Written by Owen Bradley, Edited by Ishani Aziz
Joan Mir: Repsol Honda
Joan Mir, the 2020 MotoGP World Champion and current Suzuki rider, will be moving to Repsol Honda next season, and will also stay on with the team in 2024. Mir won the championship in 2020 in an incredible yet strange year of racing, where he fended off the reigning world champion, Fabio Quartararo.
The Factory Honda team will therefore have two champion riders in Marc Marquez and Joan Mir. Repsol Honda will be looking to bounce back in 2023, after having a tough couple of years in the sport without Marc Marquez.
Enea Bastianini: Ducati
Bastianini has achieved a great deal in MotoGP whilst riding with Gresini Ducati, a team which has never typically been at the front. Enea has won three races with the team in just two seasons in the premier class.
The Moto2 2020 World Champion has already had an impressive start to his career, so perhaps a move to the factory Ducati team could put a championship on the cards?
Jack Miller: Red Bull KTM
Jack Miller has had a strange couple of years, he has very much been an impressive rider, scoring many podiums, but has never quite managed to challenge the championship, unlike his teammate Francesco Bagnaia. Miller’s move to Red Bull KTM will hopefully pay off, but only time will tell, as he’s been having another strange season in 2022, but his form does look good.
Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez: WithU RNF Aprilia MotoGP Team
Miguel Oliveira, a six-time podium sitter and four-time Grand Prix winner with Red Bull KTM, has announced he will be heading to the WithU RNF MotoGP team, which currently runs with Yamaha machinery - but will not go forward with Yamaha from 2023 onwards, after a frustrating and difficult two years for the team.
Raul Fernandez, another rider from KTM (albeit the customer team, Tech3) will also head to the WithU RNF Aprilia team after having a somewhat understated season in his rookie MotoGP season so far. The Moto2 runner-up in 2021 will be looking to improve on his season so far, and to solidify himself within the Aprilia family.
Alex Rins: LCR Honda
The other Suzuki rider in 2022 will also be switching teams, heading over to LCR Honda. Most of the drama surrounding both Rins and Mir’s departure is because Suzuki itself is leaving MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season.
It is currently unclear whether Rins will partner current LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami, or whether somebody else will join him next year. Rins will however replace Alex Marquez for 2023 and 2024.
Alex Marquez: Gresini Ducati
Alex Marquez has spoken to the media recently about needing a change, in terms of both team and machinery. As such he will be partnering up with Fabio Digiannantonio at Gresini Ducati next season. Despite the mastery of Ducati’s machinery, it is still worth questioning whether this is a good move for the Spaniard.
Pol Espargaro: GasGas Tech3 KTM
Leaving Repsol Honda after a tricky few years, Pol Espargaro, brother of 2022 championship contender Aleix Espargaro, will be moving to GasGas KTM next season.
Well, MotoGP has had a crazy summer season! Let us know your thoughts on the rider moves in the comments below!
Great analysis of these guys ! Think without a doubt Enea is going to be in the top group for years to come - a talent for sure. Joan Mir I have as a personal favourite as I like the way he goes about things and hope he makes good use of the HRC bike but I think its very hard in the post Marquez Honda era to pull the team around you effectively and maybe Mir is the kind of guy to thrive under the radar so to speak. Of course this is to write Marquez off at HRC too, without serving up your next article which must be almost ready 😉, will Marquez be the same rider ever…