It’s going to be an interesting season as there will be a different rider and team line-up & some new rules have been introduced too.
BHPian five46 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
It’s “Are you ready boots!?” time!! It’s time for the 2023 MotoGP World Championship which will flag off on 26th March in Portugal, running a 21-race long season which will end in Valencia on 26th November 2023.
A quick look-down upon the list of the last 5 title winners:
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 in the manufacturers’ standings for the first time in the modern MotoGP era.
Team Changes in 2023 MotoGP
- RNF Racing will switch to Aprilia after a season with Yamaha.
- Suzuki has withdrawn from the MotoGP class at the end of the 2022 season.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 2023 MotoGP
- 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 2023 MotoGP
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
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 passionate that a world champion must carry the #1 plate, as if it were some sort of birthright 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.
Keyword: 2023 MotoGP key details: Who do you think will win the championship