MotoGP riders and Team Managers reflect on the Argentina GP

MotoGP 2023

Round Two – Argentina

MotoGP Race

Marco Bezzecchi – P1

“It’s a dream for me, the Team, my family, the Academy. And of course Vale, if I’m here today is thank to him. We are also leading the Championship! An incredible journey, everything seems perfect, and then on this circuit where I also won for the first time in Moto3. When I got up this morning and saw the rain, he wasn’t very happy. I was worried, but then, after the warm up, I realised I could do it. I believed I could achieve a great result, for me and for the whole Team. When I started, I just thought about riding gently, I saw the board from the wall and just thought about that. Then the last laps were endless. Thanks to the Team, I’ve been with these guys for many years, with some from Moto2, we’re very united, it’s an incredible emotion. Even Messi’s shirt, on the podium, I don’t follow football, but he is an idol in the world of sport. Really thank you all for this day not to be forgotten.”

Alex Marquez – P3

“We did a smart race: it was important to stay upright and score points. The race was extremely long, and I would have signed up for this type of results before the trip to Argentina. We’re leaving here in a very satisfied mood: Zarco had something more in the final stretch of the race and it’s good this face. I wasn’t expecting such a start to the season. Maybe being fourth in the championship is a bit of an irrealistic position, but we’re improving day after day and we’re there.”

Franco Morbidelli – P4

“I’m very happy. Different conditions and situations, and we were able to perform well on all occasions, so we’ll take that. We know what to work on. We know we need to improve some areas, and the team is on it and really wanting to recover the lost ground. I was sorry to see that Johann was catching up. I gave everything to keep the podium spot, but I couldn’t. That was a pity. I had a whiff of the podium yesterday, and I smelled it today but couldn’t quite get it. Anyway, it was a great weekend for me, and we need to build onto this. We need to see what happens in Austin. The feeling that I had this weekend was good. I would also like to have it in Austin.”

Jack Miller – P6

“We wanted a bit more from this wet race but I tried my best from the beginning. It was really tricky in the first few laps to find a position and make a few overtakes on the other guys. Just before mid-race I had some clear track and was catching the guys but had a few issues and couldn’t push any more. I played around with the maps and got comfortable to the point where I could make some moves again. A learning day for us. All-in-all a good weekend and we found out a lot more about our package and our potential. We’ll have another go in Austin.”

Fabio Quartararo – P7

“I’m both happy and sad. There’s always someone who makes my race difficult in the opening laps for no reason. My start was pretty good, and I was more or less in the same position as where I started. I was not that far, but Nakagami made that move as if it was the last lap, but it was not. The positive thing today is going from last place to seventh. Our pace in the wet was pretty good, so I’m happy about that. But I think a top-5 position would have been possible today had things been different.”

Luca Marini – P8

“It wasn’t the race I was hoping for after yesterday’s Sprint. I’m sorry, I wasn’t fast, I lacked grip and I couldn’t do better. I tried not to lose too much ground, I managed the rear tire as best I could. In these cases it is still important to bring home points and gain experience. Congratulations to Marco and the whole Team. He made the difference: strong in the warm up and really good at the start.”

Alex Rins – P9

“It’s been a shame because we felt good. I’ve had a problem with the visor of the helmet. At some point, I started to lose visibility and couldn’t see properly, which made me lose some positions. We still need to improve in the braking and traction areas, but we’d done a step forward compared to yesterday, and today we could’ve done a good job.”

Fabio DiGiannantonio – P10

“The weekend has been a really positive one, and the first one in which I felt really competitive. The race went well, we started really aggressive and I was really quick at the beginning of the encounter. Something stopped working from halfway point with the electronics and I couldn’t be quick on corner exit – and that means that I got passed by several riders. We need to work hard in that area and let’s hope to be ready for Austin and to be among the protagonists.”

Augusto Fernandez – P11

“I’m happy. It was a fun race and I had some good battles in the group. Step-by-step I was getting into my pace, making good laps and moving forwards. I enjoyed myself and it was a good experience to have that first wet race in MotoGP. Happy!”

Maverick Vinales – P12

“I gave it my all with what I had available. It was 4 points today, but we need to make sure that it’s a lot more for the next wet race. The problem was the traction. Braking and going into turns, I felt strong and made up ground, but coming out of the corners, there was nothing I could do. At a certain point, I assessed the situation and just focused on getting the bike to the finish line and shifting the goal to Austin.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P13

“I had some issues from the start with the screen. I had vision problems, so I had to stay outside the fairing. I didn’t expect that, so it was challenging, a tough race. The grip level was fine, but I couldn’t ride freely. I wanted a bit more because I was quite competitive this morning in the warm-up. It isn’t the best result for us, but we will keep trying to improve the situation in Austin.”

Raul Fernandez – P14

“It was a difficult day. I’m happy because at the end I was fighting with the factory boys, but at the same time I feel frustrated because I was in the last few places. We were three different riders here on the Aprilia with different styles and settings on the bike, but all with the same results. I think our bike is competitive and I am happy with the RS-GP, but the bike characteristics at some point are quite aggressive and it is something we have to understand and also, I have to learn. I did a good start, then I was close to crash when Brad (Binder) touched me and I lost a bit of ground. But I came back, however it was quite impossible to overtake. We have a good engine and speed, but in some places, we don’t have the grip. I like working with Aprilia and moving forward we will work together to improve.”

Aleix Espargaro – P15

“A bad race – maybe the hardest and longest since I’ve been with Aprilia. It’s really a pity after what we had demonstrated in the dry, but we can’t make excuses. In MotoGP, you must always be fast, no matter the conditions. Today I started well. In the early laps, I was even able to maintain the pace of the leading group. However, at a certain point, the bike began to slide around a lot and I couldn’t give it gas even on the straight. It was a very strange feeling. Considering Maverick and Raùl’s difficulties as well, we’ll need to work with the engineers to figure out what went wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Pecco Bagnaia – P16

“It was a complicated weekend, but in the race, we had managed to be competitive and fight for the podium. Marco was really fast today, and I would have been happy to end the weekend with second place, but unfortunately, I crashed. I apologise to my team, who did a great job throughout the weekend. Now I will focus already on Austin, where we will try to redeem ourselves.”   

Brad Binder – P17

“I was quite excited to have a wet race; it’s been quite a while since we had one. I felt pretty good. Unfortunately at the end of the back straight I had a bit of a connection with someone and the back-end spun around on me. I picked up and restarted and then just tried to ride. If there had been a red flag or some other incident then I would have had another chance. Anyway, we finished the race: it was really tough and super-long! Overall, it was a good weekend with the win yesterday, I’m looking forward to starting again in America.”

Teram Managers

Pablo Nieto – Mooney VR46 Team Manager

“An incredible day, I still can’t believe it. After 10 seasons, from Moto3 to MotoGP. I want to thank all the sponsors, Mooney, the partners and above all the people who have accompanied us on this journey. Marco and the Team have worked hard during the preseason, they deserve this result even if it’s only the second race. MotoGP is the maximum expression of our sport, we can only be happy. Ducati and the Team are leaving nothing to chance, Marco and Luca are truly in a state of grace. Yesterday the double podium was exciting. Now we have to enjoy the moment, keep our feet on the ground and learn to manage this new pressure. We go forward step by step and collect the maximum.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“We really hoped for a podium for Franky yesterday in the Sprint and today we came close again. In the end, we had to settle for fourth place, but we are still satisfied. The conditions were so tricky out there. When the track is like that, the riders must keep their wits about them and ride in a smart way. Franco‘s 13-point gain is highly valuable. The same can be said for Fabio‘s 9 points. He was unlucky to be pushed wide by an overly ambitious Nakagami. We don‘t understand why this action was not punished, considering it impeded Fabio‘s race completely. Luckily, Fabio‘s pace in the wet was so strong that he still recovered to seventh place. We now have one week off before Round 3 at COTA where we aim to reconfirm our improved performance.”

Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Team Manager

“We knew starting from where we were on the grid that the race would be tricky in these conditions: visibility is poor and you cannot attack into the first corner and around the first laps like Brad showed us yesterday. Jack did a great job from 16th. A shame for Brad and the crash; it ended his race so early. Overall, the weekend was good but we started the GP quite far from the best setting. From that point though we worked well and did a positive job.”

Nicolas Goyon – GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 Team Manager

“Another strong race from our super-rookie who managed to score points in his first MotoGP race in fully wet conditions. It was a great result and he was less than twenty seconds from the leader, which is a decent accomplishment. His learning process is still ongoing and in just two races he has encountered a lot of conditions and challenges that will make him an even better rider in the future. Congratulations to him. He improved session after session and was fighting with MotoGP winners and world champions. He was not far away. So, let’s keep working like this.”

Razlan Razali – CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team Principal

“In general, it was a positive weekend for Raul Fernandez being the sole rider for CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team for Round 2. We paid a lot of attention to him and his feedback, and he has progressed well from Round 1 by qualifying in 13th. While he did not get into the points in the Sprint race yesterday, he recovered well in the main race to finish 14th. A lot of learning was made during the main race for Raul to understand his bike and the others, watching his fellow Aprilia Racing riders in front and also comparing with other riders. He had many inputs and feedback which will help the engineers to digest and prepare for the next round in Austin. Now it’s time to take a bit of rest, evaluate what we went through and come back stronger for Round 3.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team Manager

“It was a difficult weekend for us of course, first of all also because we were missing Miguel. The race was completely wet today but we are happy, that Raul could finish the race and also in the points. It was definitely not an easy one, as we have been fighting in the back, but in the end, we finished in front of Aleix, who won the race here last year. That’s basically one of the positive things. Of course, Raul learned a lot in a wet race like this. He stayed on two wheels and now we are looking forward to Austin with him and hopefully also to have Miguel back there.”

MotoGP Race Results

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2023 MotoGP Calendar