In a back forth battle for the top spot Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) secured pole position this weekend in Australia. Martin secured pole in lap record setting fashion putting down a 1m27.246s lap time which put him nearly a half second ahead of P2 finisher Brad Binder (KTM). The Sprint race has been postponed to Sunday due to acclimate weather risks. Win gusts and rain are expected above the safety threshold and the steward made the call to postpone. It is possible that the sprint race may not occur but only time will tell.
With 18 points separating championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) and Jorge Martin. A possible cancellation of the sprint race would mean only one opportunity to score valuable championship points this weekend. Bagnaia finished third fastest in Q2. He will have an opportunity to challenge for the lead from the beginning of the race.
Full Australian Grand Prix Q2 Results
After losing out in the Tissot Sprint Race to Jorge Martin; losing his championship lead. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) bounced back in the grand prix to win the race. The win also came at the expense of Jorge Martin who crashed out of the grand prix. Bagnaia started the grand prix from P13 after a disappointing qualifying session that saw him crash out of Q2.
After the race Bagnaia stated, “Incredible! I’m very happy, this win was so important. I was struggling at the weekend, my team again have done such an incredible job, I was trying to adapt, and they gave to me the maximum. This morning in the warm-up I was very happy with what they did, and, in the race, we won again… finally, because it was a long time without a win after the crash in Barcelona. I’m very proud of my team and my crew. I was controlling because I could see that Martin was pushing hard, but I said to myself to wait and see because it was a very long race. I was taking care about the tyres then when I saw the laps to go, I just tried to push again to put me in the front. Winning here and today and starting from P13 is very good. Now I’m ready to fight all the way to the end like always.”
Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo Return to the Podium
Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) secured P2 in the Grand Prix. He finished 3 tenths behinds Francesco Bagnaia. However, the story in the race was behind as Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoG) started to track down the two front runners in the closing laps. Quartararo was lapping faster than the two ahead and if he had a few more laps in the race he might have caught them. Ultimately he came closest in the final two laps but couldn’t make a move and had to settle for third. Viñales survived Quartararo’s assault keeping the gap between them 1 tenth.
Marc Marquez Double DNFs on the Weekend
After crashing out of the sprint race, Marc Marquez crashed again in the grand prix. A disappointed Marquez stated, “The weekend started in a good way but then day by day, it became more complicated. Today in the race I kept calm, I was losing a little bit of ground, but I was not panicking. The aim was to finish the race and I was riding with this in mind. Unfortunately, at one point in Turn 13 I lost the front and I couldn’t save it. A tricky crash to understand but we start thinking about Australia.”
7 riders DNF’d in the grand prix shortening the field to 14 riders. Bagnaia’s win vaulted him back to the top of the table 18 points ahead of Jorge Martin.
Full Race Results are Below
Championship Standings
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) secured his fourth Sprint race win in a row to take the points lead in the MotoGP championship standings. The Mooney VR46 Racing pair Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi finished second and third respectively. Martin found for track position with Maverick Viñales until he was able to get by on lap 9 of the race. Viñales had previously built up a half second lead but as the race progressed his pace began to fade.
Marquez Crashes Again
Marc Marquez started the weekend off great but his success in practice did not translate to the sprint race. Marques crashed without completing the first lap of the sprint. “Our race was very short today; I lost the front at Turn 11 on the first lap. It’s a shame to finish the race so early because normally in the first laps I am very strong. We took a risk in the first laps and this is what can happen. The negative is that we didn’t finish the race and miss some information about how the tyres behave but the positive point is that we save our physical condition for the race tomorrow which will be a very long and hard race physically. Tomorrow it will be a tough race, the aim is the top 12.”
Bagnaia Drops in the Championship standings
Francesco Bagnaia’s pure dominance in the MotoGP championships points standings finally was relinquished. Bagnaia finished P8 after a failed overtake sent him wide out out of podium contention. The finish put Martin 7 points ahead in the championship.
After the race Bagnaia had the following comments, “Today the track changed a lot, and I was expecting more. The feeling in FP2 was very good, with used tyres I was quite fast, but in Qualifying, I didn’t feel good. My good lap would have been fifth if it was in Q2, but it wasn’t enough. Then, in the race, if you start P13 you already know it will be very difficult, you must put so much effort into gaining positions. I was blocked behind Enea, I was a bit faster today but the only way to get past him would have been to take him out. I tried to leave space to refresh the front tyre, and when I was doing it, I was lapping like the fastest riders. The speed is there, the performance also; I just need to be maybe more aggressive in the first part of the race and in overtakes.”
Championship Points Standings
With the championship lead on the line both contenders crashed out of Q2 leaving no advantage for either rider as they head into the first opportunity for points this weekend in Indonesia. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing) secured pole position in Q2 setting a 1m29.9780s lap. The top 10 in session were separated by less than 1 second. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) finished P2 ahead of teammate Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing). With the Sprint Race in a half days time. Martin and Bagnaia will look to push forward in order to score valuable points to further improve their championship standing. Currently Bagnaia holds a 3 point lead over Martin heading into the Tissot Sprint. That could all change this weekend.
Full Q2 Results from Indonesia
Marc Marquez announced that he would not be pursuing a run with Repsol Honda in 2024: Marquez and Honda Part Ways. There was speculation that he would land on a Ducati for 2024 but no official announcement from a Ducati team came. That is until today. Gresini Racing have officially announced and confirmed what most already assumed. Marc Marquez will join the Gresini side for the 2024 MotoGP campaign. The team had originally wanted to sign Marquez for a two year deal however Marquez agreed to a one year deal to keep his options obligation free for 2025.
Marquez had the following words, “I’m excited with this new challenge. It wasn’t an easy decision because it’s a big change in every way. But sometimes in life it’s important to get out of the comfort zone and put yourself through the paces in order to keep growing. Bike-chance wise, I know I will have to adapt my riding style to a few things, and it won’t be easy. But I’m also sure that the whole Team Gresini will help me a lot. I can’t wait to get to know the team and start working with them. I’d like to thank Nadia, Carlo and Michele for the trust and respect they showed me.”
Nadia Padovani Gresini, CEO Gresini Racing
“This is a historical moment for the Gresini Family. The fact that Marc Marquez chose to race with us in the upcoming season is absolutely fantastic and I’m extremely happy to be able to make it official. In less than a season we got really close to his brother, and we’ll welcome Marc the same way, as we’re sure he has all the potential to be competitive on the GP23 from the get-go. Last but not least, I would like to thank Fabio Di Giannantonio for his professionalism, and we wish him all the best for the continuation of his career.”
The move to sign Marc Marquez opens the door for Marc to join his brother Alex Marquez for the 2024 campaign. It has been 3 years since the Marquez brother have raced for the same team.
Marc Marquez is rumored to be making a move to Gresini Racing placing him on a Ducati for the 2024 MotoGP season. Marquez has been unhappy at Honda this year. The first half of the season was plagued with multiple crashes and multiple zero points finishes. In part it feels like Marquez may just want a change after one of his worst MotoGP seasons ever.
Honda Racing Corporation Released the Following Statement
“Honda Racing Corporation and Marc Marquez have mutually elected to terminate their four-year contract prematurely at the end of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season.
With a year still remaining on the four-year contract between HRC and Marc Marquez, both parties have mutually agreed to end their collaboration upon completion of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season. Both parties agreed it was in their best interests to each pursue other avenues in the future to best achieve their respective goals and targets.
This brings an end to 11 years of collaboration between the #93 and HRC in which they achieved six premier class World Championships, five Triple Crowns, 59 wins, 101 podiums and 64 pole positions together.
Marquez took his debut victory in the premier class aboard the Honda RC213V at the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas in 2013 to become the youngest premier class winner and would become the youngest premier class World Champion later that year. In 2014 he defended his title and won the opening 10 consecutive races of year, going on to also claim titles in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 as an HRC rider with the Repsol Honda Team.
Both parties will continue to give their full support for the remaining rounds of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship season. HRC wish Marc Marquez the best in his future endeavors.”
Marquez to Gresini?
Marquez is rumored to be joining Gresini Racing where he would share a garage with his brother Alex Marquez. We can imagine that this was a strong factor in his decision to leave Honda as the two haven’t raced for the same team in MotoGp since 2020 when Alex Marquez filled in for Jorge Lorenzo who retired at the end of the 2019 season. Gresini has not yet publicly confirmed this move however. The move would end an 11 year stent at Honda. We will stand by for the official press release from Gresini if this deal is true.
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) pulled off yet another sensational double win today winning the Japanese Grand Prix. Most notably he cut another 5 points off of championship leader Francesco Bagnaia’s (Ducati Lenovo) points lead. The margin between them is now only 3 points. This championship is far from decided and its gearing up to be a fan favorite finish which potential to come down to the final round in November. There are 6 races left on the calendar and both Martin and Bagnaia know there is no room for error if they are going to raise the trophy this season.
At this point Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) seems to be moving in the wrong direction for championship contention. Bezzecchi lost another 3 points to Bagnaia this weekend after finishing P4 in the Japanese Grand Prix this morning. One man who leaves Japan with a smile on his face is Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda). Marquez seems to be back in good stride after he secured a P3 finish in Japan returning him to the podium.
Marc Marquez had the following words at Honda’s home race, “It feels great to return to the podium after so long away, and to do it here in Motegi, at Honda’s home, with so many fans and people from Honda here, honestly it is quite romantic. In the race it was all about understanding the wet tires once we switched over, at the start it was quite dry so it was important to be careful to not destroy the tire.
I stayed calm and when I saw there was more water on track, I began to attack. I was feeling really good with my pace and I think we could have had an interesting end to the race, but ultimately Race Direction did a really good job and they made the right call at the right time…I want to say thank you to them and of course all of the Repsol Honda Team as well, days like today have many factors at play and my team worked really well to handle everything. This podium is what we have been looking for all year and it’s a nice boost for the last push in 2023.”
Brad Binder Can’t Replicate Sprint Race Result
Unfortunately for KTM rider Brad Binder his early weekend success in the Sprint Race did not carry over to the Grand Prix. Binder crashed out of the Japanese Grand Prix early in the race on the fifth lap. The race was eventually stopped due to extreme weather conditions however the stewards did not allow Binder to rejoin the race.
Binder had the following words, “Overall I think we had a positive weekend here in Japan. We were fast in all sessions and to bring home a podium in the Sprint yesterday was fantastic but unfortunately today it was tricky with the weather conditions and we came in after the first lap for the bike swap. I started to feel good in the rain and with good pace but I had a small lock going into Turn 3 and that was it. Thank you to my team for their hard work. We’ll try and make up for it next time around.”
Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) also suffered the same fate. The race restarted at reduced distance. No major injuries were reported.
Full Japanese Grand Prix Results
New Championship Standings
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) took yet another chuck out of Francesco Bagnaia’s championship lead in the Japanese Grand Prix Sprint race today. Bagnaia is now just 8 points ahead of Martin in the Championship standings. This means that there is potential for a championship leader swing this weekend in the Grand Prix which would be the first swing we’ve seen in the 2023 campaign. An elated Martin stated after the race, “I couldn’t be happier, Pole and Sprint today, I’m super satisfied. Together with the team, we’re doing an incredible job, and I can say we’re under a lucky star… but we deserve it.”
Bagnaia Loses Grasp on Championship
Bagnaia has dominated all season but a recent downturn in form plagued with crashes and mechanical failures has seen Bagnaia’s grasp on the title dwindle round by round. Martin was admittedly nervous on the day but he didn’t let that affect him. Martin won the race form pole and Bagnaia is now the one who is feeling the pressure. Bagnaia didn’t get the best of starts dropping to 4th at the start of the race. Brad Binder (KTM) who took second place in the sprint passed him with ease and Binder’s teammate Jack miller also benefited. Bagnaia had to contend with a feisty Jack Miller (KTM) in the fight for third but would eventually pass him on Lap 10 and wouldn’t look back.
It was an unfortunate day for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) as his Aprilia had more mechanical issues that have seemingly been lingering despite his recent race success. He did not finish the race and retired. Otherwise the sprint was largely uneventful. A number of riders were warned for exceeding track limits. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) was the only rider to receive a long lap penalty in the race. He completed the penalty and finished P18. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) who currently sits in third in the championship standings didn’t do himself any favors after finishing P7 in the sprint. He lost 8 points in the standing to Bagnaia. There is time for him to gain ground but with Jorge Martin in peak form he will have to make a move soon before the two at the front run away with the title race.
Full Race Results are Below
The IndianOil India Grand Prix has etched its first winner into the record books. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing) won the first ever Indian Grand Prix which shook up the championship race. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) crashed out of the grand prix leaving the door wide open for Bezzecchi and current second place championship sitter Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) to take advantage. Due to Bagnaia not finishing the race. Martin is now only 13 points behind the championship lead. Bezzecchi is 44 points behind. With the win in India Bezzecchi showed the world that he isn’t done yet and that this championship fight is long from over.
As reported by Tribune India Bezzecchi stated the following after the race, “It’s a track that I liked the first time I rode on it. There was some hard braking, but also some fast parts and chicanes. Physically, I felt better with the head, so change of direction was not a problem. Sector three was really fantastic to ride.” Bezzecchi finished the race 8 seconds clear of Jorge Martin.
In a dramatic change of events Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) secured his first podium of teh 2023 campaign placing third. Quartararo stated the following after the race, “It was a tough race, to be honest. I gave everything. On acceleration on the straight we are losing so much, but my crew chief told me I did one of my best races, so I can sleep well tonight.”
Quartararo Continued
“What a race! We didn‘t make any mistakes. It was a great weekend overall. I‘m pretty happy about it, and hopefully we can do many more GPs like this this year. We have to be clever, and when we get small opportunities to get these kinds of results, we have to take it. We have to be happy with this podium. I was pushing until the end, but I felt I was so much on the limit with the tyre, so third was the best we could do this weekend.”
Brand Binder (KTM) finished 4th ahead of Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) who has needed a pick me up after some disappointing results in recent rounds. Mir was very pleased with the top 5 finish. “A great race today. I am super happy with our performance over the weekend and of course to finish in fifth position is a big boost for us.”
“The team and I did a great job to understand the bike more, how you need to make the lap time and be fast this weekend. On the other hand, we had a small thing in the end of the race that meant I lost ground to Fabio and we dropped back. Finally in the end we were able to push and try to catch Binder after I almost crashed. It was a big save! But yeah, a really nice race overall and I have enjoyed my time in India. Let’s keep it up in Japan!”
Full MotoGP IndianOil India Grand Prix Results are Below
Updated Championship Standings
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) continues his charge toward MotoGP Championship contention with a win in the first ever Tissot Sprint Race at the Indian Grand Prix. The win marked his third win in a row as he charges after Francesco Bagnaia in the points standings. Martin led from the beginning of the the race after the riders cleared turn 1. Bagnaia held second place for the entire race. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) was able to translate his early weekend success in practice to get back on the podium in the sprint race.
Marquez had the following words, “A really important and of course good feeling day. I was there with the group, pushing and able to ride in a really good way. I had to take a lot of risks, especially at the end to defend and I set my fastest lap of the race on the last lap. But I was able to be consistent and ride well which is the main point and take away. Doing it again tomorrow will be more difficult, but we need to enjoy this moment and get another boost of motivation from it. I want to say a big thank you to the Repsol Honda Team and HRC for their continued efforts.”
Mooney VR46 Teammate Collide
Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini collided at turn 1. Marini struggle to get the bike slowed down and rear ended Bezzecchi. Bezzecchi was able to recover to P5. Behind Brand Binder (KTM) who had a late challenge for 3rd but Marquez was able to hold him off.
Full Indian Grand Prix Tissot Sprint Race Results Below