MotoGP 2023: Grand Prix of India Preview and Free Picks

MotoGP is bringing a sweet event our way this weekend. As the season heads towards its final stretch and the championship fight is heating up, India will host its first Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Despite some worries that Friday action would not take place due to personnel not making it to the track on time, every session is scheduled to go ahead as planned. The first session will be an elongated Free Practice 1, which will happen before the riders go out on track for an all-important one-hour session. That will decide the top ten that will head straight to Q2, the battle for pole position.

On Saturday, there is another Free Practice session for the riders and the teams to set their bikes up. Straight after that, we will have qualifying in two segments. In the first, two riders will get promoted to the second.

The results of qualifying will set the grid for two races. The first will be the Sprint, which will take place on Saturday afternoon (local time), over 12 laps. The second is the main event, the Grand Prix which we will be focused on, which will last 24 laps on Sunday.

MotoGP 2023: Grand Prix of India Preview and Free Picks

When:

Sunday, September 24th, 2023

Where Can I Watch?

ESPN+

Riders Odds:

Bagnaia, Francesco +125

Martin, Jorge +250

Bezzecchi, Marco +500

Binder, Brad +1100

Espargaro, Aleix +1600

Oliveira, Miguel +1800

Vinales, Maverick +2000

Marquez, Marc +2500

Zarco, Johann +2500

Miller, Jack +2500

Marini, Luca +2500

Marquez, Alex +2800

Quartararo, Fabio +3300

Morbidelli, Franco +10000

MotoGP Grand Prix of India

The last few races have had a big effect on the championship, as the gap between Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin has shrunk from 66 to 39 points. The Italian suffered a frightening accident in Barcelona when he fell and Brad Binder accidentally rode over his legs. He was lucky not to suffer a significant injury and he raced just a week later at Misano in pain, but he was able to salvage a pair of third-place finishes.

On the other hand, the Pramac Ducati rider enters the thirteenth round of the championship in great form. He was dominant over the two races in Misano, winning both from pole position, but has now moved clear of third-placed Marco Bezzecchi, who also raced with a hand injury in Misano. He, as well as Bagnaia, are expected to have recovered from their troubles, with a few days of rest.

Behind the three Ducati riders, we find the KTM of Brad Binder and the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaro. Both had a bad weekend last time out and will be hoping to bounce back in a vastly different track layout.

There will be an absence from the grid once again, as Alex Rins will be sidelined for an eighth consecutive race, as he is recovering from the broken leg he sustained in Mugello. This time, he will be replaced by Stefan Bradl.