The Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya saw what was a dramatic twist in the 2023 Championship story as Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) crashed out of the Catalan Grand Prix in dramatic fashion. Despite a strong 2nd place in the Tissot Sprint, Bagnaia's crash saw him lose 16 Championship points to his rival Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). Let's have a look at the state of play following the Catalan Grand Prix!
Bagnaia went into the weekend with a 62-point lead over his nearest rival Jorge Martin. Following the Italian's 2nd place in the Tissot Sprint, the gap was extended to 66, but following the events of the Grand Prix, the gap has now been reduced to 50. Whilst this is still a sizeable gap, the big question relates to Champions' physical state following his Catalan GP accident, with the next round at Misano less than a week away.
Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) had a tough weekend at the Catalan circuit. The Italian came away with just 6 points after finishing in 8th place during the Sprint and only managing 12th in Sunday's Grand Prix. The VR46 man still sits in 3rd place in the standings but now has a 21-point deficit to Martin in 2nd.
The Italian sits comfortably in the top three, however, as he maintains a 23-point advantage ahead of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Both riders came away with just 6 points with Binder only scoring in the Tissot Sprint as he bagged P4. The KTM man retired from the Grand Prix after getting caught in Bagnaia's crash on the initial start.
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) did his Championship a world of favours after as he took maximum points from his home round. Winning both the Sprint and the Grand Prix saw the Catalan leapfrog Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) to place himself firmly in 5th place, 13 points clear of the Frenchman and just 12 behind Binder.
With World Champions' physical condition uncertain, a spanner has been convincingly thrown into the Championship picture. There's no predicting which ways the tables will turn in this rollercoaster 2023 season. Make sure not to miss any of the action as the battle continues next time out at the Gran Premio Red Bull di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini from the 8th - 10th of September.
Top 10:
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) | 260 |
| 2 | Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) | 210 |
| 3 | Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) | 189 |
| 4 | Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) | 166 |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) | 154 |
| 6 | Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) | 141 |
| 7 | Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) | 125 |
| 8 | Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) | 113 |
| 9 | Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) | 104 |
| 10 | Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) | 102 |