Lots of questions to be answered at the Qatar Grand Prix

MotoGP 2023

Round 19 – Qatar Grand Prix

Since 2004, the first year that the Emirate of Qatar hosted the MotoGP World Championship, the Grand Prix has mainly taken place at the start of the season. This year, given the major work carried out at the circuit, the race was postponed to the end of the year.

This week competitors will discover a completely new venue due to the infrastructure having been completely replaced, as well as the track being completely resurfaced. In terms of weather, it will still be hot during the day so this change of date will have no impact, especially as the Tissot Sprint and the Grand Prix will take place at night.

For the Michelin Motorsport teams, accustomed to the logistical challenges and different specificities of many circuits around the world, this Grand Prix is ​​special. It will take place on asphalt where no Grand Prix motorcycle has ever ridden – as the schedule did not allow for the organization of tests – and even if the layout remains the same, the new asphalt will bring new challenges. The 5.38 km long Losail circuit comprises 16 turns, including 10 to the right, and it has a straight of more than a kilometre where competitors exceed 330 km/h.

“The new surface means everything to be redone, or almost, in terms of choice of tyres and set-up of the motorcycles,” states Piero Taramasso, Michelin two-wheel competition manager. “As we know nothing about this new asphalt, we have provided in accordance with the technical regulations, an additional tyre specification. Four front specifications instead of three, and three rears rather than the usual two. In addition, Qatar has the particularity of staging a race at the end of the day, when night has fallen. In Losail, which is in the middle of the desert, the ground temperature drops after sunset, going from 45°C to less than 20°C in a fairly short period of time. We are going to work in the opposite way to what we usually do, by putting the hardest tyres on track first, then the riders will refine their choices by introducing increasingly softer options in order to identify the best operating windows. For our part, we will need to understand as quickly as possible the wear rates and what thermal conditions will be generated by this new track in order to best advise our partners on the choice of tyres for each situation. Another critical point to take into account is the sand blown onto the track by the wind, which increases abrasiveness. Given our experience on the Losail circuit, we are not entering completely unknown territory and we have confidence in the tyres that we will bring, but it is certain that these changes raise some questions, which we are keen to answer!”

Two contenders, two weekends, two Sprints and two races remain, and it all starts at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar this weekend.

After 18 Grands Prix offering a maximum of 654 points, 74 are now left in play as we head into the final two Grands Prix of 2023 – and Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) leads pretender to the throne Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) by just 14.

Bagnaia was confident ahead of track action in Sepang that it would be a good weekend for him, and he was proven very much correct. On Saturday morning he took pole for the first time since Barcelona, and in the afternoon he ceded only two points to Martin as neither won the Tissot Sprint. On Sunday, he went toe-to-toe with Martin in a fight to decide who was taking 16 points or 13, and this time he came out on top and in some style. Once the attack was repelled, the reigning Champion then simply rode off… something Martin has been a little more accustomed to of late. For Bagnaia and his Lenovo Ducati Team, that likely felt like quite a statement.

Martin himself said he was a little disappointed with that, but if his calling card over the latter half of the season has been pure pace, getting his elbows out as the instigator of that spectacular duel in Malaysia was a good reminder that he’s far from a one-tricky pony. As was his awesome win at Buriram. For Martin, too, there’s the simple fact that he was 66 points behind Pecco after the Sprint at Catalunya, and now he’s only 14 off with two GPs to go.

In short, it’s going to get interesting. Settling for a sensible 13 points in Sepang is a different ball game to being able to do so in Qatar or Valencia. Giving up two points on Saturday could quickly become a fast track to coming home runner up. There’s no margin for error for either rider, and what makes the tightrope even more tense is that this isn’t suddenly a race of two riders. 20 more will be joining them on track.

Francesco Bagnaia

“I’m happy to be back racing in Qatar this weekend. It’s another track where we have always been competitive. In the Malaysian GP, we finally managed to be fast right from Friday, and we were back on pole, something that hadn’t happened since Barcelona. Here too it will be important to be able to do the same. 14 points of advantage in the standings are not many, so the goal will be to try to increase the gap on Jorge in the Championship.”

The first to mention this time around is Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team). The Beast + the question of team or manufacturer orders is a storyline you’ll likely remember from the 2022 Malaysian Grand Prix and, surprise! It came back this year. Bastianini was truly in beast mode at Sepang to take his first front row of the year, harry his teammate in the Sprint and then simply disappear on Sunday. We’ve seen it before, but what a time to get back on the top step. Given his maiden premier class win came at Qatar last season… watch this space, and how he plays it.

Enea Bastianini

“Last week at Sepang I finally got a weight off my chest and now I feel freer! I’m back to having fun on the bike and consequently being fast. This weekend we will race in Qatar, another track where I have been competitive in the past and where I won my first MotoGP race last year! I don’t know if I can repeat myself again, but I definitely want to try!”

Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) is another who came out swinging, and one who has a little less concern for the title fight. He’s riding a Ducati but so are both the contenders, and neither are his team-mate. He’ll be one to watch again. It’s one of the most interesting conundrums of what lies ahead: this year, the Borgo Panigale factory already won the riders’ crown. They just don’t yet know who they’ll be celebrating it with.

This year, it won’t be Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), but he’s likely to be a frontrunner and wants to get back on the podium as a minimum. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) too.

Marco Bezzecchi

“I’m back on track in Qatar after two good placings in Malaysia even though I’ve never managed to be completely comfortable in riding and I’m a bit sorry about this because the Sepang track is one of my favourite. I also really like this one at Losail, the atmosphere and the fact of racing at night, and then we arrive here with the certainty of P3 in the Championship really close. It would be a great result for me and the whole Team, the guys had a great season and they deserve it.”

Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) also had a tougher weekend at Sepang and will want more, and he’s already had a fair amount of limelight in the past week talking about his future, another watch this space.

Luca Marini

“I really like the Doha the track, not only the track which is fast, but at the same time really technical, but also the whole atmosphere you can breathe here. Racing at night is always special and for the first time this circuit will not be the scene of the first race of the season, but could even be decisive for the title. In Sepang I had excellent feelings, but in the two races I collected less than expected. This weekend we are fighting for important points for the final positions in the general standings.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP) had a solid weekend in Malaysia but the meaning of that has been redefined since Phillip Island… in the Ducati ranks, there’s serious competition.

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) also gave a few of those names just that on Sunday at Sepang, charging to another top five and dispatching Ducatis on the way. Team-mate Franco Morbidelli, meanwhile, shot from P15 on the grid to seventh too, equalling his second best finish of the year from India.

Fabio Quartararo

“I made a better start in the Malaysian GP Race and I‘m pretty happy with how fast I was throughout that weekend. Being able to fight with other riders and take another top-5 finish was great. But now we have to focus on the next GP. It‘s been a while since we last rode in Qatar. The Race in 2022 didn‘t go as well as we had hoped, but we have the motivation to get a better result this year.”

Franco Morbidelli

“The Malaysian GP Race was nice because I was able to battle with a lot of riders. The performance of the bike was really good, so if we would have been further ahead on the grid, who knows what we could have done? I‘m hoping to find out this weekend. Qatar, like Sepang, has long straights, and in Malaysia we had good speed, so I‘m curious to see what we can do this weekend.”

Augusto Fernandez and GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 team-mate Pol Espargaro also got back in the points for the first time since Japan, and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was right in the mix at Sepang after a difficult Thai GP. Fortunes went the other way for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as he crashed out in Malaysia, but the South African was likely the most annoying person in the world for the two title contenders on Sunday at Buriram. Binder is nearly always a threat for those just ahead of him in the standings and very much does not ride for Ducati. He’s in the business of racing them. Hard.

Augusto Fernandez

“I am looking forward to heading to Qatar after a quite difficult weekend in Malaysia. We have not been back in Doha since March 2022, and since then the track has been resurfaced, so it will be interesting to try it out, see how the new tarmac is and how we will manage it. It is a track that I like a lot, it has a lot of flow and many braking points, so it suits my riding style better, and I am hoping that we will be able to qualify well and score more points.”

Pol Espargaro

“I have very good memories from Qatar and I enjoy this track a lot. We are coming at a different time of the year, so the conditions will be different to the ones we are normally used to, probably hotter, although it will be better than Malaysia where I struggled a lot with my physical condition. The asphalt has been resurfaced and the circuit welcomed Formula 1 a few weeks ago, and for sure the scenario will be different. We are all excited to check the novelties brought by the Lusail International Circuit, both on track and in the paddock, so let’s see what this week has in store for us.”

Meanwhile, Aprilia will want a lot more from Qatar. For Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Sepang was simply one to forget. Teammate Maverick Viñales got some points from the weekend but considering his record at the track, he likely expected more. He’s also won at Qatar before, however, and it may be a game changer once the sun goes down and the heat cools off a little.

Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team) and team-mate Raul Fernandez also had a tough one on home turf for the team in Malaysia, and will want more from Lusail.

Miguel Oliveira

“I like Qatar, it should be interesting with the new asphalt this year. The Losail International Circuit looks like a track that could suit our bike. Last year went quite well there, so hopefully, we can benefit from that this year, build up a good weekend and then have a good result.”

Raul Fernandez

“Qatar is completely different than Malaysia. This year, I’ve learnt that when I arrive at a track and don’t expect anything special, it usually works out better. So, I’m not going to say that I expect a lot. I just want to enjoy riding, I want to finish the race, gather information and get kilometers in. I will try to do my best as always and I am looking forward to ride under the floodlights again.”

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), meanwhile, did take some points at Sepang but it was a tougher one for him, and Honda. At the moment, the headlines remain centered on who will partner Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) next season. But there are points up for grabs once again in Qatar, and Marquez, Mir, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Iker Lecuona, who again steps in at LCR Honda Castrol, all very much want some.

The fight for the crown is two riders, but the grid is 22-strong and each and every one of them has a very good reason why they’re fighting it out in the world’s most exciting sport. If Bastianini’s tough season plagued by injury before finding his feet again with an absolute masterclass at Sepang proves anything, it’s exactly that. So make sure to tune in for both a duel in the desert and a 22-rider showdown under the spectacular floodlights of Lusail International Circuit! All or nothing? It will be soon!

MotoGP Championship Points

Moto2

After Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) wrapped up the 2023 title with a podium in Malaysia, the pressure is now off as Moto2 rolls into Qatar. Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) comes into Round 19 knowing he’s been unbeatable in the last two outings, and was also fastest in Phillip Island before the rain, so can Acosta and co. stop the young Spaniard’s late-season charge from continuing at Lusail?

Acosta and Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) might be uncatchable in the overall standings, but the bronze medal pursuit is bubbling up nicely. 30.5 points split third place Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) to sixth place Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), with in-form star Aldeguer rapidly staking his claim to be top three in the title chase. 21 is the gap between the #54 and Dixon with two to play.

Moto2 Championship Points

Moto3

Five riders, 50 points, two to go. That’s the state of play in the fascinating 2023 Moto3 title race as Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) heads to Qatar knowing there’s a chance he could be a World Champion on Sunday, with Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) still acting as the chief chaser after drama unfolded for the trio playing catch up in Malaysia.

Sasaki’s P2 in Sepang saw the Japanese star claw back four points on Masia to leave the gap between the top two sitting at 13. We’ll find out how crucial those will be in due course, but Sasaki – who was a runaway leader at the 2022 Qatar GP before a technical problem arose – knows that shrinking that gap again in Qatar is all that matters. If the margin between the duo rises to 25 points or more in Masia’s favour, then the latter will be Champion.

That’s if David Alonso (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team), Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) aren’t within 25 points of the Honda rider come Sunday afternoon either. The former pairing crashed out in Malaysia to see their title dreams take a huge dent, while Öncü thought he was out of it altogether after he was taken out by teammate Jose Antonio Rueda. P12 meant the Turk was mathematically ruled out, but a post-race penalty for David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) promoted Öncü to P11 – a slender lifeline as he’s now 50 off the top.

The talk will be all about the Championship in Qatar, but the likes of our newest Grand Prix winner Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) will be hoping to steal the headlines once more. The Dutchman should be a key ally to teammate Sasaki in the final two races, but will the tactics change now the victory has been collected?

Joel Kelso’s form in this latter part of the season has been coming on strong and he will be looking to close out these final two rounds with some good points, and maybe another podium…

Moto3 Championship Points

Qatar Grand Prix Schedule
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2023 MotoGP Calendar