It’s time to start thinking about who we want in our MotoGP™ Fantasy teams for this weekend’s CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, but as we get set for the Red Bull Ring, a new, exciting league begins.
The MotoGP™ Official Half Season League will take place from now until the final GP in Valencia. Every user who joins (using the ‘Join a League’ section) will begin with zero points, meaning everyone has the same chance of winning.
The motivation for winning apart from bragging rights? Two Sunday VIP Village passes for a 2024 Grand Prix of your choice*. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Top picks for Austria
Since MotoGP™ headed back to the Styrian hills, Ducati have largely dominated the Red Bull Ring. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) is the most popular rider in Fantasy at the moment with 22,517 players owning the title-hunting Italian, but at $3.5m, Bezzecchi is on the expensive side if you don’t already own him.
Silverstone Tissot Sprint winner Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) is a solid shout. The Spaniard costs just $2.2m and is an easy way into Ducati's arsenal for the Austrian GP. The #73 arrives in a confident mood too after his Saturday success at the British GP, and knowing he’s got a new contract all signed and sorted for 2024 with Gresini and Ducati.
Apart from the obvious picks like Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team, $4.7m) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing, $3.7m), the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing pairing of Brad Binder ($3.2m) and Jack Miller ($2.3m) are riders to keep a keen eye on. Especially Binder, who famously won that dramatic, late rain shower-affected contest back in 2021. On home turf, KTM will be going all out to land a victory on both Saturday and Sunday – and they’re well-equipped to do so.
When the rain falls, the brave rise! 💪
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 15, 2023
And they don't come much braver than @BradBinder_33 on slicks in the wet on this day in 2021! 🤯#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/zKKItuQwra
An outside bet for this weekend could be Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP™ Team). At $1.9m, the Portuguese star is a bit of a steal as things stand, and Oliveira has a race-winning pedigree at the Red Bull Ring too. Couple that with his outstanding ride at Silverstone, plus Aprilia’s upturn in form, and the #88 is one to monitor on Friday.
Remember to lock in your teams ahead of MotoGP™ qualifying at 10:50 local time (GMT+2).
*Hotel bookings and travel expenses are not included in the prize.