MotoGP Rider Ratings - 2023 Catalan Grand Prix
Categories: MotoGP
On a weekend dominated by Aprilia, MotoGP provided plenty of stories across the field. Here are MGP1’s 2023 Catalan Grand Prix rider ratings.
Aleix Espargaro - 10
Started: 2nd
Sprint: 1st (+1)
Race: 1st (+1)
Quite the weekend from Aleix Espargaro at his home Grand Prix in 2023. Having missed out on a Montmeló podium in 2022, the Spaniard put together two dominant perfomances in the Sprint and the main race this year.
Although profiting from the restart on Sunday after having messed up the first start, Espargaro was the man to beat and proved too strong for the rest of the field. Only teammate Vinales came close to matching Espargaro’s pace.
Maverick Vinales - 9
Started: 4th
Sprint: 3rd +1)
Race: 2nd (+2)
After a good qualifying result, Maverick Vinales’ weekend, once again, depended on a good start to the race. Having ruined his Austrian Grand Prix race weekend with two horrendous starts, the Spaniard insisted, he and Aprilia found a solution to his early race problems.
A very strong sprint was backed up by an even better ride in the main event as Vinales came close to winning his first race before running into grip issues.
As a result, Vinales lost out to teammate Espargaro, who pushed him wide when taking the lead with four laps to go.
Jorge Martin - 8
Started: 5th
Sprint: 5th (±0)
Race: 3rd (+2)
Finishing the sprint where he started, Martin had an eventful 12 laps after making his way into second by the time riders arrived at turn one.
The Pramac rider was then passed around the outside by Maverick Vinales before a mistake a few laps later saw him nearly take out the Aprilia rider.
Martin shot to the inside and had to run off the circuit to avoid clipping his fellow Spaniard. After taking the lead early on, Martin was quickly dropped by the top two Aprilias to finish a solid third.
Johann Zarco - 7
Started: 6th
Sprint: 7th (+1)
Race: 4th (+2)
Finally back in the first two rows on the starting grid, Johann Zarco was involved in the Turn 1 turmoil before the restart on Sunday.
Being lucky to escape the accident unharmed, the Frenchman was able to attend the restart and had a rather quiet race.
Zarco showed great pace especially on Sunday to and fought his way up to fifth before getting the better of Miguel Oliveira late in the race to finish fourth behind his teammate Martin.
Miguel Oliveira - 8
Started: 3rd
Sprint: 6th (-3)
Race: 5th (-2)
Only the second time he’s qualified on the front row in his MotoGP career, Oliveira was an early contender for the podium in the sprint before dropping his pace and eventually coming across the line in sixth.
Putting together his best weekend of the season, Oliveira showed once again how good he can be when he has a bike capable of challenging at the front and is without injury.
Alex Marquez - 7
Started: 7th
Sprint: 10th (-3)
Race: 6th (+1)
Apart from being involved in the Turn 1 accident on Sunday, nothing much was heard from Alex Marquez on the Catalan Grand Prix weekend.
Having finished outside the points in the Sprint, the Spaniard showed convincing pace on Sunday to finish a solid sixth.
Fabio Quartararo - 6
Started: 17th
Sprint: 18th (-1)
Race: 7th (+10)
Admitting he overrode the Yamaha M1 in the sprint on Saturday, Fabio Quartararo showed his potential even on an underperforming M1 as the Frenchman fought his way up to seventh.
Still, 18th in Saturday’s sprint on a track the 2021 World Champion calls one of his favorites can’t be Yamaha’s standard and shows just how bad the situation of the Japanese manufacturer is.
Jack Miller - 5
Started: 13th
Sprint: 16th (-3)
Race: 8th (+5)
Jack Miller’s ups and downs performance-wise are slowly but surely becoming one of the paddock’s mysteries.
While teammate Binder consistently fight for the podium spots, the Australian fails to match his teammate’s great form in any way.
Having been flung wide early in the sprint, Miller experienced a dreadful Saturday race as the Australian fell down the order to finish an embarrassing 16th.
Seemingly finding race pace in the night from Saturday to Sunday, the KTM rider managed to put together a solid race to finish eighth.
Augusto Fernandez - 6
Started: 19th
Sprint: 17th (+2)
Race: 9th (+10)
Not for the first time this season Augusto Fernandez was able to surprise the MotoGP fans on Sunday as the rookie showed solid pace to finish 9th in Catalunya.
Improving in qualifying should be the main goal for the upcoming races as the Spaniard’s results rely too much on a great start for now.
Fabio Di Giannantonio - 6
Started: 8th
Sprint: 13th (-5)
Race: 10th (-2)
Surprising everyone in qualifying, Fabio Di Gianntonio being a victim of the Turn 1 chaos on Sunday, neither in the sprint nor the race was able to match his rivals’ pace.
Stating he has had the pace all season, but wasn’t able to put together a consistent weekend yet, time for the Italian is running out as he wants to show why he deserves another chance in 2024.
Luca Marini - 4
Started: 18th
Sprint: 12th (+6)
Race: 11th (+7)
Having his “most difficult weekend of the season” in Catalunya, Luca Marini fell victim to a ruined qualifying that doomed the rest of the weekend.
Struggling to find performance in the sprint as well as the race, the Italian delivered a close battle with teammate Bezzecchi on Sunday to finish 11th.
Marco Bezzecchi - 5
Started: 10th
Sprint: 8th (+2)
Race: 12th (-2)
On a weekend where he could have inched closer to championship leader Francesco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi was unable to score big points.
Having failed to lay a solid foundation in qualifying, the Italian showed there was potential for a possible Top 5 fight but did not deliver on race Sunday as he and teammate Marini underperformed in tandem.
Marc Marquez - 6
Started: 12th
Sprint: 11th (+1)
Race: 13th (-1)
It seems Marc Marquez has found a way to bring the RC 213 V into Top 10 contention without taking too much risk. With a new approach to racing, the Spaniard shows the limits of the bike as he dominates his fellow Honda colleagues.
Having fought his way into Q2 on Saturday, Marquez was able to match the pace of the riders starting around him finishing a, not goog but solid 11th in the sprint and 13th in the race.
Franco Morbidelli - 4
Started: 16th
Sprint: 15th (+1)
Race: 14th (+2)
Like his teammate, Morbidelli struggled to be competitive in both qualifying and race trim as he claimed 15th in the sprint.
While Quartararo showed very good speed to finish seventh, Morbidelli didn’t have the same type of performance as he came home in P14.
In order to put himself into contention for that sweet, vacant Pramac Ducati seat, he will need to up the ante at his home Grand Prix in Misano next weekend.
Takaaki Nakagami - 4
Started: 21st
Sprint: 20th (+1)
Race: 15th (+6)
Another difficult Saturday saw Takaaki Nakagami qualify way down the order and was unable to put together a solid comeback in the sprint.
As the Japanese started out well on Sunday, he profited from the many DNFs in front of him and finished 15th to take home one point.
Iker Lecuona - 5
Started: 22nd
Sprint: 19th (+3)
Race: 16th (+6)
Another solid weekend from Rins replacement Iker Lecuona as he gets used to the RC213V’s many mishaps. Having not figured out the Honda on a fast lap yet, the Spaniard showed a good pace compared to his Honda colleagues as he profited from the crashes and technical problems in front of him to finish just shy of the points in Catalunya.
Joan Mir - 2
Started: 20th
Sprint: 21st (-1)
Race: 18th (+2)
Joan Mir’s terrible 2023 season continued in Catalunya as he was unable to match his teammate’s speed.
Stating Saturday’s sprint was “the worst feeling [he] ever had with a bike”, the Spaniard was unable to provide even a slight hike in performance on Sunday as the factory Honda rider finished behind both satellite bikes in P18. At least, he finished a race for once.
Raul Fernandez - 4
Started: 15th
Sprint: 14th (+1)
Race: DNF
On a weekend dominated by Aprilia, Raul Fernandez was unable to match the pace of his colleagues as technical problems forced him out of what looked to shape up like a promising race for the Spaniard.
Pol Espargaro - 4
Started: 14th
Sprint: DNF
Race: DNF
Slowly getting used to his RC16, Pol Espargaro had an up-and-down weekend at his home Grand Prix in Catalunya.
Having qualified a solid 14th, the Spaniard was the only rider to not finish the sprint after a crash in Turn 5 before a technical problem with his KTM forced him to retire from Sunday’s race.
Brad Binder - 7
Started: 9th
Sprint: 4th (+5)
Race: DNF
Not the qualifying Binder would have hoped for, but a position the factory KTM rider was able to convert into fourth place in the sprint nonetheless as the South African saw his main race end very quickly after technical issues led to him retiring from P6.
Francesco Bagnaia - 6
Started: 1st
Sprint: 2nd (-1)
Race: DNF
Securing an incredible pole position with a new lap record, Francesco Bagnaia’s weekend looked to shape up like the several race weekends before.
Being unable to match Aleix Espargaro’s pace in the sprint, Bagnaia settled with 2nd before suffering a horrific highsider on Sunday before being run over by Brad Binder.
Although the crash looked gnarly, the Italian escaped rather unharmed and “will try everything” to be back next weekend in Misano.
Enea Bastianini - 2
Started: 11th
Sprint: 9th (+2)
Race: DNF
Continuing to show improvements aboard the factory GP23 bike, Bastianini converted his Q2 appearance into a points finish during the sprint, while finishing eight seconds down on the winner.
After a solid showing in the sprint, Bastianini made a big mistake on lap one as he clipped the rear of Zarco, causing a big pile up that included three of Ducatis.
