The 2023 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 75th Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Road Racing World Championship season, the highest level of competition in motorcycle road racing. The season saw the introduction of sprints on Saturdays, a short-form race of approximately half the length of the main event, in addition to the traditional Grand Prix event on Sundays. [1] [2]
Francesco Bagnaia successfully defended his Riders' Championship at the final race in Valencia, marking the first repeat Riders' Champion for Ducati since the manufacturer entered the series. [3] Winning 17 of 20 Grands Prix and 16 of 19 sprints, Ducati secured their fifth (and fourth consecutive) Constructors' Championship. Ducati satellite team Pramac Racing won the Teams' Championship.
The season was notable for having eight different Grand Prix winners and no back-to-back Grand Prix winners for the first time since the inaugural season in 1949. [3] Manufacturer Yamaha failed to win a single Grand Prix for the first time since 2003. [4]
Defending champion Francesco Bagnaia won the inaugural sprint race in Portugal, ahead of Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez, and repeated the win in the main race. [5] At the second round in Argentina, KTM rider Brad Binder took the sprint win, while Marco Bezzecchi took his maiden premier class victory in a wet race. At the Grand Prix of the Americas, Bagnaia took his second sprint victory. Álex Rins stood atop the main race podium ahead of Luca Marini and Fabio Quartararo, marking the LCR Honda team's first win since Argentina 2018. [6]
Starting the European leg of the season in Spain, Brad Binder took the sprint victory head of Francesco Bagnaia, while Bagnaia won the main race ahead of Binder. Both racing sessions were affected by red flags, and KTM rider Jack Miller closed out both podiums. [7] The French round marked the 1000th motorcycle Grand Prix since the series began in 1949. In the sprint, Jorge Martín took his first victory of the season, while Bezzecchi emerged as winner of the main race, followed by Martín and his teammate Johann Zarco. At Mugello, Bagnaia took his second weekend sweep of the season in front of the home crowd, winning both the sprint and main race. [8] In Germany, Jorge Martín took his first weekend sweep, winning both the sprint and main race after several close duels with Bagnaia. [9] At the Assen TT, Bezzecchi took pole position and victory in the sprint, before relinquishing the main race win to Bagnaia, finishing second. [10] Heading into the summer break, Bagnaia led the championship with 194 points ahead of Martín on 159 and Bezzecchi on 158. [11]
Returning to action in Britain, Marco Bezzecchi took his second consecutive pole position, but dropped the sprint win to Álex Márquez, while Francesco Bagnaia failed to score points. Aleix Espargaró took his first win of the season in the main race ahead of Bagnaia, while Bezzecchi crashed out. [12] In Austria, Bagnaia took his third weekend sweep of the season, finishing the main race in dominant fashion 5.1 seconds ahead of Brad Binder, with Bezzecchi taking third. With this result, Bagnaia held a 90-point lead over Jorge Martín at the midpoint of the season. [13]
In Catalunya, Aprilia's Aleix Espargaró swept his home Grand Prix weekend with a sprint win ahead of Bagnaia and a main race win ahead of teammate Maverick Viñales and Jorge Martín. The main race was a disaster for Ducati, who saw five riders crash in a single first-lap incident (Álex Márquez, Enea Bastianini, Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Johann Zarco) followed a few corners later by a crash for championship leader Francesco Bagnaia. His legs were run over by Brad Binder's KTM, a resulting minor injury ruled him out of restarting the race and would have further implications for the championship. [14] At the final race of the European leg in Misano, Martín completed a perfect weekend, taking pole position and victory in the sprint and main race, both times ahead of Bezzecchi and Bagnaia. [15]
At the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, Jorge Martín won a rain-delayed sprint followed by Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez. In the main race, Bagnaia crashed out after being involved in a duel with Martín, and Marco Bezzecchi took his third and final victory of the season, over 9 seconds ahead of Martín and Fabio Quartararo. With this result, Martín had reduce the championship gap to 13 points with seven races remaining. [16] At the Japanese round, Jorge Martín again had a perfect weekend, taking pole position and winning the sprint and main race. The main race was red-flagged due to adverse weather conditions on lap 13 of 24. A restart was abandoned by race direction after the race was again red-flagged during the warm-up lap of the restarted race. Per regulations, full points were awarded since at least 50% of the original race distance were completed. [17]
In Indonesia, Jorge Martín won his third consecutive sprint, ahead of Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, securing Ducati its fourth straight Constructors' Championship. [18] With his victory in the sprint, Martín took over the lead of the standings for the first time in the season by 7 points. [19] In the main race, Francesco Bagnaia quickly returned to the top of the standings, after winning from 13th position on the grid and Martín crashing out. [20] The race marked the 500th Grand Prix victory for tyre marque Michelin, whose first victory was in 1973 with Jack Findlay. [21] On Phillip Island, heavy wind conditions caused a weekend schedule change, with the main race taking place on Saturday and the sprint on Sunday, weather permitting. [22] In the main race, Johann Zarco took his maiden win in MotoGP, ahead of Bagnaia and Fabio Di Giannantonio. The sprint was cancelled due to inclement weather. [23] At the Thai round, Jorge Martín had his third perfect weekend of the year, with pole position and sprint and main race wins. [24] In Malaysia, Álex Márquez won the sprint ahead of Martín and Bagnaia, while Enea Bastianini took his first win of the season ahead of Márquez and Bagnaia. [25]
At the penultimate round in Qatar, Luca Marini secured his second career pole position with an all-time lap record at the track. [26] Jorge Martín took the win at the sprint race, while Francesco Bagnaia only managed 5th place. [27] In the main race, Fabio Di Giannantonio took his maiden MotoGP win ahead of Bagnaia and Marini, while Martín struggled to a 10th-place finish. [28] The final round at Valencia saw Martín win his ninth sprint race of the season, cutting the championship gap to 14 points for the finale race. Martin crashed out of the main race while attempting to recover from an early mistake, [29] while Bagnaia took the race victory, sealing his second consecutive MotoGP world title. [30]
All teams used series-specified Michelin tyres. [75]
Sprint races were introduced at all Grands Prix. Sprints were held 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 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. [1] [2] Sprint race wins are not considered as regular Grands Prix wins and instead would have their own "Sprint race wins" statistic. [93]
The weekend format was fixed for every event. Moto3 were followed by Moto2, followed by MotoGP. [1]
Minimum tyre pressure rules were enforced. [94] The use of any device that modifies or adjusts the motorcycle's front ride height while it is moving was forbidden. [95]
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. [96]
The following Grands Prix took place in 2023: [97]
Round | Date | Grand Prix | Circuit |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 26 March | ![]() | Algarve International Circuit, Portimão |
2 | 2 April | ![]() | Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo, Termas de Río Hondo |
3 | 16 April | ![]() | Circuit of the Americas, Austin |
4 | 30 April | ![]() | Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, Jerez de la Frontera |
5 | 14 May | ![]() | Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans |
6 | 11 June | ![]() | Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, Scarperia e San Piero |
7 | 18 June | ![]() | Sachsenring, Hohenstein-Ernstthal |
8 | 25 June | ![]() | TT Circuit Assen, Assen |
9 | 6 August | ![]() | Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone |
10 | 20 August | ![]() | Red Bull Ring, Spielberg |
11 | 3 September | ![]() | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló |
12 | 10 September | ![]() | Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Misano Adriatico |
13 | 24 September | ![]() | Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida |
14 | 1 October | ![]() | Mobility Resort Motegi, Motegi |
15 | 15 October | ![]() | Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit, Central Lombok |
16 | 21 October [b] | ![]() | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island |
17 | 29 October | ![]() | Chang International Circuit, Buriram |
18 | 12 November | ![]() | Petronas Sepang International Circuit, Sepang |
19 | 19 November [c] | ![]() | Lusail International Circuit, Lusail |
20 | 26 November | ![]() | Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia |
Cancelled Grand Prix | |||
– | ![]() | Sokol International Racetrack, Almaty | |
Sources: [98] [99] [100] [101] [102] [103] [104] [105] [106] [107] [108] [109] [110] [111] [112] [113] [114] [115] [116] [117] |
Round | Grand Prix | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning rider | Winning team | Winning constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
2 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
3 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
4 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
5 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
6 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
7 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
8 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
9 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
10 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
11 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
12 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
13 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
14 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
15 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
16 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
17 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
18 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
19 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
20 | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
Points were awarded to the top fifteen finishers of the main race and to the top nine of the sprint. A rider had to finish the race to earn points.
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race | 25 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Sprint | 12 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|
|
Each constructor was awarded the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.
Pos. | Constructor | POR ![]() | ARG ![]() | AME ![]() | SPA ![]() | FRA ![]() | ITA ![]() | GER ![]() | NED ![]() | GBR ![]() | AUT ![]() | CAT ![]() | RSM ![]() | IND ![]() | JPN ![]() | INA ![]() | AUS [d] ![]() | THA ![]() | MAL ![]() | QAT ![]() | VAL ![]() | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 11 | 12 | 21 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 21 | 11 | 32 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 700 |
2 | ![]() | 64 | 61 | 105 | 21 | 42 | 56 | 63 | 45 | 37 | 22 | 84 | 44 | 44 | 62 | 69 | 4 | 32 | 85 | 57 | 32 | 373 |
3 | ![]() | 25 | 127 | 44 | 55 | 58 | 68 | 109 | 34 | 13 | 67 | 11 | 56 | 88 | 59 | 24 | 8 | 85 | 11 | 46 | 54 | 326 |
4 | ![]() | 8 | 44 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 93 | 14 | 89 | 7 | 13 | 36 | 10 | 35 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 78 | 7 | 196 |
5 | ![]() | 103 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 95 | 137 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 53 | 37 | 9 | 15 | 64 | 13 | 11 | 123 | 185 |
Pos. | Constructor | POR ![]() | ARG ![]() | AME ![]() | SPA ![]() | FRA ![]() | ITA ![]() | GER ![]() | NED ![]() | GBR ![]() | AUT ![]() | CAT ![]() | RSM ![]() | IND ![]() | JPN ![]() | INA ![]() | AUS [d] ![]() | THA ![]() | MAL ![]() | QAT ![]() | VAL ![]() | Pts |
Source: [121] |
The teams' standings were based on results obtained by regular and substitute riders; wild-card entries were ineligible.
Pos. | Team | Bike No. | POR ![]() | ARG ![]() | AME ![]() | SPA ![]() | FRA ![]() | ITA ![]() | GER ![]() | NED ![]() | GBR ![]() | AUT ![]() | CAT ![]() | RSM ![]() | IND ![]() | JPN ![]() | INA ![]() | AUS [d] ![]() | THA ![]() | MAL ![]() | QAT ![]() | VAL ![]() | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 5 | 48 | 2 | 7 | Ret8 | 36 | 34 | 35 F | Ret | 94 | 13 | 47 | 10 | 6 | NC5 F | Ret | 1 | 109 | 128 | 12 | 29 | 653 |
89 | Ret2 | 58 | Ret3 | 44 | 21 | 23 | 11 | 56 F | 66 | 73 | 35 | 1P 1 | 21 | 1P 1 | Ret1 | 5P F | 1P 1 | 42 | 101 | Ret1 | |||
2 | ![]() | 1 | 11 | 166 | RetP 1 | 12 F | RetP 3 | 1P 1 | 2P 2 | 12 | 2 | 1P 1 F | DNSP 2 | 33 F | Ret2 | 23 | 18 | 2 | 27 | 3P 3 | 25 | 15 | 561 |
9 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | DNS | DNS | 99 | 8 | Ret8 | Ret | 10 | DNS9 | 87 F | 10 | 13 | 14 | 8F | Ret | |||||||||
51 | 11 | 16 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 | ![]() | 10 | Ret | 83 | 27 | 6 | Ret4 | 45 | 54 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 97 | DNS | RetP 2 | 12 | 73 | 109 | 3P 3 | 9 | 530 | |
72 | 3 | 12 F | 66 | Ret9 | 17 F | 82 | 47 | 2P 1 | RetP 2 | 3 | 128 | 22 | 1P 5 F | 46 | 53 | 6 | 46 F | 67 | 13 | Ret7 | |||
4 | ![]() | 33 | 6 | 171 | 135 | 21 | 62 | 5 | Ret6 | 45 | 39 | 22 | Ret4 | 145 | 44 | Ret2 | 6 | 4 | 32 | Ret5 | 57 | 32 F | 456 |
43 | 74 | 6 | Ret9 | 33 | Ret | 76 | 63 | Ret | 87 | 155 | 8 | Ret | 147 | 64 | 79 | 7 | 16 | 86 | 9 | Ret | |||
5 | ![]() | 12 | 25 | 127 | 4 | Ret7 | Ret9 | 12 | Ret | Ret7 | 53 | 67 | 23 F | 56 | 88 | 199 | 24 | 11 | Ret | 12 | 46 | 10P 4 | 410 |
41 | 96 F | 15 | Ret4 | 5P | 58 | 68 | 169 | 34 | 15 F | 98 | 11 | 128 | Ret | 5 | 10 | 8 | 85 | Ret | Ret | 8 | |||
6 | ![]() | 49 | Ret | 10 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 9 | Ret | 13 | 17 | 10 | 17 | Ret | 88 | 46 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 46 | 328 |
73 | 59 | 3P 5 | Ret | 8 | Ret | RetF | 78 | 69 | Ret1 | 54 | 6 | 119 | DNS | DNS | 9 | Ret8 | 21 F | 64 | 68 | ||||
7 | ![]() | 20 | 8 | 79 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 13 | Ret3 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 36 | 10 | 35 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 78 | 11 | 274 |
21 | 14 | 44 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 119 | 14 | 15 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 7 | |||
8 | ![]() | 25 | Ret | 14 | Ret | 15 | WD | 17 | 15 | 12 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 109 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 15 | Ret | 17 | 5 | 134 |
32 | 12 | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||
88 | Ret7 | 58 | Ret5 | Ret | 10 | Ret | 4 | Ret | 56 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 12 | 13 | Ret | Ret | DNS | ||||||
9 | ![]() | 6 | Ret | 122 | |||||||||||||||||||
27 | 16 | Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||
36 | 11 | DNS | Ret | Ret | Ret | DNS | Ret | Ret | 17 | Ret | 5 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 12 | Ret | 14 | DNS | |||||
93 | RetP 3 | Ret5 | Ret7 | DNS | DNS | Ret | 12 | 13 | 7 | 93 | 37 | Ret | 15 | 64 | 13 | 11 | Ret3 | ||||||
10 | ![]() | 6 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 116 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
27 | 17 | 20 | 16 | 16 | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||
30 | 12 | 13 | Ret | 9 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 12 | |||
42 | 10 | 9 | 12 F | Ret | Ret | DNS | WD | 9 | DNS | Ret | |||||||||||||
11 | ![]() | 37 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 118 | 14 | 9 | 16 | Ret | 7 | Ret | Ret | 17 | 14 | 159 | Ret | 95 |
44 | DNS | 12 | 166 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 15 | Ret | 18 | 18 | 15 | 18 | 14 | ||||||||||
94 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 19 | 17 | 14 | |||||||||||||||||
Pos. | Team | Bike No. | POR ![]() | ARG ![]() | AME ![]() | SPA ![]() | FRA ![]() | ITA ![]() | GER ![]() | NED ![]() | GBR ![]() | AUT ![]() | CAT ![]() | RSM ![]() | IND ![]() | JPN ![]() | INA ![]() | AUS [d] ![]() | THA ![]() | MAL ![]() | QAT ![]() | VAL ![]() | Pts |
Source: [121] |