MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

On the third lap of the opening grand prix of the 2023 MotoGP season, Marc Marquez locked the front wheel of his Honda RC213V while braking for Turn 3, trying to close the gap to Jorge Martin and Miguel Oliveira. As he did so, he clipped the Ducati of Martin, lost control, and barreled into the RNF Aprilia of Miguel Oliveira.

For that incident, Marc Marquez was handed a Double Long Lap Penalty, to be served at the Argentina GP the following week. But two days after the penalty notice was issued, the FIM Stewards issued a revised penalty, stating that Marquez was to serve the Double Long Lap Penalty at "the next MotoGP Race in which the rider will be able to participate".

That revised penalty has kicked off a controversial process which has gone on so long that the case has exceeded the term set for a hearing by the MotoGP Court of Appeal. As such, the penalty for Marc Marquez is no longer valid.

The FIM regulations set out very clearly that the MotoGP Court of Appeal must hear an appeal and issue a judgment within four weeks of the brief of appeal (basically, the letter from the appellant setting out their case) being received by the court. Section 3.4.4 of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship Regulations states the following:

3.4.4 Time limits to be observed for appeal hearings

The FIM Appeal Stewards must be convened to examine an appeal immediately after the brief of appeal is received.

With the field in MotoGP being so incredibly tight, the value of testing has increased exponentially. The more equal the bikes and manufacturers are, the more important testing has become. Smaller and smaller gains are making a bigger and bigger difference.

But as part of Dorna and the FIM's attempt to control costs in MotoGP, testing has been reduced to the bare minimum. Beyond the bare minimum, perhaps; there will be two days of post-race testing in 2023, but next year, that number has been bumped back up to three days.

Post-race tests are a fantastic opportunity to try new things at a circuit where the teams have a whole weekend's worth of data. The downside is that the circuit is also covered in Michelin rubber, meaning the grip is spectacular, which can hide all sorts of problems. And in 2023, the two post-race tests are taking place at Jerez and Misano, useful circuits for sure, but not great places for trying new aerodynamics, as the top speed is limited, and there are few corners where you are accelerating from very low speeds.

What we should be talking about tonight is the return of MotoGP to the place that houses its soul, and the explosion of passion and racing that emerged from the Circuito de Jerez. But despite a tense race with a scintillating last lap that played out in front of the largest crowd to pack the Jerez track for perhaps a decade, the main topic of conversation is the level of stewarding. MotoGP at Jerez looked like the pinnacle of motorcycle, surrounded by adoring fans, and overseen by a bunch of amateurs.

The circuit was a cauldron of emotion from the crack of dawn. I walked down to Turn 10 to watch the warm up, to get a sense of who had drive out of that crucial corner, but to be honest I was captivated by the crowds. There was an intensity that has been rare in MotoGP since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, only seen at Le Mans, the Sachsenring, Assen. It felt like the old days.

The new MotoGP format was supposed to bring a little more excitement to a weekend, and it has certainly done that. If anything, it has brought a little too much excitement at some points: Of the 22 riders who turned up on the Thursday before the season opener at Portimão, only 17 started the race a week later in Argentina.

The sprint races themselves have made for fantastic viewing, mainly because they have encouraged riders to try to make more passes. The problem is, the MotoGP manufacturers – or rather, the European manufacturers which are dominating MotoGP – are doing everything in their power to build bikes that are hard to overtake. So the only way to get past is to take a lot more risk, especially on the opening lap.

I say 'only way', but in fact there is another way to get to the front without taking any risks in passing. And that is to take risks during qualifying. And to take risks in qualifying, you first have to take risks in the two practice sessions on Friday, to ensure a spot in Q2. If you are starting on the front row, you have to worry a great deal less about what happens behind you.

Though it is always a pleasure to have wildcard riders to spice up the grid, you expect them to add a bit of color, and then ride around in the vain hope of a top ten. What you don't expect – at least, not since the demise of the 500s at the beginning of the century – is for a wildcard rider to turn up at a circuit and top the first session of practice immediately. Shades of Norick Abe at Suzuka in 1994.

I had been tipped about Dani Pedrosa by someone who was at the private MotoGP test at Jerez before Austin. Word was he was fast, and looking determined. That tip proved to be golden, the KTM test rider, entered as a wildcard at Jerez, ending the morning session of practice as fastest, and third fastest overall on the first day.

"Very happy and a good day," Pedrosa said in his usual understated way. "Unexpected obviously. Happy for the team and for the fans. It was a surprise, this morning especially. I had a good feeling. It is my first ’36 in this track. I am happy to improve the lap time with my age! It’s nice."

They say that the season only really begins when MotoGP returns to Europe and the paddock assembles again in Jerez. The first few races, usually flyaways, present too jumbled a picture to make complete sense of the MotoGP season. With everyone back at a track where they have thousands of laps and petabytes of data, the real strengths and weaknesses come to the fore.

Critics of this idea point to the fact that in 2023, the season started in Europe already, the first round of the season having taken place at Portimão in Portugal. But anyone who has ever been to Portimão (or frankly, seen it on TV) will know that the Portuguese circuit is like nothing else on the calendar, the elevation changes and mixture of slow and fast corners giving it its unique character. Add in Argentina – a fast flowing track that only really get used once a year, and has probably the lowest grip surface of the year – and Austin – the most physically demanding circuit of the year, replete with bumps and sketchy asphalt in places – and you have three races which are a long way from being typical of the season.

Jerez feels like the real start of the season for other reasons as well. A track and event steeped in history, with one of the loudest and most passionate crowds of the year. An ancient Spanish city which exudes motorcycling passion and culture. Great food, great wine, and a warm and welcoming local populace. This is how the start of a MotoGP season is supposed to be.

The complaint commonly leveled at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, is that it does not produce great racing. And this is often true. But not this Sunday. In 2023, the fans who flocked to COTA for MotoGP saw three great races on Sunday, and a whole heap of surprises.

The Moto2 race was a great example of how a track like COTA can produce a tense and exciting race. Marc VDS rider Tony Arbolino and Pedro Acosta of the KTM Ajo squad broke away shortly before the halfway mark and a hard chase ensued. At a track which is as physically demanding as COTA, Acosta knew he had to plan an attack on Arbolino, rather than just try to pass and having to spend the rest of the race battling. The additional energy that would take would leave them both with nothing left to finish the race.

So Acosta waited. When Arbolino ran wide into Turn 1, Acosta seized the lead, but the effort of leading saw him outbrake himself and run a little wide into Turn 12. Arbolino snatched back the lead, while Acosta slid back in behind him. On the last lap, Acosta attacked again into Turn 12, the tight left hander at the end of the back straight, and snatched back the lead.

Sprint race number three is in the books, and despite the crashes – three in the ten-lap sprint around the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas – everyone made it back to the pits pretty much in one piece and ready to go for Sunday. After the attrition of Portimão and Argentina, this was a welcome change.

Saturday underlined once again what a massive change the sprint races are for MotoGP. They change everything: there is no such thing as "it's only Friday" any longer, as Friday determines who gets through to Q2 directly, and who has the stress of trying to pass through Q1. With qualifying counting for two races rather than one, a spot on the front two rows is now utterly vital.

Conditions had changed too. A very heavy fall of rain overnight had flooded into some of the temporary offices in the paddock, and left the track green and still damp in the morning. Then, when the sun came out, temperatures soared, track temps creeping up towards the high 40s°C.

So far, the 2023 season has started very similarly to the 2022 season. Portimão saw a bunch of riders crash out and get injured, Argentina was typically low grip, with the weather adding in a curveball. We've had surprise winners, and an unexpected championship leader, Marco Bezzecchi taking over from Pecco Bagnaia at the top of the tables.

The Grand Prix of The Americas is following that familiar pattern. Sure, Jorge Martin is fastest overall, hardly a surprise given the Pramac Ducati rider's renown for punching out a fast lap. Even when felled by fever, and unable to do more than two fast laps in a row, Martin still managed to find the speed for one fast lap, good enough to get within a couple of tenths of the outright pole record (held, you will doubtless be shocked to hear, by Jorge Martin).

And sure, Pecco Bagnaia was second quickest, the reigning world champion back to his old self after his minor but costly mistake in Argentina. The factory Ducati rider is comfortable and fast, both in qualifying and in race trim.