[five46]

It’s “Are you ready boots!?” time!! It’s time for MotoGP 2023 World Championship which will flag off from 26th March in Portugal, running 21 races long season which will end in Valencia on 26th November 2023.

A quick look-down upon the list of the last 5 title winners:



Here’s a quick recap of the 2022 MotoGP Championship:

Fabio Quartararo came into the season as the defending World Champion. Ducati secured the constructors' championship, with the factory Ducati Lenovo Team securing the teams' championship and factory rider Francesco Bagnaia achieving the riders' championship. In total, seven different riders and five manufacturers won Grands Prix during the season.

Francesco Bagnaia won his maiden premier class championship and made history as he completed the largest points overhaul (-91) for a Championship winner in premier class history. It was also the first for a Ducati rider in 15 years and the first for an Italian rider since Valentino Rossi in 2009.

Trivia: Honda was the only manufacturer without a victory in 2022. The season saw Honda finish in last place of the manufacturers' standings for the first time in the modern MotoGP era.

Team Changes in MotoGP 2023:
- RNF Racing will switch to Aprilia after a season with Yamaha.
- Suzuki have withdrawn from the MotoGP class at the end of the 2022 season.
- Tech3 KTM Factory Racing will be rebranded as GasGas Factory Racing. The team will be using Gas Gas-rebranded KTM bikes. Tech3 will continue to own and operate the team.

Rider changes in MotoGP 2023:
- Jack Miller will move to the KTM factory team from the Ducati factory team, replacing Miguel Oliveira. Oliveira will then move to RNF Aprilia MotoGP Team.
- Álex Márquez will move to Gresini Racing MotoGP from LCR Honda, replacing Enea Bastianini. Bastianini will then be promoted to the Ducati factory team, replacing Jack Miller.
- Álex Rins will move to LCR Honda from the now defunct Suzuki MotoGP team, replacing Álex Márquez.
- Pol Espargaró will move to the newly rebranded GasGas Factory Racing team from the Honda factory team. He will be replaced by Joan Mir, who will move from the now defunct Suzuki MotoGP team.
- Raúl Fernández will move to RNF Aprilia MotoGP Team from Tech3 KTM Factory Racing.
- Remy Gardner will leave MotoGP for the Superbike World Championship. He will be replaced by 2022 Moto2 World Riders' Champion Augusto Fernández, who will enter the MotoGP class with the rebranded GasGas Factory Racing team.

Rule changes in MotoGP 2023:
Sprint races will be introduced at all Grand Prix. Sprint races will be held at 15:00 on the Saturday of each Grand Prix weekend and will be approximately 50% of the total race distance. Points will be 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 will be set from qualifying, which will retain its Q1–Q2 format. There will also be one less practice session and the warm-up session as a result. Sprint race wins are not considered as regular Grand Prix wins and instead would have their own "Sprint race wins" statistic.

Minimum tyre pressure rules will be enforced. The use of any device that modifies or adjusts the motorcycle’s front ride height while it is moving is now forbidden.

The 2023 MotoGP Season Calendar:



The 2023 MotoGP Season Teams and Riders:



Some 2023 liveries for your eyes to feast:












Tid-Bits: The Number# 1 Curse Prodigy

In MotoGP, the rider who holds the number 1 plate as the reigning champion, often faces difficulties in replicating their success in the next season, known as the “Number 1 Curse”.

And thus the debate over the draw of the #1 plate continues: fans either feel passionately that a world champion must carry the #1 plate, as if it were some sort of birth right, or –you don’t really care either way.

The #1 hasn’t appeared on the front of a MotoGP bike since 2012, when Casey Stoner rode what would be his final season in the series with the number to mark his second world title. It’s fitting, then, that Bagnaia – who ended Ducati’s 15-year drought last season since Stoner’s first world title in 2007 – picks up the mantle for 2023 on his Desmosedici.

Not since Mick Doohan in 1998 has a rider in the premier class successfully defended the #1 plate, when the Australian legend took the fifth and final 500cc title of his career.

If Bagnaia does manage to defend his title in 2023, it will be another bit of history - after becoming the first rider ever to overcome a 91-point deficit and five DNFs in a season to win his first crown – to bolster his legacy. And perhaps it will usher in a change in mindset for future champions when it comes to running the #1.

Poll: Predict your MotoGP 2023 World Championship Title Winner
Pick your winner and let the discussions on the 2023 MotoGP season begin!

And yes, before I forget, MotoGP Circus is hitting the Indian shores for the first time. I hope to make it there in September.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kuyr8z5X0U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBvsJp-vpo4

Source: Curated from Wikipedia and the www.

[Omkar]

Thanks for the preview five46! Appreciate it.

Voted for Fabio Quartararo mainly because I was a fan of the Yamaha team since VR46 and JL99 times. Also because I saw a few highlights of the 2021 races and his racing line and bike control were a treat to watch. Also rooting for Marc Marquez, and hoping to see some impossible saves this season too.

Haven't followed MotoGP for a while now. Any place to read or watch a proper season recap to catch up? Checked YouTube, but it only had 10-15 min videos of some overtakes with pumped-up music playing in the background. Not a full-coverage documentary of the season like you used to have in F1 before DTS came along.

[ads11]

Thanks for this summary! I've become an interested observer in the series in the past few years but I don't know enough to make an educated guess. I had to look up Gas Gas! Wasn't aware that they were a manufacturer and that KTM had bought them (KTM's ownership structure confuses me in general, I vaguely remember Bajaj having ownership of them or something?).

It'd be nice to have another marque win big this year, I'm sure an Aprilia title would go down well amongst fans.

A few quick questions:
I noticed that two teams are running what seems to be an older spec of the Ducati bike? I take it these satellite teams are not on paper going to be as competitive?

How come there are no customer Yamaha teams?

[ThunderMurukku]

Thank you for this write up, five46! Such a sad thing that Suzuki had to drop off from the championship, given how amazingly well rounded their bike was.

Given the state of riders and the motorcycles, I would bet either on Fabio or Pecco to win this year. Pecco with the Ducati is such a deadly combination and Fabio can create wonders on the Yamaha even at its worst (Like Marquez on the Honda). But the underdogs to watch out for this year would the RS-GPs and the KTMs (Can't wait to see the progress they've made).

And coming to the race here in India, I've heard that they've not even started making the repairs to the track as per this thread. Hope this gets sorted out in time for the race.

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by ads11

I noticed that two teams are running what seems to be an older spec of the Ducati bike? I take it these satellite teams are not on paper going to be as competitive?

Last year too, Team Gresini used the previous year's model and their rider Enea Bastianini did have couple of close photo-finishes with eventual champion Bagnaia who rode the latest model of the factory Ducati team.

[Chandler Bing]

Looking really forward for MM93 to win after all he has gone through in the last couple of years. However Aleix on Aprilia showed us last year what they are capable of , who knows we might see a surpise package with Aprilia. Sad to see Suzuki leaving MotoGP. AR42 and JM36 are one of the best talents out there. Hope they will be able to grab some podiums with their new teams this year.

[zebo]

I think Enea Bastianini is a strong contender as well and hence should be listed in the poll.

[rahulcmoulee]

My vote goes to Enea Bastianini. He ran the frontrunners very close with a year old Gresini Ducati and had several battles with Bagnaia in the factory Ducati. I feel with a factory Ducati under him, Bastianini can put forward a strong bid for the championship.

[Passatman]

Uh oh! Don't see the Beast on the list. His riding in MotoGP 2022 in Gresini Ducati colours was stupendous ( when he didn't crash). Superb tyre management and electrifyingly quick lap times during the close on worn rubber , make him a promising rider.
I would love to see Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha win, with closely fought laps with that Ducati of Pecco & La Beastia and of course HRC MM 93 and i hope fondly that Alex Rins # 42 astride a Honda delights us like he did at Philip Island and Valencia. Missing Suzuki 😕

[bharathdonti]

Rooting for Enea!

Unless any of*Ducati’s rivals have found something remarkable since*last month’s tests, Desmosedici*will continue to be the fastest and the best bikes

Last year the pair won more than half the races, with Bagnaia taking seven wins to Bastianini’s four. Of course, Bagnaia had more experience and a better motorcycle a GP22, while Bastianini was only in his second season and riding a second-hand GP21

[grshnehete]

Based on the pre season testing, I think Ducati factory pair of Bagnaia & Bastianini have the greatest chances of winning this year's championship.
Ducati seems to show to no negative points and both the riders are very strong.

Going by pre season, Yamaha had developed a good engine with better top speed, but they messed up with qualifying runs. Hope they get it corrected in upcoming test and if they do, Fabio will force to reckon with. I think Fabio has matured a lot in coming years & as Marquez can win on less than perfect bike.

I don't think the start of the season will be good for Honda & hence I don't think Marquez will be a challenger for title, but will definately win on that pig which is the Honda bike.

I see Aprilia has next best bike after Ducati, but their factory riders don't seem championship material. Hopefully, Raul & Oliveira get promoted quickly to factory team or get better support on RNF bikes.

Waiting for a cracker of a season to start

[alenp07]

Looks like Discovery+ / Eurosport will not broadcast MotoGP 2023

https://twitter.com/discoveryplusIN/...587269632?s=20

Any thoughts? Video Pass is crazy-expensive. Is it Dorna going the F1 way?

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by alenp07

Looks like Discovery+ / Eurosport will not broadcast MotoGP 2023

Discovery+ will not broadcast Moto GP through Eurosport I think. Eurosport channel is only one to broadcast Moto GP on the Indian subcontinent.

Now if we don’t have Tata Sky or a VPN how do we watch it, any ideas/suggestions?

Cheers

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

Discovery+ will not broadcast Moto GP through Eurosport I think. Eurosport channel is only one to broadcast Moto GP on the Indian subcontinent.

Now if we don’t have Tata Sky or a VPN how do we watch it, any ideas/suggestions?

Cheers

I guess the only option will be take a Tata Sky pay as you go subscription just for 1 channel. This sucks big time, atleast F1 subscription was affordable, relatively speaking. MotoGP makes my eyes bleed.

Cheers

[RM Motorsports]

Interesting news for Moto GP Fans. TV Broadcast might be delayed for some sessions BUT will be STREAMED LIVE for all.