MotoGP India 2023 schedule and preview – All dates and times for the Indian GP

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As the MotoGP season heads towards its final stretch and the championship fight is heating up, India will host its first Motorcycle Grand Prix.

MotoGP India 2023 schedule

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 in Saturday afternoon (local time), over 12 laps. The second is the main event, the Grand Prix, which will last 24 laps on Sunday.

Below you can find a timetable for all the session. All times mentioned are on BST, therefore GMT +1.

Weather for the weekend

Great weather is expected for the whole weekend in India, with a very low chance that rain affects proceedings the entire way through. Temperatures are expected to be very high as well, as they are expected to reach up to 33 degrees in all three days of action.

MotoGP India 2023 preview

The last few races have had a big effect in 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 on great form. He was dominant over the two races in Misano, winning both from pole position. He has 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.

The same cannot be said for the other two World Champions on the grid, Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez. The Yamaha and the Honda have struggled regardless of where they are racing and this weekend is expected to be tough for them once again and all riders of the two manufacturers are outside the top ten in the championship.

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.

MotoGP India 2023 history

With this being the first race to take place on Indian soil, there is not much to be talked about in terms of history! The country will become the 30th one to host a Grand Prix and it will do so at the Buddh International Circuit. The venue hosted three Formula 1 races from 2011 to 2013, all won by Sebastian Vettel.

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