MotoGP 2023: Marco Bezzechi wins the first Indian GP as Japanese bikes thrive at BIC

The first-ever MotoGP race on Indian soil took some work to come to fruition, but it was a rewarding experience. Marco Bezzecchi of Mooney VR46 Racing Team became the first-ever MotoGP race winner at the Bharat GP and he was accompanied by Jorge Martin, another Ducati rider, on the podium. The surprise and entry was that of Fabio Quartararo who managed to finish third after Francesco ‘Pecoo’ Bagnaia crashed out.

Marco Bezzecchi reigned supreme at the race and was in a league of his own from the first lap. He even had a lead of 6 seconds at one point in time. This pace was evident even from the Sprint where he was unfortunate to have been tagged by his own teammate. Despite the damage and falling behind, he was able to make a lot of places.
It was not a great day for the factory Ducati team as their lead rider and the defending world champion, Pecco Bagnaia crashed while he was P2. Pecco was in an engaging battle with Jorge Martin for a few laps when his front end just washed out from underneath him. This is a fall that we have seen a number of times from the Ducati ride. Jorge Martin, on the other hand, managed to cruise to second place finish, reducing his deficit in the Riders’ Championship to just 14 points. However, he too had to battle Fabio Quartararo for this P2 as the two riders got uncomfortably close to each other during the closing laps.

The Japanese manufacturers seem to be having a great time on the Buddh International Circuit (BIC). Both Honda and Yamaha looked much more competitive than they have looked all year. Franco Morbidelli, the other Yamaha rider also managed to finish in P7. Marc Marquez was running in fifth position but ran wide in Turn 1 and slipped. The eight-time world champion was able to get back on his bike and salvaged a P9 finish.
KTM’s Brad Binder had a good launch off the start but he was unable to progress beyond P4. Jack Miller, however, was not so lucky. Having run wide and lost a lot of grip, the Australian rider fell back considerably and crossed the line in P14 only.

Aleix Espargaro could not finish the race due to a mechanical failure with his machine while his teammate got eight points for the team, finishing eighth in the race. The other Aprilia machines also managed to score points with Raul Fernandez finishing P10 and Miguel Oliviera P12.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, Pecco Bagnaia, Aleix Espargaro and Augusto Fernandez were the four riders who did not finish the race and Michele Pirro was the only rider who did not score points this Sunday. After the race was over, almost all of the riders were happy with the track layout with many of them looking forward to coming back as well. The only concern that they shared was how close the walls were at certain parts of the track.