As is always the case around this time of year, speculation is rife about just who will be riding which bike in MotoGP next year.
Of course, the recent shock news of Suzuki’s departure from the series at the end of 2022 has blown the rider market wide open, with more riders currently on the grid than there will be bikes in 2023.
That will inevitably make it even harder for those currently racing outside of MotoGP to force their way into the premier class of motorcycle racing for next year.
However, it will not be impossible to do so, with certain riders still likely to be hot property for some of those teams currently competing in the GP field.
So with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at three riders who could have a chance of making the step up to MotoGP next year, right here.
Ai Ogura
Takaaki Nakagami is now well into his fifth season competing in MotoGP for LCR Honda, and in that time, the 30-year-old is still yet to claim a single podium finish, let alone a race win.
As a result, Nakagami has been so far unable to fly the Japanese flag as highly as promoters Dorna, or Honda, would have wanted him to in the market of his home country, and Asia as a whole, which is so important to both the organizers, and the factory he rides for.
That could mean that Honda will be tempted to look elsewhere for the next Japanese hope, and Ogura appears to be emerging as just that. With one win and three further podiums this season, Ogura is a genuine title contender in the intermediate Moto2 class, and showing just the sort of potential those involved would look for when searching for riders to make the step up to MotoGP.
At 21-years-old, Ogura is a more long-term prospect than Nakagami as well, meaning that with the latter continuing to struggle in the pursuit of silverware, Ogura’s rise could be coming at the perfect time for Honda to give him his big chance in the top class next year.
JoeRoberts
Considering the historic racing pedigree there is in the States, it is remarkable to think that no American rider has held a permanent spot on MotoGP grid, since Nicky Hayden in 2015.
Again, the size of the potential market that there is across the Atlantic means that is something that Dorna will want to change, and Joe Roberts could give them the opportunity to do just that.
The 24-year-old from California has been close to a MotoGP ride before, having previously held talks about a move to Aprilia, and given the Italian factory is set to expand its roster from two to four bikes from 2023 with the addition of a new satellite team, they will be looking for new riders to bring into their squad.
That historic connection with Roberts could put him in contention for one of those roles, and having backed up his recent first GP win in Portugal with an excellent second-place finish in Italy at the weekend, he too is starting to pick up the results needed to justify being given such an opportunity.
Celestino Vietti
With Jack Miller seemingly set to depart Ducati for KTM at the end of this season, it seems likely that a space will be opening up somewhere in the Italian factory’s pecking order.
It looks as though Ducati will be promoting from within to replace the departing Australian, with either Gresini’s Enea Bastianini or Pramac’s Jorge Martin in contention to make the step up to the factory team.
That will then leave seats to be taken in those Ducati satellite teams, and that could bring Vietti into the equation, given he is currently leading the Moto2 title race while riding for the same VR46 team that also runs two of the eight Ducatis currently on the grid.
As a result, if Miller’s departure is confirmed, and Ducati look to source their replacements from their current crop of riders, that would leave them with seven options to fill eight seats. Vietti’s success and connection through his team could therefore make him a decent option to take over that eighth seat in the group of riders assembled by the factory from his home country.
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