MotoGP Japan Results, Grand Prix - Heavy rain cuts Motegi race short

The 14th round of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship takes place this weekend in Japan, at the Mobility Resort Motegi. Check back to this page for MotoGP Japan results throughout this weekend.

Overview

Grand Prix - Martin triumphs in red-flagged wet Japanese GP

Sprint - Domination from Martin as Bagnaia beats Miller for third

Qualifying - Martin obliterates lap record for second pole in three

Practice - Binder fastest on Friday with new KTM carbon frame

Grand Prix

MotoGP’s Asian tour, and its position at the end of the season, makes for one of the most intense periods of any sporting series. The threat of rain before the Japanese Grand Prix proved this once again. 

A few spots of rain began falling 10 minutes before the start. With five minutes to go, those spots intensified, but there was no delayed start and everyone started on slicks.

The track was not wet, but it certainly was not dry, either, which caught out Marco Bezzecchi at the start, which cost Maverick Vinales in the first corner. Jorge Martin made the holeshot just as in the Sprint, but Jack Miller led by the time most pitted at the end of lap one.

Francesco Bagnaia got to the pit exit line first, but he was too slow disengaging the pit limiter, and he ended up a de facto fourth.

The three Yamahas - Fabio Quartararo, Franco Morbidelli, and wildcard Cal Crutchlow - stayed out on lap two, but only Morbidelli committed to that strategy, along with Enea Bastianini replacement Michele Pirro, who led until the end of lap four.

Jorge Martin led after the pit stops, despite at one point running on at turn three and dropping back to fifth place. He led from Francesco Bagnaia, who was coming under increasing pressure from Marc Marquez when the rain really intensified on lap 11. Then the red flag was thrown at the beginning of lap 13. The riders were aquaplaning - the conditions were unsafe.

50 per cent of the race had been completed by Jorge Martin approximately 0.5 seconds before the red flag came out, which would have meant the awarding of full points had the race not been restarted.

The original plan was to restart the race but, on the warm-up lap for the restart, the red flag was thrown once again - because there was still too much spray, the rain had intensified again, and the light was getting too low - and the result was declared.

It meant that Jorge Martin completed his second MotoGP ‘treble’ - pole, Sprint win, Grand Prix win - in three races. Francesco Bagnaia took second place, meaning his championship gap is now reduced to three points ahead of the Indonesian Grand Prix in two weeks; while Marc Marquez took his first Grand Prix podium of the season, his 140th in total making him the fifth-most-podium-finishing rider in Grand Prix history, one ahead of Angel Nieto.

Marco Bezzecchi was fourth, ahead of Aleix Espargaro (5th, top Aprilia), Jack Miller (6th, top KTM), Augusto Fernandez (7th, his best result since France), Fabio Di Giannantonio (8th), Raul Fernandez (9th, and Fabio Quartararo (10th, top Yamaha).

Full MotoGP results from the Japanese Grand Prix, as of lap 12, are below.

2023 MotoGP Japan Results | Grand Prix

Sprint

The MotoGP Sprint in Japan was yet another race dominated by Jorge Martin, who reduced his championship deficit to eight points.

Jorge Martin made the holeshot and, importantly, he did so ahead of the two KTMs of Jack Miller and Brad Binder, who both managed to jump Francesco Bagnaia at the start. The Italian was then under pressure from Marc Marquez, who had risen from seventh on the grid to fifth by the end of the first lap.

Binder was able to pass his teammate into turn 11 on the first lap and, by the end of lap two, the South African was the only one to be able to go with Martin at the front.

The next laps saw almost no action. In the current age of ride height devices in MotoGP, which mean that everyone gets a perfect corner exit, Motegi has probably become one of the most difficult tracks to pass on in MotoGP.

The prime example was Francesco Bagnaia, who seemed to be faster than Jack Miller, but was unable to pass his former teammate. Miller made no mistakes, which meant that Bagnaia could never get close enough to make an overtake. 

Bagnaia was finally able to make the pass on lap 10, but only due to a mistake from the Australian in turn 11. By then, Binder was 3.5 seconds clear of Bagnaia, and 1.4 behind Martin.

The #89 took his second Sprint victory in a row in - once again - commanding fashion. Bagnaia’s pass on Miller meant that the championship deficit which looked set to be brought down to seven points was in fact reduced only to eight.

Brad Binder gave KTM’s carbon chassis its first podium in its third race, ahead of Bagnaia, who completed the podium.

Jack Miller kept fourth place, just ahead of Johann Zarco (5th), who might have been third had his qualifying been better.

Marco Bezzecchi was sixth, despite having run off track when trying to pass Marc Marquez, who finished behind him in seventh (top Honda). Behind, Fabio Di Giannantonio was eighth, ahead of Maverick Vinales (top Aprilia) who took the final point in ninth, and Raul Fernandez who completed the top 10.

Full MotoGP results from the Sprint in Japan are below.

2023 MotoGP Japan Results | Sprint

Qualifying

Rain had been forecast in Motegi on Saturday, but it was not scheduled until the afternoon. Heavy clouds loomed overhead for qualifying, but they did not interrupt the session, which saw Jorge Martin take pole position.

No Japanese bikes made it through to Q2 directly from Practice on Friday, but there were big pushes in Q1 from the headline stars of both HRC and Yamaha in Q1. Marc Marquez topped Q1 after his first run, while Fabio Quartararo was second. On the second run, Marquez decided to follow Quartararo, who was unperturbed by the presence of the #93. But in any case, the Frenchman was denied Q2 by Raul Fernandez. But no one could top Marquez, who joined his compatriot in advancing.

Q2 began with a crash for Marco Bezzecchi at turn 12 on his out lap. The Italian was able to get back to the box quickly, but was not back out on track before Jorge Martin had set a new lap record at 1:43.198, which put him 0.589 seconds clear of the field after his first run.

That proved to be all Martin needed, too. Francesco Bagnaia was able to get within a couple of tenths of the #89, but no one was able to better the Pramac rider, who took his second pole in three races. Bagnaia and Jack Miller completed the qualifying top three.

Marco Bezzecchi mounted an impressive recovery after his early crash to finish qualifying in fourth but, with Miller ahead of him and Brad Binder (5th) beside him, it is hard to the see Italian getting through the starts without losing out to the KTMs. A fourth Ducati of Fabio Di Giannantonio (6th) - now more confident in braking - was able to complete the second row.

Marc Marquez was seventh, and the top Honda and Japanese bike, and will start on row three alongside the two factory Aprilias, with the Noale brand having Maverick Vinales in eighth ahead of Aleix Espargaro in ninth. 

The third Aprilia in Q2, that of the aforementioned Raul Fernandez, qualified 11th, and will start between Johann Zarco (10th) and Pol Espargaro (9th).

 

Full MotoGP results from qualifying in Japan are below.

2023 MotoGP Japan Results | Qualifying

Practice

2023 MotoGP Japan Results | Practice