2023 MotoGP™ season preview
The big news is of course that Suzuki has withdrawn from MotoGP™, and sprint races are being added to every round on the Saturday afternoon – which should be an exciting spectacle for fans! To add to the excitement, this year looks about as competitive a season as ever, with not one, two or three key chances, but up to a dozen realistic title contenders.
Four different world champions over the past four years means the sport is tight, and with many other riders pushing for top spot, we should expect one of the closest and most entertaining seasons in recent memory. Gone are the days of one rider dominating, or even the ‘Fantastic Four’ of Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa… this year we could have a Fantastic 10.
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2023 MotoGP™ season calendar
The first of 21 rounds kicks off at the impressive Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal this March, before the Championship heads to Argentina and then Austin, Texas, for the popular Americas GP. From there it’s back to Europe for the Spanish and French GP, where Le Mans will host the 1000th Grand Prix celebrations. After this, clear your weekend calendar from the start of June, because next comes races in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands on consecutive weekends!
2023 MotoGP™ Provisional Calendar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Location | Event Name | Start Date | End Date | Circuit Name | Circuit Location | |
| 1 |  | Grande Prémio de Portugal | 24 Mar 2023 | 26 Mar 2023 | Autódromo Internacional do Algarve | PORTUGAL | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 2 |  | Gran Premio de la República Argentina | 31 Mar 2023 | 02 Apr 2023 | Termas de Río Hondo | ARGENTINA | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 3 |  | Grand Prix of The Americas | 14 Apr 2023 | 16 Apr 2023 | Circuit Of The Americas | UNITED STATES | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 4 |  | Gran Premio de España | 28 Apr 2023 | 30 Apr 2023 | Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto | SPAIN | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 5 |  | Grand Prix de France | 12 May 2023 | 14 May 2023 | Le Mans | FRANCE | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 6 |  | Gran Premio d’Italia | 9 Jun 2023 | 11 Jun 2023 | Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello | ITALY | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 7 |  | Grand Prix Deutschland | 16 Jun 2023 | 18 Jun 2023 | Sachsenring | GERMANY | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 8 |  | TT Assen | 23 Jun 2023 | 25 Jun 2023 | TT Circuit Assen | NETHERLANDS | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 9 |  | Kazakhstan Grand Prix* | 7 Jul 2023 | 9 Jul 2023 | Sokol International Racetrack | KAZAKHSTAN | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 10 |  | British Grand Prix | 4 Aug 2023 | 6 Aug 2023 | Silverstone Circuit | GREAT BRITAIN | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 11 |  | Grand Prix von Österreich | 18 Aug 2023 | 20 Aug 2023 | Red Bull Ring – Spielberg | AUSTRIA | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 12 |  | Gran Premi de Catalunya | 1 Sep 2023 | 3 Sep 2023 | Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | SPAIN | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 13 |  | Gran Premio Di San Marino | 8 Sep 2023 | 10 Sep 2023 | Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli | ITALY | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 14 |  | Indian Grand Prix* | 22 Sep 2023 | 24 Sep 2023 | Buddh International Circuit | INDIA | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 15 |  | Grand Prix of Japan | 29 Sep 2023 | 1 Oct 2023 | Twin Ring Motegi | JAPAN | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 16 |  | Grand Prix of Indonesia | 13 Oct 2023 | 15 Oct 2023 | Pertamina Mandalika Circuit | INDONESIA | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 17 |  | Australian Grand Prix | 20 Oct 2023 | 22 Oct 2023 | Phillip Island | AUSTRALIA | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 18 |  | Thailand Grand Prix | 27 Oct 2023 | 29 Oct 2023 | Chang International Circuit | THAILAND | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 19 |  | Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix | 10 Nov 2023 | 12 Nov 2023 | Sepang International Circuit | MALAYSIA | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 20 |  | Grand Prix of Qatar | 17 Nov 2023 | 19 Nov 2023 | Lusail International Circuit | QATAR | VIEW PACKAGES |
| 21 |  | Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana | 24 Nov 2023 | 26 Nov 2023 | Circuit Ricardo Tormo | SPAIN | VIEW PACKAGES |
*Subject to contract and homologation
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Kazakhstan is set to debut in July ahead of the mid-season break, becoming the 30th country to host a motorcycle Grand Prix since 1949.
The British and Austrian GPs kick off the second half of the season, before a new date for an old-favourite, with the Catalan GP at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya moving to September. The Championship then heads to Misano before bidding Europe farewell and heading to another new country in 2023: India.
Buddh International Circuit in Uttar Pradesh will become the 75th venue to host a premier class race, as India becomes the 31st country to host a motorcycle Grand Prix. From there, the paddock heads further east to Japan and the classic Motegi before a weekend free to gear up for two massive triple-headers to bring the season home in style!
Indonesia > Australia > Thailand. Three unpredictable tracks, three idyllic locations. This exciting triple-header will set the stage for an epic run home…
Starting in Malaysia the journey back west begins, with Qatar hosting the penultimate race under lights, before the classic final fiesta of the year, the Circuit Ricardo Tormo brings the competition to a close back in Spain.
Newly crowned World Champion Pecco Bagnaia will be favourite to go back-to-back, with the very strong factory Ducati team right behind him. That is if his teammate and countryman Enea ‘The Beast’ Bastianini doesn’t get in his way, like a little brother trying to prove himself. This all-Italian garage is definitely going to be fun to watch!
Fabio will be out to claim the Championship he feels he should have won in 2022, with an improved Yamaha beneath him. We know that ‘El Diablo’ is a passionate and aggressive rider, and if his bike is up to the standard he has demanded from his garage, they will be hard to keep off the podium.
Team Aprilla should have Maverick Vinales consistently producing the top-tier promise he is capable of. And his teammate Aleix Espargaro certainly has the confidence after 6 podiums last year, and will be looking to learn from some of his mistakes to the next level in 2023.
2023 could be Jack Miller’s year! We know he can go fast, and with a new bike and team, he could take the world by storm, with the hopes of Australia behind him. Similar to Jack, his teammate Brad Binder will also be looking to put together a consistent season instead of pockets of brilliance. If they both do that, they’re right up there.
It all comes down to Marc Marquez. If the veteran returns to his old form, a fully fit Marquez will always be hard to beat. His days of complete dominance are probably over with such a strong field around him, but the six-time World Champion is not going to go down without a fight.
The new sprint races will be a major change to the MotoGP weekend as we know it. The sprint race will take place at 3:00 PM on the Saturday of every meet this season and will be approximately half the distance of the full race.
The rules will be the same as the full-length Grand Prix race on Sunday, with 12 points awarded to the winner, 9 for 2nd, 7 for third then counting down to 1 point for 9th position.
Sprint results will not determine the grid on Sunday, and points will not be added to a riders overall record. Sprint points and podiums will be tallied separately. The grids for both the sprint race and the Grand Prix race will be set from qualifying, which will retain its Q1-Q2 format.
Dorna’s Sporting managing director Carlos Ezpeleta said: “In the end, this is not another Grand Prix race that we’re adding to the weekend, to the format.
“We’re basically changing one practice for a sprint race which will give points, meaning that from now on for the historical data, it will be the Sunday that continues to give the GP winner… from now on, [riders] will also have a number of sprint race victories. That will be one more row on their profile.”
Book your MotoGP™ experience in 2023
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With more races across more countries than ever before, the 2023 MotoGP season has riders and fans excited for one of the biggest years on the bike in recent memory!
