metacarpal due to a collision with Miguel Oliveira during the main race of the Portuguese round. He was not replaced for the Argentine round, replaced by Stefan Bradl for the Americas round, and was replaced by Iker Lecuona for the Spanish round.
Miguel Oliveira missed the Argentine round due to the aforementioned collision with Márquez during the main race of the previous Portuguese round. Oliveira was declared unfit after further testing and was not replaced. Oliveira also missed the French round after he sustained a shoulder injury after a collision with Fabio Quartararo during the previous Spanish round and was replaced by Lorenzo Savadori.
Joan Mir missed the German and Dutch rounds after suffering a right hand injury during P2 of the previous Italian round. He was not replaced for the German round, but was replaced by Iker Lecuona for the Dutch round.
Álex Rins missed seven consecutive Grands Prix starting from the German round after undergoing surgery on a broken right leg that was sustained during the sprint of the Italian round. He was not replaced for the German round, by Stefan Bradl for the Dutch and Indian rounds, by Iker Lecuona for the British, Austrian, and Catalan rounds, and by Takumi Takahashi for the San Marino round. Rins competed during Friday practice sessions for the Japanese round, before being replaced by Bradl after he was declared unfit for the rest of the weekend. Rins also missed the Thailand round after having surgery on a hernia on his leg previously broken during the Italian round. He was not replaced.
Álex Márquez missed the Japanese round after suffering a double rib fracture during Q1 of the previous Indian round. He was not replaced.
Luca Marini missed the Japanese round after suffering a fractured left collarbone during the sprint of the previous Indian round. He was not replaced.
Rule changes
Sprint races were introduced at all Grands Prix. Sprint races were held at 15:00 on the Saturday of each Grand Prix weekend and were approximately 50% of the total race distance. Points were awarded to the top 9 finishers on a 12–9–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 basis, similar to the system being used in Superbike World Championship Superpole races. The grids for both the Sprint race and the Grand Prix race were set from qualifying, which retained its Q1–Q2 format. There was also one less practice session and the warm-up session as a result. Sprint race wins are not considered as regular Grands Prix wins and instead would have their own "Sprint race wins" statistic.
The weekend format is now fixed for every event. Moto3 were followed by Moto2, followed by MotoGP.
Minimum tyre pressure rules were enforced. The use of any device that modifies or adjusts the motorcycle’s front ride height while it is moving has been forbidden.
Starting from the British round, only the results of the second practice session of each Friday, which is now simply called "Practice", were timed for direct qualification into Qualifying 2. The first practice session on Fridays and the practice session on Saturday were now called "Free Practice 1" and "Free Practice 2", respectively, and the results from both sessions would not be considered for direct Q2 classification.
Calendar
The following Grands Prix are scheduled to take place in 2023:
Grand Prix locations
Calendar changes
For the first time since 2006, Lusail in Qatar did not host the opening round due to "extensive renovation and remodelling to the paddock area and circuit facilities".
The British Grand Prix returned to the International Paddock of the Silverstone Circuit for the first time since 2012.
India and Kazakhstan were both scheduled to host their first World Championship motorcycle Grands Prix in 2023 at the Buddh International Circuit and the Sokol International Racetrack, respectively.
The Hungarian Grand Prix was scheduled to make its debut in 2023 but was postponed until at least 2024 due to the unstarted construction of the circuit.
The Aragon Grand Prix was omitted from the schedule for the first time since its introduction in 2010.
The Finnish Grand Prix at Kymi Ring was under contract to feature in 2023, but was not included in the provisional calendar due to safety concerns of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Kazakhstan Grand Prix at Sokol International Racetrack was cancelled due to ongoing homologation works at the circuit, paired with global operational challenges. The event was not replaced.
Results and standings
Grands Prix
Riders' standings
Scoring system
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers of the main race and to the top nine of the sprint. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.
Constructors' standings
Each constructor is awarded the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.
Teams' standings
The teams' standings are based on results obtained by regular and substitute riders; wild-card entries were ineligible.
Notes
References
External links
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons
MotoGP