That new Honda will need a season before it performs, whereas the Ducati is the bike to be on. Fabio and Frankie on the yam will be tough to beat too. Then you have Jack and Johan. Nope Marquez isnt winning the title next year.
As Rob says, Marc knows one more 'off' and thats it for him. He cannot afford to damage that shoulder again.
Franco has tore his ACL and is still not racing full distances at competitive speeds. I really doubt his credentials even when coming back though because Fabio is simply faster than him. I'm expecting that he could finish in the top three in the championship again if Yamaha build an all-conquering bike, the problem then is that Fabio will comfortably beat him now that he's got the experience to not fall apart like in 2020.
As for the other Ducati guys, they're about to get passed by Marc in the championship
this year, let alone the next
I'm a lot more interested in seeing what Jorge Martín can do with a bit more experience under his belt. I think with him and Bagnaia, Ducati will have the best factory rider lineup in 2023. They'd be crazy to retain crash king Miller over Martín to be honest. Honda would probably welcome Miller with open arms though. Then, can Bastianini maintain his recent form and provide the Ducati management further headaches?
Still, I only see three potential champions around and it'd be great to see the lot of them have a triple battle at either Algarve or Valencia as a prelude to the next season.
Mir then? Well, winning the title for Suzuki was a freak season and I don't think he'll do it again for them. Maybe if he goes to a different team. He can ride, but I don't see Suzuki delivering a bike capable of winning a regular season. The way that bike can't heat up the tyres is disastrous, seemingly perennial and puts them in a hole all the time. It's only a matter of time until he wins another race though but I really feel like he should do everything in his power to convince Ducati to sign him for their factory team. On the Ducati, I feel that he could outride Bagnaia if he gets it right. Rins then? To me he seems to have lost the plot with all his crashes although the peak level is high. I think a satellite rider future is likely for him. I doubt Suzuki will retain him unless he shows that he can keep up with Mir early next season. Pol Espargaró, Miller and Zarco may well be on the market early and that won't help his case.
KTM are the biggest question mark. Oliveira fell off a cliff this year after the Austrian practice crash, can he or Binder really get back to dry weather race-winning form again? Is Raúl Fernández the real deal? Probably a bigger chance than Remi Gardner being so, but it's unpredictable. I lean towards the Moto2 field being a bit weaker than in recent times, flattering both. We'll see I suppose.
What wouldn't surprise me at all in 2022 is Viñales to have his once-a-year ride-on-rails weekend to pick up Aprilia's first win. In fact, all six manufacturers winning at least one race seems quite likely to me now that Aprilia finally have a proven winner in their ranks. That being said, Viñales will never get close to winning a title due to his incredible inconsistency.
Dovizioso is a major question mark for me. I don't get why he's so slow on a Yamaha like he's been. I'm not sure his heart is in it anymore. We'll see what he does next year. He obviously can win races if he gets it right, but I suspect the Ducati of 2020 was really let down by the guys in the saddle of the factory team. That's a title he just couldn't afford to lose and he wasn't even close.
Finally, I doubt Rossi's team will be any further up the grid than the legend himself has been this season. I don't know if they have an Athletic Bilbao policy on riders in that he only wants Italians racing for them, but if so, he's going to miss out on a lot of talent. Marini has been flattened by Bastianini this year and I've never been impressed by Bezecchi's general speed either. If he wants to build the team around his brother it will be a bit of a half-hearted effort and I doubt it'll go too far in the near future. Still, great that he wants to hang around in the paddock
The level is very high now, even the bottom half of the grid. Still, it mystifies me why no-one wants to go and win Superbike titles but rather hang around in MotoGP with little chance of winning. I guess the money must be very good. In a normal era, I'm sure Rins and the Espargaró brothers would've thought about it. People will remember Rea but not them in ten years after all, barring a miraculous turnaround of their MotoGP fortunes.
