Ahead of the start of testing later this month, we look at the five MotoGP contenders that need a standout 2023 season.
Preparations for the 2023 MotoGP season will kick up a gear this month with the first pre-season test of the year taking place in Malaysia.
Motorsport.com casts its eye on the grid and picks out the five contenders we believe need a standout 2023.Morbidelli has endured two tough years since finishing runner-up to world champion Joan Mir in 2020The Yamaha rider has endured an unfortunate fall from grace since finishing runner-up in the 2020 championship when he was with Petronas SRT on a 2019-spec YZR-M1.
For 2022, he was back to full fitness but continued to struggle on the Yamaha. That wasn't a problem unique to him, as only teammateStill, Morbidelli's inability to get much from the bike in qualifying trim made his Sundays difficult. The Italian scored just 42 points across 20 races, with a points average of just 2.1 per grand prix. That was a shade of the 11.3 he managed per race in 2020, albeit across a shortened 14-round season.
At one stage, Nakagami was likely to be moved to the role of test rider for 2023 as Moto2 championship runner-up Ai Ogura looked set to take his place at LCR Honda – only to turn HRC down and focus on developing himself in another season in the intermediate class. Even his LCR team boss Lucio Cecchinello has questioned his ability to manage pressure, with Nakagami yet to breach the podium in MotoGP. He memorably threw away his best shot at one in 2020 in Aragon, when he crashed after just five corners having qualified on pole.
Alex Marquez was only marginally better than LCR teammate Takaaki Nakagami across 2022, scoring 50 points across 20 rounds in a season in which the Spaniard grew frustrated with Honda.
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