The hunt can begin.
This weekend opens in Qatar the 75th edition of the MotoGP World Championship with its reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia at the head of a Ducati fleet which advances as favorite.
Will King Bagnaia, double Italian MotoGP world champion, already establish his domination for the rest of the season?
Will his Spanish vice-champion Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac) strike a big blow?
On the Lusail route, the battle of the leaders resumes, unless an outsider - or even the legend Marc Marquez - shakes up the hierarchy from the start.
During the last edition of the Qatar GP last November, the Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio won on the handlebars of his Gresini, ahead of Bagnaia, for his first victory in MotoGP.
Another team, another generation, the Frenchman Johann Zarco, 33, swapped his powerful Ducati-Pramac for a modest Honda-LCR this year, on the handlebars of which he still hopes to “have the opportunity to fight for the podiums”.
During tests last month, the Cannes resident finished 17th, far from the best, even if he assures that “this position does not reflect his real potential”.
The other Frenchman on the grid, Fabio Quartararo, is starting his 6th season with Yamaha, with whom he is under contract until the end of the year.
If, for the moment, his future in the ranks of the Japanese team has not yet been decided, the 2021 world champion showed some concerns during tests, his mount always seeming to fail on one lap.
“This first GP is important because it will show us where we are,” assures the 24-year-old driver, only 10th in the championship in 2023, who hopes to see his team “in a better position than last year”.
The weekend program
Friday March 8:
Free Practice 1: 1:45 p.m.
Free practice 2: 6 p.m.
Saturday March 9:
Free Practice 3: 12 p.m.
Qualifying: 12:40 p.m.
Sprint race: 5 p.m.
Sunday March 10:
Race: 6 p.m.
All MotoGP events will be broadcast live on Canal + Sport 360.