LCR Honda rider Alex Rins strode to victory at the Grand Prix of the Americas but there was chaos aplenty behind him, with almost half of the field crashing out of the race and the eventual result having potentially huge title implications as reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia was among those to fail to finish.
That maybe means that ranking the field in performance order is a slightly more difficult challenge than usual thanks to the lack of race results for many. But, with a sprint race on Saturday to take into account, there’s still plenty to work with.
Ranking the grid in order based on their performances not just in the main event but also Saturday’s sprint race, it’s obviously all subjective – but comes not just from their final race result but takes into account things like the machinery they’re on and the pre-race expectations of them.
1 Alex Rins
Qualified: 2nd
Sprint: 2nd
Race: 1st
As far as expectation versus reality goes, Alex Rins absolutely blew it out of the water at COTA this weekend.
Everyone knew that Rins had past form at the track with victories there in all three classes – but no one expected his form to be quite so exceptional in 2023 given that he’s traded his Suzuki for a Honda. We got a hint in the sprint race, but to back it up with a stunning victory in a treacherous main event was more than just the icing on the cake.
2 Miguel Oliveira
Qualified: 15th
Sprint: 8th
Race: 5th
Sunday was essentially Miguel Oliveira’s first race of the year thanks to the disastrous end to his home round at Portimao at the hands of Marc Marquez. So for RNF rider Oliveira coming out of it only a fraction behind the factory Aprilia of Maverick Vinales was very impressive indeed.
He looked fast and aggressive despite any lingering injury woes from his encounter with the Repsol Honda racer and it’s a great way for him to unofficially start his 2023 season.
3 Luca Marini
Qualified: 3rd
Sprint: 7th
Race: 2nd
A first Luca Marini podium in a full MotoGP race has been only a matter of time, but he didn’t just sneak one on Sunday – he actually looked for a while like he might even have race-winning pace.
Coming straight after a first top three in the sprint in Argentina, it was the obvious next step and he did it in style. A win is now the logical next step – and it’s hard to envision that it’s too far away now.
4 Alex Marquez
Qualified: 4th
Sprint: DNF
Race: DNF
Maybe it’s a surprise to score a rider with two DNFs so highly, but the reality is that COTA 2023 had the potential for Alex Marquez to deliver some of his best ever MotoGP results, only to have factors outside his control sabotage both his sprint and race.
Crashing on Saturday after a stomach illness caused him to throw up inside his helmet under braking, he started Sunday much fitter – only to get shoved off the track by Jorge Martin.
Disappointing results, but the potential is there now.
5 Fabio Quartararo
Qualified: 7th
Sprint: 19th
Race: 3rd
When it comes to exercises in damage control, Fabio Quartararo has more experience than your average MotoGP rider – and Sunday was yet another example of how to do that well.
Already on the back foot after crashing himself out of the points in the sprint, he needed a race result – and to be able to cling on for a podium on the long straights of COTA, given all we know about the Yamaha’s inherent weaknesses, was a very important result not just for scoring some points but for the 2021 world champion’s own confidence levels.
6 Maverick Vinales
Qualified: 8th
Sprint: 10th
Race: 4th
There’s clearly something still missing from Maverick Vinales’ complete package: his ability to launch Aprilia’s RS-GP off the line (something that he says is definitely down to bike set-up and not rider ability).
But while he might have had race-winning pace that only translated into fourth at COTA, it still hints at what’s to come when starts go a little better for him.
7 Marco Bezzecchi
Qualified: 5th
Sprint: 6th
Race: 6th
Converting a second row start into a pair of sixth place finishes would be excellent for the vast majority of satellite riders on the current grid – yet, with his own standards set very high indeed at the minute thanks to his Argentine win, the trip to the USA feels a bit disappointing for Marco Bezzecchi.
However with the championship lead still in his grasp, it was an important weekend – and if a bad weekend translates into a top six this year, he’s going to have a very good sophomore season indeed.
8 Augusto Fernandez
Qualified: 20th
Sprint: 16th
Race: 10th
If you’d predicted that after three rounds, Tech3 Gas Gas rookie Augusto Fernandez would have more championship points than past world champions Marc Marquez and Joan Mir combined, you’d have been laughed at.
Yet that’s exactly the situation that we’re in right now, with Sunday’s race yet another fantastic performance from the quick-learning Moto2 champion. What could have been a rather mediocre debut season – as we’ve seen from previous Moto2 hotshots initially – is already shaping up to be something quite special indeed.
9 Johann Zarco
Qualified: 9th
Sprint: 11th
Race: 7th
Johann Zarco and quiet weekends that deliver solid performances go hand in hand, and COTA was no different.
It wasn’t exactly the headline results of two weeks ago, but it was still a good ride for the Frenchman and with points on the board from Sunday’s main race, it means he once again finds himself, perhaps unexpectedly, at the sharp end of the championship battle.
10 Aleix Espargaro
Qualified: 6th
Sprint: 4th
Race: DNF
A decent qualifying result, a better sprint, and what looked to be an OK start to proceedings set Aleix Espargaro up nicely enough at COTA. At least until he got halfway around the first lap and found himself another victim of Aprilia’s malfunctioning ride height device.
And unlike Raul Fernandez, his race ended in the gravel, not in the pitlane.
11 Franco Morbidelli
Qualified: 14th
Sprint: 14th
Race: 8th
There’s a lot of pressure on Franco Morbidelli’s shoulders right now, as he fights for his Yamaha future. He needed to back up his excellent performances in Argentina two weeks ago at Austin, and while 14th and eighth might not exactly have been knocking on the door of the podium again, it at least indicates that he’s still on the right path.
No one is getting too excited until they’re sure it’s a trend and not a fluke, but the signs are hinting at positives at long last for Morbidelli.
12 Fabio Di Giannantonio
Qualified: 16th
Sprint: 17th
Race: 9th
It might be year two in the premier class for Gresini Racing’s Fabio di Giannantonio, but he’s keenly aware of how much he’s still got to learn.
Progress is coming though, and COTA was another example of it. The fact he was able to avoid a race-ending crash and finish inside the top 10 when plenty of others lost their cool is a promising sign.
13 Raul Fernandez
Qualified: 19th
Sprint: 15th
Race: DNF
The weekend ended perhaps better in potential terms than on paper for Raul Fernandez, with the RNF Aprilia racer delivering a decent performance in the sprint and making a flying start in the main event to find himself right alongside team-mate Oliveira and factory rider Espargaro.
However, a stuck ride height device meant that any chance of points was snatched away from him.
14 Jonas Folger
Qualified: 22nd
Sprint: 20th
Race: 12th
It was a very quiet weekend for Pol Espargaro’s replacement Jonas Folger, with KTM’s newest test rider there more to gain experience of modern-day MotoGP racing than anything else.
But he was able to stay cool in tricky conditions despite his relative lack of experience and coming home in the points was a solid enough reward for the German.
15 Pecco Bagnaia
Qualified: 1st
Sprint: 1st
Race: DNF
Over the past year and en route to a world championship, Pecco Bagnaia has done wonders to dispel the idea that he’s sometimes prone to cracking a little under pressure – which means that the fact that he’s now done it twice in two races is a little concerning.
Utterly dominant in the sprint, he looked set to repeat the feat early on in the main event – until pressure from a rapidly closing in Rins brought his race to an unexpected end.
It’s disappointing for his title hopes too. The only consolation is that it wasn’t exactly a strong weekend for those of his rivals who were actually fit enough to ride at COTA.
16 Michele Pirro
Qualified: 18th
Sprint: DNF
Race: 11th
Wildcard and replacement performances that end in surprisingly good results are common for Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, and it was a case of more of the same at COTA as he stepped in to replace Enea Bastianini and finished on the cusp of the top 10.
However, undoubtedly with new parts to try as Ducati failed to miss an opportunity for extra development running, his crash out of his very first sprint race on Saturday afternoon definitely was not a part of the team’s plans for him.
17 Brad Binder
Qualified: 11th
Sprint: 5th
Race: DNF
Brad Binder mistakes are relatively rare things these days, and Sunday’s is perhaps indicative of just how tricky conditions were.
He was able to put on a strong showing on Saturday (his new party trick, it seems, despite his Sunday reputation). He just asked a little too much of the KTM during a similar charge towards the front in the main race and paid the price for it.
18 Jorge Martin
Qualified: 12th
Sprint: 3rd
Race: DNF
The fact that Jorge Martin had an excellent ride on Saturday to a sprint race podium doesn’t make up for what went wrong on Sunday afternoon, when he not only failed to complete a lap but managed to take a fellow Ducati rider with him in the form of Alex Marquez.
Given his comments about the dangerous riding of another Marquez only a few weeks ago, there’s more than a hint of irony to it.
19 Jack Miller
Qualified: 10th
Sprint: 9th
Race: DNF
It sounds mean to say it, but there was a certain predictability to Jack Miller’s crash out of podium contention in the main race in Texas.
Pushing on the limit to try to keep up with Rins and Bagnaia and with a reputation for tearing up tyres at the best of times, there was a ‘win or bust’ feeling about it – and he definitely busted, crashing out instead of taking what would have been a solid result even had he dropped back a little.
Painfully typical for Miller.
20 Joan Mir
Qualified: 13th
Sprint: 12th
Race: DNF
At Suzuki, in their prime and pomp, it’s fair to suggest that Rins and Mir were well-matched team-mates. Since their Honda switch, though, things have changed substantially, and these days it’s Mir who’s struggling.
There were definitely some hints of improving form at COTA for the 2020 world champion, who is clearly taking longer than Rins to adapt – but in this series, it’s hard to argue with results.
21 Taka Nakagami
Qualified: 17th
Sprint: 13th
Race: DNF
One of the oldest adages in racing is that the first person you have to beat is your team-mate – and when you’re crashing out of races while they’re winning, it’s not a good look.
Yet that’s unfortunately how Sunday ended yet again for Nakagami, and while he pinned the cause of the crash on a gearbox issue, it’s a too-common theme for the Japanese racer.
22 Stefan Bradl
Qualified: 21st
Sprint: 18th
Race: DNF
When Stefan Bradl is on injury replacement duties for Marc Marquez (an all too frequent job lately!) his primary task is normally data collection: making sure that he also fulfils his test rider role as well as seeing the chequered flag.
That often means that the chances of a good result are limited – which makes the fact that he threw away that chance with a dumb last-lap crash on Sunday all the more disappointing.
