2023 MotoGP Bharat: All you need to know about Grand Prix of India

The upcoming chapter of MotoGP marks a great significance for Indian motorsport history with the championship being hosted by the country for the first time. It also marks the return of the Buddha International Circuit (BIC) which hasn’t seen a major motorsport competition ever since Formula One withdrew the Indian chapter for the international calendar.

The championship has been officially rechristened as  the “Grand Prix of India”. Ahead of the flagship motorcycling racing championship scheduled to take place this upcoming weekend, let us look at all the key details one needs to know in order to understand the upcoming MotoGP Bharat.

2023 MotoGP Bharat: Location, schedule, broadcasters

The first edition of MotoGP Bharat will be held from 22 to 24 September 2023 at the iconic BIC in Greater Noida. It is the 13th leg of the ongoing 2023 season of MotoGP. Indian Oil has been named as the title sponsor while brands like KTM India, Ducati India, Honda Racing India, Yamaha Motor India, Aprilia India, Michelin are listed as Industry Partners.

The entire event will be broadcasted on Sport 18 in satellite TV and Jio Cinema on OTT.

2023 MotoGP Bharat: Organisers

Dorna Sports is the organiser of FIM World Championship Grand Prix (MotoGPTM) since 1991 and owns the exclusive commercial and television rights worldwide. Fairstreet Sports has been licensed the rights by Dorna Sports to organise the race in India for a period of seven years (from 2023 – 2029).

2023 MotoGP Bharat: Motorcycles, Classes

The bikes used in MotoGP are purpose-built racing machines that are neither available for sale nor can be ridden legally on public roads. It makes MotoGP different from the Superbike World Championship, in which modified versions of road-legal bikes are used.

MotoGP is divided into four classes: MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE. MotoGP uses a 1,000cc engine with top speeds of about 360 kmph, Moto2 uses 765cc motorcycles (up to 300 kmph) and Moto3 uses 250cc motorcycles (240 kmph). 

MotoE is the latest segment in MotoGP introduced in 2019. It is the first major racing competition that features electric motorcycles with speeds up to 275 km/h. These are manufactured by Ducati and made available to MotoE teams by Dorna Sports. It’ll be the first time MotoE will be stepping out of Europe, and MotoGP Bharat will have the honour to do a curtain raiser in Asia for the first time.

2023 MotoGP Bharat: Teams, riders

A total of 12 teams with 28 riders will participate in the upcoming MotoGP Bharat. The complete list of teams and their respective riders is mentioned below.

• Aprilia Racing (Maverick Viñales, Lorenzo Savadori and Aleix Espargaro)
• CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team (Raul Fernandez and Miguel Oliveira)
• Ducati Lenovo Team (Francesco Bagnaia and Enea…