It’s the first weekend of September and the fish in MotoGP is sold out. With the loss of Suzuki and two fewer motorcycles for next year, the ‘mercato’ slowed down considerably in May, but after the holiday break agents and team managers got together and closed all the squads next in 2023, the last one this weekend in Misano.
Nor were there any surprises when the last free seat was awarded to the famous Gas Gas Factory which will be managed by Hervé Poncharal in his Tech3. They bet on a Spanish duo with Pol Espargaró returning to Matighoffen after his unsuccessful trip to Repsol Honda and they promoted August Fernandez, the leader of the Moto2 World Championship and the Red Bull KTM Ajo box. Once they cut the throat of Raúl Fernández, who wants to leave, and Remy Gardner is the logical bet if they really want to continue to operate as a pyramid from Moto3 to MotoGP. The Mallorcan of Madrid origin is guaranteed the 2023 Rookie trophy as no other rider will rise from Moto2. All pending announcement.
The other three squares that remain to be informed will also mean continuity. Mooney VR46 keeps Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi and the controversial Taka Nakagami will continue for another year at Idemitsu LCR Honda after youngster Ai Ogura wisely decided to delay his jump to MotoGP for a year and not burn out at this delicate moment in the golden wing ranks where veterans need to roll up their sleeves.
Great moves are Suzuki’s Joan Mir and Alex Rins who will be joining the Honda ranks to help with development with their Suzuki experience. The 2020 MotoGP champion will go to Repsol Honda, in a new Dream Team of champions with Marc Márquez and the third-placed 2020 rider in LCR Honda, with Alex Márquez leaving for another chance to ride a Ducati in the familiar Gresini team Racing.
The change of trading cards within Ducati, where Jack Miller left for Red Bull KTM, ended with the promotion of Enea Bastianini to the official box at the expense of Jorge Martín. Borgo Panigale has re-listed the official box with Bagnaia and Bastianini and they hope that the new Azzurra combination for the next two years will improve on what Dovizioso-Iannone or Dovizioso-Petrucci achieved.
Aprilia increased the number of bikes on the grid in 2023 and entrusted four to the Iberian talent, with continuation for Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales in the official box and Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernández for the box of the Malaysian RNF, who abandoned the Yamaha boat.
In addition to losing those two Suzuki bikes and the two Yamaha bikes -instead of adding two new Aprilias- Andrea Dovizioso, who said goodbye this weekend at Misano, Remy Gardner and Darryn Binder.
The 2022 MotoGP grid
REPSOL HONDA TEAM
Marc Marquez (Spain)
Joan Mir (Spain)
DUCATI LENOVO TEAM
Pecco Bagnaia (Italy)
Enea Bastianini (Italy)
MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA
Fabio Quartararo (France)
Franco Morbidelli (Italy)
RED BULL KTM FACTORY
Brad Binder (South Africa)
Jack Miller (Australia)
APRILIA RACING TEAM
Aleix Espargaro (Spain)
Maverick Vinales (Spain)
CSF HONDA
Alex Rins (Spain)
Takaaki Nakagami (Japan) *
GASGAS FACTORY RACING TEAM
Pol Espargaro (Spain)
Augusto Fernandez (Spain) *
PRIMA PRAMAC RACING DUCATI
Johann Zarco (France)
Jorge Martin (Spain)
MOONEY VR46 DUCATI
Luca Marini (Italy) *
Marco Bezzecchi (Italy) *
GRESINI RACING DUCATI
Fabio di Gianantonio (Italy)
Alex Marquez (Spain)
AT RNF APRILIA
Miguel Oliveira (Portugal)
Raul Fernandez (Spain)
* to be officially announced
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
