2023 British GP MotoGP Rider Ratings - Aprilia Glory In The British Rain
Categories: MotoGP
On a weekend dominated by the World Champion, MotoGP provided plenty of stories across the field. Here are MGP1’s 2023 Austrian Grand Prix rider ratings.
Francesco Bagnaia - 10
Started: 1st
Sprint: 1st (±0)
Race: 1st (±0)
Probably the best performance of the season for Francesco Bagnaia who dominated the field across the board starting in qualifying.
Having led every sprint and race lap around the Red Bull Ring, the Italian showed a truly champion-like performance.
There was never any doubt for the reigning world champion, who is well on his way to his second title. Bagnaia extends his lead in the championship to 61 points.
Brad Binder - 9
Started: 3rd
Sprint: 2nd (+1)
Race: 2nd (+1)
Brad Binder’s Austrian Grand Prix race weekend could hardly be topped. Having secured a KTM contract until the end of 2026, the South African showed the RC-16’s potential at his employer’s home Grand Prix.
For just the second time in his career, Binder started from the front row, which how he put it “made the sprint and the race much easier”.
In the end, there was no way past a dominating Francesco Bagnaia for the South African but beating all other KTM/GASGAS riders by more than 20 seconds should prove the point of just how strong Binder’s performance really was.
Marco Bezzecchi - 8
Started: 7th
Sprint: DNF
Race: 3rd (+4)
Having missed out on a top starting position in qualifying, Marco Bezzecchi doomed a possible shot at the Austrian Grand Prix win.
After an unfortunate sprint race where the Italian was taken out, Bezzecchi produced a fine display in the Grand Prix to eventually get the better of Alex Marquez’s stubborn defense.
While it’s more points lost to Bagnaia, the VR46 rider bounced back from his British Grand Prix mistake in a big way and was able to close the gap to rival Jorge Martin.
Luca Marini - 8
Started: 6th
Sprint: DNF
Race: 4th (+2)
Once again under the radar and in the shadow of his teammate Marco Bezzecchi, Luca Marini showed another big-time performance at Spielberg.
Having been taken out by a fiercely fighting Jorge Martin in the Sprint, Marini bounced back on race Sunday in big fashion, finishing the Austrian Grand Prix in fourth.
Could he have gotten past Alex Marquez earlier in the race, there might have been a way to another podium finish for the Italian.
Alex Marquez - 8
Started: 5th
Sprint: 4th (+1)
Race: 5th (±0)
After an unfortunate ending to his British Grand Prix efforts, Alex Marquez arrived at the Red Bull Ring with the goal of showing he can convert a top starting position into a Top 5 finish.
Finishing 4th in the Sprint and fifth in the main race, Marquez confirmed once more he is capable of coming close to the podium fight and closed his first half of a season on a Ducati on a very positive note.
Maverick Vinales - 6
Started: 7th
Sprint: 8th (-1)
Race: 6th (+1)
After an amazing qualifying performance on a track the Aprilia usually has problems with, Maverick Vinales saw all hope of a podium fight diminish from the get-go.
Struggling to start well with a full tank in both the Sprint and the main race, Maverick Vinales once again ruined what looked like a promising Austrian Grand Prix race weekend.
The Spaniard contributed to the Turn 1 incident in the Sprint by leaving not enough space on the inside but, after losing track at the start of the main race, fought back up to sixth on race Sunday.
Jorge Martin - 5
Started: 12th
Sprint: 3rd (+9)
Race: 7th (+5)
Certainly a contributor to the Turn 1 incident in the Sprint, Jorge Martin was targeted by several other riders’ complaints.
Unable to produce a fast lap within the track limits in Q2, the Spaniard risked it all heading into Turn 1 in the Sprint and messed up big time.
Taking out several riders including his teammate Johann Zarco, Martin got away with a single long lap penalty and got gifted a podium as a bonus.
Even overcoming his LLP and a good seventh-place finish does not help Martin to a better grade as the Spaniard loses a lot of ground to World Champion Bagnaia in the championship.
Fabio Quartararo - 6
Started: 9th
Sprint: 15th (-6)
Race: 8th (+1)
Another victim of the Turn 1 carnage in the Sprint, Fabio Quartararo’s effort to score some points for Yamaha was doomed from the get-go.
His long-lap penalty for taking out Lorenzo Savadori was the cherry on top of the Frenchman’s ruined Saturday cake.
Quartararo delivered a promising performance in the Grand Prix as he mixed it with riders who have been fighting at the front in recent rounds finishing a solid eighth – probably the maximum the M1 is currently capable of.
Aleix Espargaro - 5
Started: 11th
Sprint: 7th (+4)
Race: 9th (+2)
After struggling to match his teammate’s speed in qualifying and his own British Grand Prix performance. Starting 11th, the Spaniard profited from the Turn 1 clash in the Sprint to finish 7th, just 0.024 sec in front of his teammate who fell back to 18th earlier in the race.
After winning two weeks ago, Espargaro’s struggles at the Red Bull Ring continued in the main race as he dropped a few positions as the race went on and finished 9th.
Enea Bastianini - 4
Started: 14th
Sprint: 13th (+1)
Race: 10th (+4)
Ever since he returned to action following the shoulder injury he sustained at the first weekend of the season, Enea Bastianini has not been his usual self.
This did not change in Austria, where the Italian was unable to make it to Q2 and was a long way off his teammate, as well as other Ducati riders, for the entirety of the weekend.
Bastianini looked set to continue struggling after a poor result in the sprint, however, the four-time race winner in 2022 showed better, but not great speed in the main race.
Franco Morbidelli - 5
Started: 15th
Sprint: 9th (+6)
Race: 11th (+4)
Franco Morbidelli had another quiet weekend with no high or low moments. Unable to make an impression in qualifying, the Italien showed much better race pace as he moved up the order in both races.
A pair of points finishes for Morbidelli, who is one of two riders to score in each of the ten Grand Prix so far in 2023.
Marc Marquez - 6
Started: 18th
Sprint: 10th (+7)
Race: 12th (+6)
A dreadful qualifying for Marquez didn’t stop the eight-time world champion from moving up the order in the sprint.
Although he benefited from the lap one incident, Marquez showed decent speed aboard a struggling Honda.
While 12th is not the result he would have wanted from the 28-lap race, Marquez did finish a Grand Prix for the first time this season.
Johann Zarco - 4
Started: 10th
Sprint: DNF
Race: 13th (-3)
Having been one of the victims of the Turn 1 turmoil in the sprint, Johann Zarco wasn’t able to show his full potential.
With the discussion surrounding his Ducati departure looming above him, the Frenchman struggled to get it together at the Red Bull Ring.
Zarco was another rider that made a decent start before having no answer for the riders around him during Sunday’s main event.
Pol Espargaro - 7
Started: 13th
Sprint: 6th (+7)
Race: 14th (-1)
Probably closest to his best since the start of the season and on just his second race weekend on the 2023 machinery, Pol Espargaro showed brilliant pace in the sprint as he remained close to Jack Miller, while also holding off both factory Aprilias for sixth.
Espargaro was unable to produce the same level of performance in the Grand Prix as he struggled to keep touch with the battles ahead of him, however, 14th is still more than one could expect from the Spaniard after his horrendous injuries earlier this season.
Augusto Fernandez - 5
Started: 22nd
Sprint: 17th (+5)
Race: 15th (+6)
Another race in his rookie season, another points finish for Augusto Fernandez. Although struggling in Qualifying, the Spaniard managed to climb up the ladder in the Sprint and the race.
However, with Pedro Acosta pushing for his MotoGP seat, the sole MotoGP rookie will have to up the ante again.
Jack Miller - 4
Started: 4th
Sprint: 5th (-1)
Race: 16th (-12)
Following a good qualifying and sprint, what followed for Jack Miller on race Sunday was a monumental slide down the order that fits in with Miller’s general pattern of being very fast early on but then losing touch with his rivals at the front.
Fabio Di Giannantonio - 3
Started: 20th
Sprint: 11th (+9)
Race: 17th (+3)
Albeit showing a decent comeback in the sprint being this far off his teammate’s pace, and qualifying just 20th, Fabio Di Giannantonio’s Austrian Grand Prix performance will not have helped him keep his Ducati seat for 2024.
Subbing in for Alex Rins the Spaniard’s job was to stay out of trouble, collect some data and bring the bike home. Still finishing ahead of one or the other established MotoGP rider would have been nice considering Lecuona started 17th on the grid.
Takaaki Nakagami - 2
Started: 19th
Sprint: DNF
Race: 18th
Not for the first time this season, Nakagami endured a weekend to forget as he scored zero points for Honda.
A heavy fall in the Sprint meant Takaaki Nakagami entered Sunday somewhat bruised and he was unable to challenge for the points-paying positions as a result.
Iker Lecuona - 5
Started: 21st
Sprint: 16th (+5)
Race: 20th (+1)
Lecuona had another quiet weekend as he looks to show Honda that he can be a rider for them to consider in 2024.
Miguel Oliveira - 6
Started: 8th
Sprint: DNF
Race: DNF
Somewhat of a cursed weekend for Miguel Oliveira, who never even got a chance to showcase his speed. Qualifying in eighth was a promising sign, but the Portuguese rider was taken down on the first corner of the Sprint and suffered a race-ending mechanical failure that put an early end to his Grand Prix.
Raul Fernandez - 4
Started: 17th
Sprint: 14th (+3)
Race: DNF
The young Spaniard was not a factor for another weekend on his Aprilia, as he failed to make any impression in any session.
The end of his bad weekend came courtesy of an issue with the bike that forced him to park it in his garage.
Joan Mir - 2
Started: 16th
Sprint: 12th (+4)
Race: DNF
It was yet another disastrous weekend for the 2020 world champion as he crashed out of the main race again. At least Mir was able to finish the sprint in P12.
After his eighth DNF of the season, however, the Spaniard doesn’t have much to argue for himself.
