MotoGP 2023
Round 19 – Lusail
Rider Quotes
Fabio Di Giannantonio – P1
“I really wanted this win, but it wasn’t easy. We absolutely didn’t want to make any mistake while battling with Pecco for the win. I made a clean pass and earned a great satisfaction. The bike today was perfect and I must thank the team for the crazy work done. We’ll try again in Valencia!”
This is the eighth all-Ducati podium this season along with Argentina, France, Italy, Germany, San Marino, Australia and Malaysia.
Francesco Bagnaia – P2
“This is a fantastic result; it means we can arrive at Valencia with a bit of a gap in the championship. It will not be easy because 21 points are not enough to relax but we are happy with the work done, I was expecting this pace yesterday, but I wasn’t in the position to do it. We managed to do a great start and I had the possibility to show my pace which was incredible, the only thing was the mistake in Turn 1 when I got sucked by the slipstream of Fabio, it was a scary moment for sure and I lost a lot of time. I was lucky because with the pace we made, I had a big gap. I wanted to win, it was the only result for me, but I didn’t expect this amount of suction and I almost lost it. I think I was able to fight for this win, but second position is a really good result in any case.”
Luca Marini – P3
“I’m happy, a really solid weekend crowned by the double podium, a reward for the whole Team who is doing a great job. The choice of the soft was not random, the objective was to start very strong, maintain the position and open a gap. Unfortunately Pecco (Bagnaia) started very strong and in the slipstream, the first laps, I was struggling. The temperature was very high, I tried to do my best and manage the tyres as best I could. It’s a shame to have wasted so much time fighting with Alex and Brad (Marquez and Binder) because we let Pecco and Fabio (Di Giannantonio) go. At the end I gave it my all and what of the tyres I was able to conserved was the key.”
Ducati is on a streak of 45 races in a row with at least one rider on the podium.
Maverick Vinales – P4
“The balance we found this weekend on the RS-GP is, in my opinion, the best of 2023. That is the truly positive thing. The path has been mapped out and we are well aware of the technical direction that needs to be followed. At the risk of sounding repetitive, once again, having to recover ground makes everything harder and keeps me from achieving the results which – in terms of pace – we deserve. With the speed that we then demonstrate in the race, improving in qualifiers and the race start must be our mantra from now until the start of the next season.”
Brad Binder – P5
“Today was actually really good. To walk away with a 5th and to fight for the podium was very positive. My rear tyre was perfect but my front tyre gave-up after about twelve laps in, from there I was just trying to survive. Probably one of the hardest races I had in terms of dealing with the limit. I just wanted to bring it home in a solid 5th. My team did a great job to get us in this position today because the weekend was much more tricky than we anticipated.”
Alex Marquez – P6
“We fixed yesterday’s issues but I struggled in the battle with Binder and that cost me a lot of time. We did a good race, but today Fabio was really great so aside from the compliments to him we will also study something from his side in order to keep growing.”
Fabio Quartararo – P7
“It was a good Race and a good comeback. I had a great start – not like yesterday. But I expected a better result. The Race was faster than yesterday when we had more capabilities to make the lap times. But this was our pace, it was the best we could do. Our pace was good. I caught up with the group in front of me really fast. The last lap with Alex Marquez was really difficult. I was faster, but I couldn‘t overtake him. But I think we can be happy with our race, and what we have done today and this weekend.”
Enea Bastianini – P8
“My race was tough especially at the start because it was very difficult for me to overtake the other riders and to arrive at my pace, but when the pace came in the middle of the race, I pushed a lot to close the gap from the other riders. I was really fast especially in the last five laps, when my feeling with the bike was amazing and I pushed really hard. I’m very happy about this but not about the weekend in general because it was difficult, and my speed arrived very late compared to the other races. The main problem was on Friday when I didn’t get into Q2 because of a yellow flag and also on Saturday, but my overall pace was not fast like the other riders. It came today but it was too late.”
Jack Miller – P9
“That’s a semi-positive end to what’s been a difficult weekend here in Qatar, finishing ninth after how things started for me is a pretty decent result. Not what you’d want, but better than it was looking after Friday.
“The pace and the feeling was generally pretty good on Friday, but we were just the other side of Q2 and I missed out by just over a hundredth of a second, so Q1 it was. I did a 1:53.3 with the first tyre which was decent, but had a small technical issue with the clutch on the second run, so I did the same lap time but lost a fair bit on the straights, it definitely wasn’t for a lack of effort to do that same time!
“Saturday’s qualifying wasn’t my best one, I set up a target ahead of me as a reference on both my laps in Q1 but unfortunately caught them both times. Some of the boys were having some issues, some moments and what-not, so I caught the target and either had to try to pass or follow them the rest of the lap, so definitely felt I left some time on the table there. (Aprilia’s) Miguel (Oliveira), through no fault of his own he nearly had a high-side through Turn 5, and then he had another moment at Turn 9 and that’s what put me in the position to try to pass. His lap was almost done, and the racing line is so narrow here that to try to make a pass on a hot lap is almost impossible nowadays, so that was my lap done as well. Definitely frustrating. Being in Q1 is a bit of a disaster because this is what can happen, it’s a gamble back there. Not even of a tenth of a second off the old lap record, and there I am back in 16th on the grid.
“The Sprint, it was hard to do much in 11 laps being way back on the grid, but the bike worked really well on Sunday for the Grand Prix. The pace this year here was really pretty incredible, to be running 1min 53s late in the race is pretty crazy. I couldn’t buy a 1:53 yesterday and I was doing them until around lap 18 today. I don’t know if the track got much better or what, but it seemed a bit easier for me today.
“The pace was decent, and once I finally made some passes and got through on the group ahead of me I could go with (Yamaha’s) Fabio (Quartararo) and (Aprilia’s) Maverick Vinales, but those boys had just a little bit extra pace than me.
“I was rather shocked when (Ducati’s) Enea (Bastianini) came past me and was doing 1:52s, that was a shock for me because I’d had quite a big gap and my lap times were pretty good. My pace was not terrible, I was one of the faster guys at the end of the race, but Enea came past me like I was f**king walking so that was a bit depressing!
“It was weird being in Qatar to nearly finish the year off instead of starting it, but it’s a good place to come back to, and the new facilities they’ve built since we came early last year were pretty bloody impressive. We were only here at the beginning of last year, so that was cool to see. It’s awesome to see them invest in the place again like this. Everything was so new, and that’s the way they do it here. The original track was amazing when it was first built, but as we know places change over the years, and it seemed to me like they’d gone around the world to a lot of race tracks and taken the best out of every one to build this whole new facility. It was really impressive, I don’t think there’s a paddock like it anywhere else in the world.
“We’ve got one more race to round this year out in Valencia and that’s one I always look forward to, it’s somewhere I generally go well so it’s one of my favourites. And then of course the post-season test on the Tuesday, hopefully we’ve got a fair few things to throw on the bike and give it a crack. I’m definitely looking forward to finishing the year out strong.”
Jorge Martin – P10
“Had a big spin at the start, the rear tyre was not working okay. I am really disappointed that the championship is decided by a bad tyre. This happened to me, it is a pity, but it is what it is. I struggle a lot, I didn’t have rear grip, I couldn’t stop the bike, couldn’t turn, couldn’t open the throttle, it was like wet conditions. But with my experience I was able to make at least some point, it wasn’t easy. Now we move on, and hopefully we can do it in Valencia. Pecco can make a mistake, I can win for sure both races, but not if I have a bad tyre like today. I have the potential to win, today, the title is not decided yet but it is not the same heading to Valencia close, because of a shit tyre. Bit frustated, but I feel they didn’t beat us on the track, I think they beat us outside so, I am quite relaxed, and I feel like we deserve this championship.”
Marc Marquez – P11
“I’m happy about our weekend, it was a solid one and we were able to have a few high points when we thought we would struggle more. We spent most of the race behind Martin, I don’t think either of us were feeling entirely comfortable to be honest. But we got some more points and now we prepare to head to Valencia for what is going to be a very busy and of course emotional weekend. Like always, our focus is at 100% to keep working and fighting until the very last lap.”
Johann Zarco – P12
“Difficult race, I made a huge mistake right at the start of the race in turn 4. I had an engine braking problem, which I had all weekend in fact, and I lost contact with the group when we already had a small gap with those behind. That’s really what I regret the most. Yesterday with the rear tyre it was a real struggle. In this race I I managed the rear tyre well but the front was much more limited than expected. At least we made good progress compared to yesterday on the management of the rear tyre. Afterwards I found myself with Martin and there it is always difficult to make a choice but I was limited to the moment when I could have passed it. Would I have come back as well as Vinales? I can’t say but in the end by overtaking it, I only gained one point so it wasn’t very prestigious. And then I play the team’s game to get as many points as possible for him. What mattered most to me was that Aleix Espargaro was not in front of me and as he had fallen It was less pressure. Now we are all very close for 5th place so we will see what will happen in Valencia. ”
Marco Bezzecchi – P13
“A difficult race, it was really complicated to arrive at the finishing line. After just two laps, the front tyre pressure was very high. Suddenly all the warning lights were on and I was forced to give some positions. I had no feeling, especially on the front. Not the best day of my season, it was impossible to stay in the slipstream. Really a shame, let’s hope for a different fate in Valencia.”
Joan Mir – P14
“Today was a positive day because we had the best sensations of the weekend and finally, we were able to put together a bit of a race. My pace at various points during the GP was the same as those fighting in the top five and we were able to make up some positions, so this is good to help rebuild my confidence after a tough Saturday. I had a stronger pace than I had during all of practice and even in the last laps I was close. The overtakes during the opening laps hurt us a little bit in those last two laps but it was a fun one.”
Augusto Fernandez – P15
“It is a shame to finish like this, because I felt strong and a top 10 was possible after I had both a good pace all weekend, and a good grid position, so I feel bad. I spinned a lot at the start, lost many positions, and since that I was struggling to overtake. I then made a big mistake in turn 1 when at the braking after the slipstream, I went very wide, and lost again a lot of time. We need to keep positive, because I feel fast and good, so the results have to come at some point. Let’s give a last push in Valencia.”
Franco Morbidelli – P16
“It was a strange race. I was expecting a totally different kind of performance. The feeling with the tyre was not normal. I was faster in Warm Up with the used tyres from Friday and in hot conditions then I was this evening with new tyres and in race mode. It‘s like this at this track.”
Raul Fernandez – P17
“Honestly, I expected much more from today. We thought we could manage the tyre better during the race but in the second and third lap, I couldn’t stop or overtake with the bike. It was super difficult and when you have a feeling like this with the tyre you are almost done, I couldn’t catch the other riders and get close to them. Plus, I had a blister on the rear tyre and a lot of vibrations, it is something that we need to find a solution for in the future. It’s difficult to manage, we still come and give 100%. We saw since Misano that we have the pace but we need to put everything together. I know that we have the potential and we believe in Aprilia, I had a good pace during the weekend but the races were just difficult.”
Pol Espargaro – P18
“I struggled from the first to the last lap with the front of the bike and could not turn properly. It was just a difficult race. We have one race left in Valencia, so let’s try to enjoy it with all the people around me, and hopefully we can finish on a positive note.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P19
“It’s been a tough race; we’ve tried to push, but it hasn’t been enough. Overall, I had a better feeling with the front end; we’ll try to follow this path and see if we can improve in Valencia”.
Aleix Espargaro – DNF
“I wanted to give it a go today, but at a certain point, I lost feeling and strength in my left foot so I was unable to work the gear shifter. Even in the Warm-up, I noticed this risk. The hours of rest ahead of the race weren’t enough time to fully recover. Knowing our pace, it’s a pity, but I was unable to continue. Now focus to Valencia where I hope to arrive at physical fitness that will be sufficient to finish the season well.”
Iker Lecuona DNF
“I’m disappointed because I felt motivated and wanted to do the best race possible. Unluckily, I had to stop and couldn’t finish (electrical problem). In any case, we were ready. This is part of racing. Thanks to LCR for his job, I’ve had fun working with them.”
Miguel Oliveira – DNS
“It was a race incident. Unfortunately, a crash to the Aprilia team-mate, which really disappoints me. I got a really good start yesterday, so I just figured, I could keep gaining positions. But in turn six, I brake a little too late, Aleix probably braked a little bit too much. Once I saw I was probably going to hit him, I just put up the bike straight to avoid him, but I couldn’t miss his rear wheel. Unfortunately, we crashed together, which is disappointing. It was a misjudgment, which ended up with both of us on the ground and both of us injured. I have a fractured scapula and don’t really know the extent of the injury yet. So once I get home I will get a better look into it and see what’s really ahead of me in terms of recovery. It looks like I will not need surgery, but it takes a bit of time. I will unfortunately miss the rest of the season, so this was my final lap. I had a little bit of everything this season, it was not what I was expecting, but I think this could also build up some more character for next season. I’m glad I lived through everything this season, so hopefully next year is going to be better.”
Team Managers
Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager
“A beautiful weekend at the top for Luca, solid and very fast in all conditions and today able to remain calm in the crucial moment and manage the tyres perfectly. At the end he climbed the rankings and returned to the podium, a wonderful result for him and the whole Team. Marco has struggled more, we weren’t perfect and we were forced to follow during all the sessions. A real shame not to have been able to demonstrate his real potential on the track, but we are still very happy to have secured the third place in the Championship. For us, in our second year in the Top class, it is an extraordinary achievement. Let’s return to Europe now, let’s make the most of these two days before Valencia and then full open throttle for the last race of the season.”
Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Team Manager
“We raced today! Brad was in the leading group and was there for many laps, until seven to go even though his feeling with front was not the best. He didn’t give up and finished 5th: still a good position considering how the weekend had been so far. We aren’t that happy but more satisfied than we were on Saturday. Jack had a very good race despite being stuck in traffic on the first corner. He recovered quite a lot of positions with good lap-times. Both riders were able to compete and fight back. We’ll gather as much information as we can from this weekend and go to Valencia.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“We knew that today‘s Race would be a very tough battle. Fabio had a better start than yesterday and that did help, but he then lost some time behind Marco Bezzecchi. Once he overtook him, Fabio could show his pace, which was really good. The way he closed those big gaps was impressive. He was strong till the end, and had the Race been a few laps longer, I reckon he also would have been able to overtake the riders directly ahead of him. Franky likewise had a good start, but the performance he had in Malaysia never materialised here for him. We will analyse the data to discover what prohibited him from being faster. We will try again next week in the final GP of the season. We look forward to closing the 2023 show in the best way possible.”
Nicolas Goyon – GASGAS Team Manager
“Things have not really gone to plan for the GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 today, and the only reward we got was a point with Augusto Fernandez’ P15. We expected a little bit more to be honest, but Augusto spinned at the race start as he was on the dirty part, and found himself last at the first corner. That ruined his chances to fight for a strong result, but he caught back a few guys in front of him with an okay pace. Then he made a mistake at the braking in turn 1, and lost again a lot of time, which made things even more difficult. After that, he rode at a fast pace, which is even more frustrating for us, but when you find yourself at the back, it is difficult to achieve a good result. In addition, he took a bit of time to overtake some riders, so we have to settle with a P15. Pol Espargaro struggled all weekend especially with the grip and the front end of the bike. Today is a disappointing result for both the team and himself. We will be back in Europe next week, so we will give our maximum to try finishing this season on a good result, and try to prove our true level.”
Razlan Razali – CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team Principal
“Well, words again cannot describe with how disappointed we are in the second last race of the year. Miguel is out with a broken scapula for the rest of the season which means he will not participate for the last race in Valencia and the Valencia test, and with Raul finishing outside of the points were not the results we were hoping for after a great session for him on Friday. But, Valencia is a good track for Raul, it’s his favorite track and we will do all our best to make sure we get at least one great result before the end of the year. We also welcome Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia test rider to replace Miguel in Valencia and we hope to score some points and maintain our team championship standings with eighth position. So, we go to Valencia next week and we wish Miguel a great recovery and we will see him next season.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team Manager
“Of course, Miguel did not participate in the main race because of the accident yesterday, a big injury on the shoulder, while it seems that there are no major ligament problems, but basically his season has come to an unfortunate end. Anyway, he will be fit for the Sepang test next year and in this moment, this is all that matters. Raul had a tough race today, he struggled with the rear grip. We tried some different things on the bike and clearly, we had issues because of them. We had a strong pace all weekend and it’s a disappointment to see the main race taking a downturn because the grip was not as we expected. We made a good step this weekend, Raul had a good pace. So, we look forward to go to the last race in Valencia and see if we can keep up that momentum with Raul. With Miguel unable to ride, we have a replacement rider with Lorenzo Savadori where we will also have things to try and test for next season. So, let’s focus on that in Valencia.”
Piero Taramasso – Michelin
“This weekend, we helped our partners solve equations with several unknowns. Not only was the track surface new, but it had never been run on by a Grand Prix motorcycle. No test could be organized beforehand, and the first test session, on a ‘green’ track, was truly a plunge into the unknown. We had to go very quickly into our analyses, but the lap times started to drop from the second session. Some records were then broken the next day during qualifying, a sign that we had made the right choices back at the factory by choosing the correct specifications, and then on the circuit during the set-up. Since the start of the season, we have clearly seen that despite changing and even unknown conditions, our tyres complement the increase in performance of the Grand Prix motorcycles. As we head towards the last race of the season, we can already say, given the number of records broken, that we have just experienced an exceptional period where the versatility of our tyres has been a key quality. And from a sporting point of view, we couldn’t have dreamed of better, since the World Championship title will be decided during the final round.”
MotoGP Race Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO ITA | DUCATI | 41m43.654 |
| 2 | Francesco BAGNAIA | DUCATI | +2.734 |
| 3 | Luca MARINI | DUCATI | +4.408 |
| 4 | Maverick VIÑALES | APRILIA | +4.488 |
| 5 | Brad BINDER | KTM | +7.246 |
| 6 | Alex MARQUEZ | DUCATI | +7.620 |
| 7 | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | +7.828 |
| 8 | Enea BASTIANINI | DUCATI | +8.239 |
| 9 | Jack MILLER | KTM | +11.509 |
| 10 | Jorge MARTIN | DUCATI | +14.819 |
| 11 | Marc MARQUEZ | HONDA | +14.964 |
| 12 | Johann ZARCO | DUCATI | +17.431 |
| 13 | Marco BEZZECCHI | DUCATI | +17.807 |
| 14 | Joan MIR | HONDA | +18.673 |
| 15 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | KTM | +21.455 |
| 16 | Franco MORBIDELLI | YAMAHA | +21.474 |
| 17 | Raul FERNANDEZ | APRILIA | +22.142 |
| 18 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | +27.194 |
| 19 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | HONDA | +27.740 |
| Not Classifed | |||
| 41 Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | 16 laps | |
| 27 Iker LECUONA | HONDA | ||
MotoGP Max Speeds Across Race Weekend
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Speed |
| 1 | Enea BASTIANINI | DUCATI | 356.4 |
| 2 | Marco BEZZECCHI | DUCATI | 356.4 |
| 3 | Johann ZARCO | DUCATI | 356.4 |
| 4 | Joan MIR | HONDA | 355.2 |
| 5 | Francesco BAGNAIA | DUCATI | 355.2 |
| 6 | Brad BINDER | KTM | 355.2 |
| 7 | Pol ESPARGARO | KTM | 354.0 |
| 8 | Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | 354.0 |
| 9 | Maverick VIÑALES | APRILIA | 354.0 |
| 10 | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | 354.0 |
| 11 | Raul FERNANDEZ | APRILIA | 352.9 |
| 12 | Jack MILLER | KTM | 352.9 |
| 13 | Marc MARQUEZ | HONDA | 352.9 |
| 14 | Luca MARINI | DUCATI | 352.9 |
| 15 | Franco MORBIDELLI | YAMAHA | 351.7 |
| 16 | Jorge MARTIN | DUCATI | 351.7 |
| 17 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | HONDA | 351.7 |
| 18 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | KTM | 350.6 |
| 29 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | DUCATI | 350.6 |
| 20 | Iker LECUONA | HONDA | 350.6 |
| 21 | Alex MARQUEZ | DUCATI | 349.5 |
| 22 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | APRILIA | 346.1 |
MotoGP Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | BAGNAIA | 437 |
| 2 | MARTIN | 416 |
| 3 | BEZZECCHI | 326 |
| 4 | BINDER | 268 |
| 5 | ZARCO | 204 |
| 6 | ESPARGARO | 198 |
| 7 | MARINI | 194 |
| 8 | VIÑALES | 192 |
| 9 | QUARTARARO | 167 |
| 10 | MARQUEZ | 165 |
| 11 | MILLER | 163 |
| 12 | DI GIANNANTONIO | 134 |
| 13 | MORBIDELLI | 93 |
| 14 | MARQUEZ | 89 |
| 15 | BASTIANINI | 84 |
| 16 | OLIVEIRA | 76 |
| 17 | FERNANDEZ | 71 |
| 18 | RINS | 54 |
| 19 | NAKAGAMI | 52 |
| 20 | FERNANDEZ | 40 |
| 21 | PEDROSA | 32 |
| 22 | MIR | 26 |
| 23 | ESPARGARO | 13 |
| 24 | SAVADORI | 9 |
| 25 | FOLGER | 9 |
| 26 | BRADL | 8 |
| 27 | PIRRO | 5 |
| 28 | PETRUCCI | 5 |
| 29 | CRUTCHLOW | 3 |
| 30 | LECUONA | 0 |
| 31 | BAUTISTA | 0 |
2023 MotoGP Calendar
| Rnd | Date | Location |
| 21 | Nov-26 | Valenciana, Valencia |
