The 2023 MotoGP season proved to be one of the closest-fought and thrilling in recent memory, the title eventually being secured for the second time in succession by Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia as he out-dueled Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin.
Motorsport Week decided to look back over the season and pick out its 10 best riders, a term which saw three of the five manufacturers and a total of eight riders secure victories. With that said, let’s get into the rundown.
10: Marc Marquez
Potentially a controversial choice bearing in mind the six-time premier class champion finished the year a lowly 14th in the standings, and it was Alex Rins who managed to save Honda’s winless streak from extending into two straight seasons.
The Spaniard did however show unbelievable form on a machine well behind its rivals, Marquez somehow putting it on the rostrum on three occasions as team-mate and 2020 world champion Joan Mir mostly looked completely lost.
A sodden Motegi allowed Marquez to show off his amazing natural ability as he took third on Sunday before ending the year with nearly double the points of the next Honda rider despite missing six weekends through injury earlier in the year.
He may have ridden above his head on several occasions in 2023 as he tried to extract potential his Honda didn’t possess, but he’ll doubtless prove a title threat in 2024 if his first test on a Ducati is anything to go by.
9: Johann Zarco
Consistency was the story of what would turn out to be Zarco’s final season with Pramac Ducati, a characteristic that carried him to fifth in the overall standings.
Despite scoring a brilliant maiden win in Australia, the Frenchman simply lacked the raw speed of fellow Ducati GP23 riders Bagnaia and Martin, who fought for the title all year long. Such was Zarco’s deficit, he ended up over 200 points adrift of his team-mate despite having two fewer non-scores.
Given the equipment at his disposal, his performance across the season as a whole was simply not strong enough.
8: Maverick Vinales
Aprilia’s 2023 challenger looked to suffer from even greater inconsistency than its predecessor. The RS-GP looked the class of the field at some venues, but bang average at others.
Vinales started the year stronger than team-mate Aleix Espargaro by finishing a close second to Bagnaia in Portugal, though only breached the top ten in the next seven outings.
Further runner-up finishes in Barcelona and Indonesia were impressive, but slightly inferior consistency and race management – especially in terms of his shoddy race starts – leave him behind Espargaro in our ranking.
7: Alex Marquez
The younger Marquez brother showed an impressive uptick in form in his maiden season running Ducati machinery with Gresini having moved from Honda, securing a best-ever-points finish of ninth.
He managed to secure a pair of impressive GP rostrum results as well as a pair of excellent sprint wins at Silverstone and Sepang. Marquez looked eminently more comfortable at the controls of his new steed and took another step forward after returning from missing three races through injury.
Things look promising heading into his second season with the Ducati, though he’ll have to face up to his formidable brother going forward.
6: Aleix Espargaro
The 2023 season was doubtless a disappointment for Espargaro, bearing in mind he targeted the title having narrowly missed out on third overall last year. Suffering from the fluctuating form of the ’23 RS-GP, he failed to breach the top five regularly.
He also had a tricky end to the year as he ended behind Vinales on pure pace more often than he’d like, though still ended the year ahead of him in the points.
The two victories he secured at Silverstone and the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya were simply sublime though, the former secured with an ultra-daring move on Bagnaia in difficult conditions at the infamous Maggotts-Becketts complex.
If Aprilia can solve some of the RS-GP’s inconsistencies, Espargaro still has much more to give.
5: Brad Binder
Once again proving to be KTM’s shining star, Binder blended consistency with speed as he secured an impressive 13 top-six results across the 20 grands prix contested in 2023.
He wasn’t able to add to his win tally, the South African coming close following a breathless battle with Martin in Thailand while a late mistake cost him dearly in Valencia, but did secure five GP podiums as well as a sprint win at Jerez.
Fourth in the rider’s standings was a fair reward, though several silly mistakes – including his Valencia error and picking up multiple track limits penalties that cost him better results in both Assen races as well as the Thai encounter – prevented him from placing higher.
4: Fabio Quartararo
It’s no secret that 2021 world champion Quartararo is hugely frustrated with the situation he finds himself in with Yamaha at the moment. The M1 looks to be the worst bike on the grid over a single lap, leaving him with too much work to do in the races – an irritation given that more often than not he had the pace to run within the top six.
Despite this, the Frenchman managed to pick a trio of podium placings across the season, while a strong end to the term left him ninth overall – just over 30 points adrift of Espargaro in sixth.
Against a barrage of faster Ducati, KTM, and Aprilia machinery this was a great outcome, and in a year in which the Japanese manufacturer came under much criticism from multiple fronts, Quartararo was easily its greatest asset.
3: Marco Bezzecchi
Bezzecchi enjoyed a stand-out sophomore term in the premier class. Having gelled immediately with Ducati’s GP22, he started the year strongly by taking third in Portugal before securing an emphatic first win in the second race of the year in Argentina.
Adding further wins at Le Mans and the Buddh International Circuit – the latter in particularly dominant fashion – alongside consistency beyond his years, capped off an ultra-strong season for the Italian.
His 128-point advantage over VR46 team-mate Luca Marini illustrates his formidable form, and his extra experience running up front this season could provide the ideal foundation for a possible title bid in 2024.
2: Jorge Martin
Despite ultimately missing out on the ultimate prize, not helped by a messy finale weekend in Valencia, Martin should be incredibly proud of his 2023 campaign.
He finally managed to team his blistering raw pace with better race management, the Spaniard looking after his rubber and controlling his enthusiasm much more effectively than in his previous two seasons. This resulted in an amazing nine sprint wins and GP successes.
Critical errors in Indonesia and Australia – a crash from the lead in the former and an incorrect tire choice in the latter – left him with a little too much to do in the end.
These errors combined with the mighty consistency of Bagnaia forced to him to concede the crown, though he has an exceptional base to build from for a 2024 title charge.
1: Francesco Bagnaia
The reigning world champion had a much harder time retaining his title than many had expected, with the rise of Martin ensuring failure was a realistic option.
Crashes in three of the opening five GPs left him behind the eight ball, though his class soon shone through as he collected the podiums and wins with seeming ease.
He only finished off the podium in the five races in which he crashed out across the year, a simply remarkable statistic that speaks volumes about his strength in 2023.
He’ll need to cut out the unforced errors with the looming threat of a more-experienced Martin and Bezzecchi as well as Marc Marquez’s Ducati arrival, though you’d be a brave man to bet against him adding a third title to his repertoire next year.
Honourable Mentions:
Fabio Di Gianantonio nearly made it into the top ten courtesy of his amazing end to the term, a breakthrough with the setup of his Ducati culminating in a brilliant first win in Qatar.
His breakthrough came a little too late in the day to steal a spot in the ten, though the Italian will be one to watch with VR46 next year.
Luca Marini also did a solid job for VR46 this season, scoring a pair of rostrums in the United States and Qatar. He lacked the raw pace of team-mate Bezzecchi though, and despite missing two races with injury shouldn’t have ended up so far adrift of his less-experienced countryman.
A move to the factory Honda will give the hard-working Italian a chance to mould a bike to his preference, though it’s certainly a gamble.
