WELCOME
At the beginning of the season the 2023 FIM MotoGP™ World Championship promised to be closely contested and following the opening eight rounds this has proved to be the case with four different riders filling the top step of the podium up to and including the Motul TT Assen at the end of June .
For 2023 the series is criss-crossing the globe , taking in five continents and seventeen countries over a ninemonth period with a brand-new destination towards the end of September adding extra excitement .
Plus 2023 has welcomed a new race format with the MotoGP™ class now contesting a points-scoring Sprint on Saturday afternoon at each round , based on half distance of Sunday ’ s main race . Additionally , the racing in Moto2™ and Moto3™ is even closer with their main races now running over a shortened distance .
This season has also seen MotoE™ expanded into a full world championship . The 2023 FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship is being contested over the eight European rounds from Le Mans to Misano with Ducati as the new sole manufacturer . There are nine teams , each including two riders with two points-scoring races at each round and this class is also proving to be very competitive .
The twenty-round full schedule is amazingly intense from the start in Portugal in late-March until the final round in Spain in November .
From Portugal the championship headed south to Argentina at the start of April , then travelled north to Texas for the Grand Prix of the Americas before ending the month in Spain .
May provided some respite with just the Grand Prix de France on the calendar , but then it was full speed ahead in June with rounds in Italy , Germany and the Netherlands before riders got a welldeserved break in July .
Rounds in Great Britain and Austria follow in August before a return to Spain with a date in Catalunya at the start of September and then , one week later , a relatively short journey across to San Marino .
Just two weeks after this FIM MotoGP™ history will be made with the championship ’ s first-ever visit to India where the custom-built Buddh International Circuit awaits . A landmark occasion that will showcase the sport to a massive new audience , India will be the thirtieth country the series has visited since 1949 .
India kicks off a string of rounds in the east with October featuring races in Japan , Indonesia , Australia and Thailand before November starts with round nineteen in Malaysia .
The championship concludes the same month with the final two rounds being held at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar and Valencia in Spain .
As I am sure you can imagine , staging such an extensive , far-reaching championship is a huge task that requires unparalleled teamwork . With this in mind , on behalf of the FIM I would like to thank our promoter Dorna , the manufacturers , the riders and teams , the circuit owners , the volunteers , the media and the officials plus all those involved in the wider Road Racing Grand Prix community including you , our fantastic fans .
Jorge Viegas - FIM President