During this fourth episode of the 2023 MotoGP series, each of the contenders seems to have found their place. And some of them find themselves in roles that they no longer wanted or hoped for!
In the group of confirmed players, we find first of all Francesco Bagnaia. Even if for a time he made his employers doubt his abilities to handle pressure and assume his status as world champion, he immediately proved this weekend that he knew how to calmly and efficiently build his results.
After a well-conducted Q1, then an honorable 5th place in Q2, Pecco pocketed the silver medal in the Sprint race and won the next day's GP in Patron size! He never seemed to doubt and left at the top of the championship ahead of the unfortunate Marco Bezzecchi for whom no two weekends were alike.
Effective supporting roles in the saga: The KTM drivers.
True revelations of the 2023 season, after performances in the off-season which nevertheless left doubt, the Brad Binder/Jack Miller pair is making the talk!
Brilliant in qualifying (2nd and 4th respectively), conquerors in the Sprint race (1st and 3rd), biting in the GP (2nd and 3rd), they definitively establish the brand as a contender for the throne. Dani Pedrosa, prestigious guest for the occasion, will also have confirmed through his performances the success of the Austrian brand's project to which he largely contributed. The roadmap was followed: Make this machine with marginal technical choices a “must have” to win.
At Tech3 GASGAS, the results were no less promising: Augusto Fernández finished 13th in the GP, thereby confirming, weekend after weekend, his excellent adaptation to the category by scoring points every Sunday. Proof of this is: When he looks in his rearview mirror, many of the “big names” who have been designated and recognized are behind in the championship standings!
Starting with his predecessor Raúl Fernández, since at RNF APRILIA, who is definitely not taking off. Worrying when we know the renewal rate in the category. All the more worrying since his teammate Miguel Oliveira – certainly more experienced – immediately understood the instructions for using the Aprilia and knows how to make it shine when he is not being harpooned. Let us remember that this was again and unfortunately the case this weekend for the Portuguese driver with another rather violent fall. Let's hope he recovers well.
And what about Joan Mir whose results are truly disastrous. Failed qualifying and crashes in both races! It must be said that the exercise announced was perilous: coexisting with Marc Márquez, the only effective driver on a Honda whose technical errors never end. The choice of this brand, more suffered than desired by the 2020 ex-Suzuki world champion, will reveal or condemn him. His title, acquired during the Covid era with a single victory, enhanced his consistency but was not indicative of an essential talent, and Mir is definitely struggling to establish his presence in the championship. Attention danger !
Another alarming performance, that of Fabio Quartararo. Let's say instead that "El Diablo" can no longer get out of his box due to a lagging M1: poor qualifications and poor results in races despite the fighting spirit that we know of him.
In this respect, it is a little worrying to note to what extent the hegemony of European brands has become: The Japanese should not get tired and follow the example of Suzuki. However, during the Sprint, no Japanese machine in the points! Then the next day during the GP, Nakagami on his Honda finished ninth and first representative of the Japanese brands. Fabio will pocket the points for tenth place and Álex Rins will retire after a fall.
What about solutions for Yamaha and Honda? On the engine level, the matter is closed due to lack of regulations. What remains are the developments in cycle parts and aerodynamics taken in haste, simple thermocauteries on a wooden leg, in other words not very effective!
At Aprilia, we blow hot and cold: Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales stand out in qualifying (1st and 10th respectively) and stagnate in the race. Without talking about poor performances, let's say rather that they don't really realize their goals. dreams. Aleix has never felt so fast, what's more on one of the best machines on the field, but is still stumbling. As for Maverick, a bit of a laborious start combined with technical problems prevent him from taking off. Let's hope that this will not make him fall back into his faults!
Within the Ducati satellite teams, everyone was in their place: At Prima Pramac, Jorge Martín confirmed his role as troublemaker without going the distance that would make him a potential candidate for victory.
Johann Zarco, for his part, is trying to confirm more convincing strategies with an aggressive approach to the race, with mixed results including a fall on Sunday. But the important thing is to persevere.
Within the VR46, Luca Marini continues to progress quietly while Marco Bezzecchi has bitten the dust twice.
At Gresini, Fabio Di Giannantonio continues anonymously. Álex Márquez for his part played a tone below his previous exploits.
The roles of extras will go to Franco Morbidelli, Stefan Bradl, Iker Lecuona and Jonas Folger, present and meritorious but without emphasis. If the last three mentioned – wildcard and replacements for injured starters – are in their place in terms of performance, “Morbido” on the other hand…
Marc Márquez will not have done much in this series. If not a brilliant Sprint race during the very first round of the season, his only feats of arms will have been dangerous driving in Portimão, the conclusions of which are still not known.
The seven-time world champion in the category now only animates the tabloids with his health reports and his mistakes to return to his best form this season. Is it even desirable for him to come back? Considering the intensity and interest of current races, it is clear that there is no shortage of them.
Perhaps it is time for Marc Márquez to end his career? He even let us believe it for a time by disrupting the established order of press conferences, as if he had to inform the assembly of an important decision before backpedaling to share commonplaces. To be continued.
And when will the awakening of “the Beast” Enea Bastianini who continues to recover from her Portuguese injury? The unfortunate man will unfortunately have had to throw in the towel at the end of the qualifications.
Let's hope that the next round will be just as interesting at Le Mans in 15 days, knowing that the comedy will also play out behind the scenes with the governing bodies whose decisions were this weekend, like the long lapses inflicted on the Yamaha riders, we can't be more controversial.
