The championship battle took a dramatic swing in the Qatar Grand Prix as a new MotoGP winner took to the top step of the podium.
There was a lot at stake coming to the penultimate round of the championship, with Francesco Bagnaia facing his first match point having held a lead of 14 points over Jorge Martin.
Victory in the sprint for Martin with Bagnaia fifth as a result of a rear tyre issue cut the gap to seven points and ensured the championship will be decided this week in Valencia.
But 24 hours later, a similar tyre issue for Martin saw him drop to 10th and Bagnaia take a 21-point lead in second having survived a late scare at Turn 1.
Martin raged at tyre supplier Michelin, claiming it “stole” the championship from him.
None of this mattered to Fabio Di Giannantonio, however, as he put in the ride of his career to become a MotoGP grand prix winner. It comes as he doesn’t have a ride for 2024, with the Honda option slipping away to Luca Marini and VR46 eyeing Moto2 star Fermin Aldeguer.
Elsewhere, Aleix Espargaro sparked controversy when he slapped Franco Morbidelli during an on-track incident in practice, while we got the first glimpses of MotoGP’s 2027 ruleset.
After a memorable weekend, here are the 10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix.