Elbows Down

The dream combination for Ducati- an Italian rider, on an Italian bike, riding number 1. Whilst he doesn’t have the wow factor that Valentino Rossi had, Pecco, as he is known, has developed a strong Italian fanbase with those wanting to fill a post-Rossi hole in their hearts. Bagnaia is the current reigning champion of MotoGP, and is showing no signs of conceding. Many fans like to debate the dominance of Ducati, claiming the power of the bike is taking away the need for a skilled rider. Whilst this can be debated for days, it is undeniable that Pecco is the best rider on that bike. Last year, Pecco struggled with consistency, with 5 DNFs in 21 races. He seems to have ironed this out, however, and it is becoming clear that the 2023 World Championship is his to lose. Pecco is very close with all the VR46 academy alumni, especially Rossi, and spends much of his time training at the MotorRanch. He lives in Italy with his fiancé, Dominizia, and their dog, Turbo.

You can’t miss Pecco on his red bike with a large number 1 on the front. He wears red leathers, with the slogan GoFree on the back.

The 2021 World Champion isn’t having the dream season he has hoped for this year. Despite a very strong start to the 2022 season, Fabio’s results have seen a steady decline which continues into 2023. Often referred to as one of the most skilled riders on the grid, the Yamaha M1 bike has not been up to the standards of its European competitors. Whilst not going into depth, Fabio has alluded to some psychological struggles in the past, which sometimes can be seen affecting his performance, although the downfalls of the Yamaha can’t be underplayed. Fabio is a true 20-something, living in Andorra but spending much of his free time partying with other sportspeople across the Mediterranean. 

Fabio can be seen on a blue bike with the monster logo, and a red number 20. Also wearing a red devil helmet and red boots, with the slogan El Diablo on his back.

Known as Bestia (meaning beast in Italian), Enea Bastianini is the other half of Ducati’s double Italian dream, and has been solely on a Ducati bike since his introduction to the premier class in 2021. His 2022 season was impressive throughout, only dropping out of contention in the last few races, ultimately finishing 3rd overall. With a promotion to the factory team, 2023 looked like it could be Enea’s year, but unfortunately, a shoulder injury during the opening race meant his championship dreams will have to be put on hold until next year. A very naturally talented rider, Enea should be in the paddock for many years. Enea lives in Italy with his girlfriend Alice, and their French bulldog, Hagrid.

Enea rides the red Ducati whilst wearing red leathers. A pink number 23 brands the front, and his nickname Bestia brands the back of his suit.

Both the eldest, and longest-tenured rider in the MotoGP paddock, it is surprising that Aleix Esparago is only now starting to become a podium contender. Dedicated to Aprilia, it is clear that Aleix has been integral to the factory’s efforts in becoming a competitive team, and last year claimed both Aleix’s and Aprilia’s first MotoGP victories. Being the eldest, Aleix often represents the younger riders in the safety commission, and can be quite outspoken against the FIM. Aleix is showing no signs of slowing, and even if he retires soon, is likely to remain a regular test rider in the paddock. He lives in Andorra with his wife, 2 children and 2 dogs, and also owns a Sushi restaurant in the city. When not riding a motorbike, Aleix spends the majority of his time road cycling.

Aleix can be seen on the black Aprilia, with red highlights. His leathers have a black body and red shoulders, and Aleix often wears a pink helmet, but is prone to change it quite regularly. A true family man, he has 3 handprints representing his 2 children and his wife on his back.

Possibly the biggest personality on the grid, Jack Miller is unashamedly Australian and ”thriller miller” can always be relied upon to put on a show. Jack moved straight to the premier class from Moto3 in 2018, skipping Moto2. Many assumed this would set him up to fail, however, Jack has consistently improved his world championship results year after year. Finishing 4th in 2022, his many fans are hoping he will continue the trend and gain a top 3 championship finish this year. However, moving from the factory Ducati team, to a redeveloped KTM could prove to be an uphill struggle. Rarely involved in controversies, Jack tends to be a consistent rider who is clearly living his dream as a MotoGP rider. Jack lives in Australia with his wife, Ruby, and is expecting their first child very soon. He is also building a motocross track in his back garden.

His bike is orange and navy blue, with strong red bull branding. Jack’s leathers are navy with orange highlights, and he runs with the number 43 in the style of the Australian flag on the front.

The only South African to win a MotoGP race, Brad Binder is certainly a star on the grid. After shining in the Moto3 paddock for 5 years, Brad won his first world championship in 2016 with KTM, and hasn’t left the manufacturer since. A further 3 impressive years in Moto2 earned him a premier class ride in 2020. Although his time in MotoGP hasn’t yet seen many race wins, Brad’s ability to climb the grid no matter his qualifying position has earned him great respect among fans and riders alike. The majority of Binder’s career highlights seem to happen during wet races, mostly due to his fearless nature and ability to outbreak everyone else on the corners, although he is proving himself to be a very strong dry-weather rider too. Brad lives in South Africa with his fiance.

Brad rides the orange and black KTM, with matching leather and a yellow 33 on the front. His helmet mimics the South African flag and also has 33 on top.

Alex Rins showed huge potential on the Suzuki, but has failed to replicate his successes more recently. His rookie season in 2017 saw several top-10 finishes, and his success continued in the following seasons. He was able to claim 3rd in the championship in 2020 with 4 podiums in 14 races. Unfortunately, this seems to be the highlight of Rins’ career, as he has failed to replicate such consistently strong results. The move to Honda at the beginning of 2023 proves yet another challenge for him.Alex has been open about his desire to protect the planet, and is currently embarking on a tree-planting campaign during the European races this season. Alex lives in Andorra with his wife, daughter, and dogs. 

Alex is the only rider on track sponsored by Castrol, so is easy to spot on the blue, red and green striped bike. His leathers mimic the livery and he has a silver 42 on the front.

Johann Zarco is the definition of always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Throughout his 7 years in the paddock, Johann has been on the podium 19 times, but never won a grand prix. Zarco tends to be consistent, rarely crashing out of a race, although struggles to regularly battle in the front group. 2023 marks Zarco’s 3rd year with Pramac, a bike and team he has gelled well with, hopefully, this will be the year he can finally achieve that win. The Frenchman lives in France and is also a skilled musician, singing at Jack Miller’s wedding. 

Zarco can be seen on the purple and red Prima Pramac bike, with a dark blue Red Bull helmet. His leathers mimic the Pramac colours of red and purple and the front of his bike houses a large, red number 5.

Jorge Martín is possibly the fastest rider on the current grid. Since joining the premier class in 2021, Martín has been on pole 9 times and often leads several laps in a race. Unfortunately, Jorge often struggles to maintain his pace throughout a full race, either dropping back or crashing out after a few laps. Whether this is due to tyre limitation or his own stamina is hard to tell, but solving whatever the cause is could enable Martín to become one of the strongest riders on the grid. Thankfully, the new sprint format seems to work in his favour, helping him rack up the points needed to fight for a championship. Jorge is another Spaniard who now lives in Andorra, where he spends a lot of time cycling with his good friend Aleix Espargaró.

Jorge rides the white, red and purple Pramac, with a blue 89 on the front. His helmet is sponsored by Red Bull, and his leathers are donned with his blue “martinator” nickname on the back.

Despite never winning a World Championship, Miguel Oliveira has regularly proved himself since he joined the premier class in 2019. Unfortunately, recent years have been riddled with injuries and no-fault crashes, leaving Miguel well out of title contention yet again. After riding with KTM for 5 years, in 2023 Oliveira rode with Aprilia, although a bad injury caused by a crash at the opening weekend of the season means we don’t yet know how well he has adapted to the new bike. In fairness, in the races that he is able to finish, he finishes almost exclusively in the top 10. He is definitely a skilled rider with plenty of potential, but rarely gets to prove it. Miguel lives in Andorra with his daughter and wife.

Miguel can be spotted on a dark blue and forest green bike with orange highlights, a white 88 on the front, and a red bull sponsored helmet.

Potentially one of the most talented Moto3 and Moto2 riders of this current era, Maverick has had an erratic time in the premier class. Vinales joined Moto3 in 2012, winning Rookie of the Year and finishing 3rd in the championship despite a significant fallout with his team. Winning the championship in his second year earned him a promotion to Moto2 where mirrored his success, winning both 3rd in the championship and Rookie of the Year. 2015 saw Rookie of the Year go to Maverick yet again in the premier class. His consistency shone through and his first stint in MotoGP proved very successful. Unfortunately, Maverick’s temper ran away from him in 2021, when frustrations with Yamaha led him to attempt to blow the engine during a race, resulting in a mid-season move to Aprilia. Unfortunately, modern-day Maverick seems to be inconsistent, and fails to replicate the potential he showed when younger. Despite the occasional podium, such erratic results has meant he has not been a title contender for the past several years. Maverick lives with his wife and 2 daughters.

Maverick rides the black and red Aprilia, and wears matching black leather with red arms. His silver number 12 is on the front, and he can be distinguished from his teammate by his red helmet and boots.

Luca Marini is the half-brother of MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, and is in his 3rd season in the Premier Class. Despite struggling to get a top-10 finish in his rookie year, Marini showed a huge improvement last year, gaining 3 top-5 finishes. His first podium came at COTA in 2023, again proving his continuous improvement. These results are helping him refute allegations of nepotism, although it is unlikely he will ever leave his brother’s VR46 Mooney team. Marini has recently got married, and lives in Italy with his 2 dogs. He is close with the rest of the VR46 academy riders, especially Pecco. 

You can’t miss Marini on the track, as he rides a neon yellow and black VR46 bike, with a black and orange helmet, which matches his orange number 10 on the front of his bike.

Statistically, Marc Marquez is the most successful rider on the 2023 grid. With 8 world championships to his name – all with Repsol Honda – it’s hard for many fans to comprehend a MotoGP where Marc struggles. It is difficult to judge his true ability in the current climate, still recovering from a plethora of surgeries in his arm and riding a sub-par bike, some fans like to speculate he has reached his peak, but many disagree. In terms of riding, Marquez has a unique style, always pushing the bike to its limits. He is famed for his last-minute saves and record-breaking lean angles. When on form, he really is the star of the show. One of the most popular riders ever, Marc remains a favourite among Spanish fans for both his skill and personality. He lives outside of Madrid with his brother and their 2 dogs.

As always, Marc rides an orange, red and white Repsol Honda Bike. He has a neon orange/red helmet and his iconic number 93 on front of the bike.

Marco Bezecchi has only been in the paddock for one full season, but is steadily making waves on the grid. A graduate of Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Academy, Bezzecchi won Rookie of the Year in 2022 after claiming a podium and a pole position. Despite never winning a championship in the intermediate Moto2 and Moto3 classes, Bezzecchi has become a true championship contender in 2023. With another very strong start to the 2023 season,  it seems increasingly likely that he will be joining his very close friend, Pecco Bagnaia, at the Ducati factory team in the near future. Bezzecchi is definitely one to watch in the next few years. Like most of the VR46 alumni, Bez lives in Italy with his dog, Rubik. 

Bez can be spotted on the black and neon Mooney VR46 bike, with a red 72 on the front. His helmet is black with a fire motif, and his leathers match the VR46 livery of black and neon yellow.

2020’s world champion, Joan Mir, has had one of the biggest falls from grace MotoGP has ever seen. Mir excelled on the Suzuki, amassing 13 podiums and a 1st and 3rd in the world championship during his 4 years with them. Suzuki’s withdrawal in 2022 led to Mir signing with Repsol Honda, a move that ordinarily would have allowed him to continue his successes. However, the current state of Honda’s development has led to a disastrous season so far for Mir, who has spent more time in the gravel than on top of the bike. Whilst the majority of his failings this year can be pinned on Honda, Mir is getting the worst results of the 4 Honda riders, suggesting he cannot understand how to make the best of a bad bike. Mir comes from Mallorca, but now lives in Andorra with his wife, 4 dogs, and newborn son.

Joan can be spotted on track on the red, white and orange Repsol Honda, with a bright yellow helmet which matches his yellow 36 on the front of the bike.

Pol Espargaró is another veteran of the paddock, joining the premier class in 2014 with Yamaha. His best championship came in 2020, where he finished 5th overall, but in his 9 years of competing, is yet to win a race. His results tend to be consistent, often finishing in the top 10 no matter what bike he is riding. His 2023 began with one of the worst crashes in recent MotoGP history, seeing him spend several weeks in hospital with multiple rib, neck, and jaw fractures. Whilst it is a testament to his hard work and willingness that Pol is able to get back on his bike, it is unlikely he will be strong enough to gain top results. Pol lives in Andorra with his wife, their daughter, and their dogs. He is very close to his brother, fellow MotoGP rider Aleix, and his family. 

This year, Pol is on the red GasGas branded bike, with matching red leathers and helmet. His white number 44 is on the front.

Despite some strong final years in Moto2, including winning the world championship, Álex Marquez was another of Honda’s victims when he joined the MotoGP paddock. His first 3 years saw only 2 podiums and a mere handful of top 10 finishes, a far cry from his string of 10 podiums in 2019 alone. Joining Gresini on a Ducati in 2023 seems to be a turning point for Marquez, and his natural talent and Ducati’s power seem to be working together to show his true potential. Hopefully this season, he will be able to prove himself as more than Marc Marquez’s brother. Hugely popular with Spanish fans, Álex has a large following on Twitter, where he makes light of life living with his brother. Over on Instagram, many of Álex’s posts focus on his 2 dachshunds, Stitch and Shira. He currently lives outside of Madrid. 

Alex can be spotted on the powder blue Gresini, with a large, white number 73 on the front. His leathers are half blue, half red, and he wears a dark blue helmet.

Taka Nakagami joined Moto2 in 2011 as a wildcard rider, after impressing in Japanese and European feeder series. After taking a few years to settle in, his time in Moto2 saw him gain 4 top-10 championship finishes, before being promoted to MotoGP with LCR Honda Idemitsu in 2018. The first few years proved very successful for Taka, although he became the victim of Honda’s poor development from 2021. Despite there not being much improvement on the machinery side of things, in fairness to Nakagami, he seems to be the most consistent rider of the 4 Hondas currently on the grid. Taka also seems to have gained a reputation for being a bit of a liability, and does have a habit of making questionable passes and being in the middle of crashes. Although in fairness, it could be a case of availability bias due to the lack of other news that is written about him.

Taka is the only rider sponsored by Honda Idemitsu, a white and red bike. His leathers mirror the bike’s livery, and his helmet is multicoloured. Taka’s red number 30 stands out against the black front fairing.

Franco Morbidelli joined Moto2 as a wildcard in 2013, and has been a strong competitor in both MotoGP classes since. After a myriad of top-10 finishes, Franky finally became the Moto2 world champion in 2017, gaining him a promotion to the premier class with Honda the following year. Despite taking his rookie year to settle in, Franky quickly gained momentum, and even finished 2020 in 2nd place. However, a knee injury in mid-2021 has left Yamaha with much to be desired from their Italian rider. It is unclear what has caused such demise in Morbidelli’s performances, but it is undeniable that the telnet is there if he can find a way to channel it once more. Franky was the first VR46 academy rider to win a world championship, and is very close with all the academy alumni.

Franky’s Yamaha bike is blue and black with the green Monster logo decorating the sides. His helmet looks green from a distance, but actually has plants and flowers on. The green theme continues on with his number 21 on the front fairing, and on his boots.

Unfortunately, Fabio Di Giannantonio hasn’t had the easiest ride in the premier class since being promoted in 2022. He has yet to gain a podium, and his handful of top-10 finishes seem more accredited to the Ducati than his own riding ability. His best year came in 2018, when he achieved 2nd place in the Moto3 World Championship, which gained his promotion to Moto2 the following season. There, Diggia spent 3 years and gained his best championship finish of 5th. However, Fabio remains highly motivated, and hopefully can turn the rest of this season around. Diggia lives in Rome, Italy.

You can spot Fabio on track by looking out for the powder blue Gresini bike, with blue and bright red leathers. He rides with the number 49 and likes to change up his helmet design quite regularly.

Raúl Fernández joined the premier class in 2022, after only 1 year in Moto2. No relation to Augusto Fernández, Raúl is the youngest rider on this year’s grid at only 22 years old. Raúl finished his 2020 Moto3 campaign in 4th, after 5 years of barely making the top 20 in the championship standings. His time in Moto2 saw him gain 12 podiums, including 8 wins, and finishing 2nd in the championship. Despite being the Rookie to watch in 2022, his debut to MotoGP didn’t go to plan, finishing 22nd overall, and generating the consensus that he made the move away from Moto2 too quickly. 2023 hasn’t looked much brighter so far, but hopefully, as the season progresses, Raúl will gel more with the Aprilia. 

Raúl’s RNF Aprilia is dark green and blue, with complimentary leathers. His helmet is predominantly white, along with his boots. He rides with a white number 25.

The only rookie of 2023, Augusto Fernández has had a very promising start to his MotoGP career. His 5 years in Moto2 saw him amass 20 podiums, including 7 wins, before claiming World Champion in 2022. Augusto initially started his career in the European Superstock 600 championship, where his talent gained him a Moto2 seat with SpeedUp in 2017, making him the only rider on the grid to have not competed in the Moto3 class. Augusto is currently the only Mallorcan rider on the grid.

Augusto can be seen on an all-red GasGas bike, with a matching red number 37 on the front. He wears red and black leathers, with “AF37” on the back, and has a Red Bull-sponsored helmet.