In a race that saw one-third of the field crash out, Francesco Bagnaia stood on the top step of the podium and retained his World Champion status as title rival Jorge Martin crashed out. Qatar GP winner Fabio Di Giannantonio finished second on track, but a three second post-race penalty for a tyre pressure infringement demoted him to fourth place. This promoted Johann Zarco to second and Brad Binder to third.
- Bagnaia first Ducati rider to win back-to-back world titles
- Martin 39 points behind
Martin crashes out of Valencia GP and title battle
After a three-place grid penalty pushed poleman Maverick Vinales down to the second row, Bagnaia was promoted to the front of the grid. Starting the race from pole position, he managed to get a good start and keep Martin behind him. In an incident similiar to what we saw just last week at the Qatar GP, Martin got sucked in at the end of the start/finish straight and ran wide, which dropped him outside of the top five.
Martin was quick to bounce back and recovered a couple of positions, but he made contact with Marc Marquez, thereby ending the race prematurely for both the Spaniards.
Rollercoaster for KTM riders
Just moments later, Miller crashed out of the lead, with Bagnaia once again moving to the front of the pack. Binder, meanwhile, quickly made his way through the pack, and in fact, nearly crashed out after a very aggressive overtaking manoeuvre on Alex Marquez. Ultimately, he crossed the finish line in fourth, but a penalty for Di Giannantonio meant his final result was third place.
2023 MotoGP world championship standings
Bagnaia and Ducati are the 2023 World Champions, and this is the first time the Italian manufacturer has won back-to-back world titles. Martin finished second and Bagnaia’s VR46 academy stablemate Marco Bezzecchi finished third.
MotoGP action will resume on March 10, 2024 at the season opener in Qatar.
2023 Valencia MotoGP results
| 2023 Valencia MotoGP results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Rider | Team |
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo |
| 2 | Johann Zarco | Prima Pramac Racing |
| 3 | Brad Binder | RedBull KTM |
| 4 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Gresini Ducati |
| 5 | Raul Fernandez | RNF Aprilia |
| 6 | Alex Marquez | Gresini Ducati |
| 7 | Franco Morbidelli | Monster Yamaha |
| 8 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia Racing |
| 9 | Luca Marini | VR46 Ducati |
| 10 | Maverick Vinales | Aprilia Racing |
| 11 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Yamaha |
| 12 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda Idemitsu |
| 13 | Lorenzo Savadori | RNF Aprilia |
| 14 | Pol Espargaro | GASGAS Tech3 |
| NC | Alex Rins | LCR Honda |
| NC | Jack Miller | RedBull KTM |
| NC | Enea Bastianini | Ducati Lenovo |
| NC | Augusto Fernandez | GASGAS Tech3 |
| NC | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda |
| NC | Jorge Martin | Prima Pramac Racing |
| NC | Marco Bezzecchi | VR46 Ducati |
