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Carlo Pernat has been looking at the class register and handing out the grades for the end of the year. Yesterday we revealed the marks on the 'lower part' of the ranking, while now it's time to look at the Top 10. Being among the best riders in the world does not mean escaping the judgment of the Italian manager, who was not convinced by all the MotoGP protagonists.
Above you can hear his live comments in our Bar Sport, below you can find his last report cards of the year.
Fabio Quartararo: 6/7
“I give him a very low grade, he almost gets a 7, because he never held back. It's annoying that a talent like him wasn't able to fight for the world championship. By staying with Yamaha for 2 years he made an economic decision and paid for this choice, but he always gave 120%. He crashed because he wanted to go beyond the limits of his bike."
Alex Marquez: 6 and a half
“I would give him an 8 for the first part of the season and a 5 for the second. The average is a 6 and a half, he still deserves an abundant pass grade."
Luca Marini: 6
“He is the only Ducati rider who did not win either a race or a Sprint. He deserves a pass grade because he is a hard-working, intelligent rider, but we always expect something more from him. Maybe he thought he was little considered in the VR46 team and that's also why he left."
Maverick Vinales: 5
“I'm not mad at him, but I give him a fail grade. He is a technically very strong rider, a champion, but he can't always blame the start, it is becoming a bit of a joke."
Aleix Espargarò: 7
“I give him a pass grade because he puts his heart and soul into it. He made some mistakes, but he also won two races, I could give him more than 7, but I didn't like his nervousness at the end of the championship."
Johann Zarco: 6
“He’s a rider I don't like very much, despite his good character and his friendliness. He is anonymous, you don't sign him to win the World Championship, but rather a few races here and there, even if he has only won one since he has been in MotoGP. I give him a sufficient grade for his victory at Phillip Island, but he's just a good second rider, not an official team one."
Brad Binder: 7
“I would have liked to give him a nice 9, but I give him a 7 and maybe that's a lot. He is the only rider who has taken the KTM to certain levels, both in the Sprints and in the races, but he is suffering from an inconsistency that I don't know if it is due to him or to the bike. If he overcomes this limit, he is a rider who can fight for the World Championship, because he is badass, he never gives up”.
Marco Bezzecchi: 8
“He has proven to be a very fast rider, a what you see is what you get kind of guy. I don't give him more than an 8 because of a few too many crashes, he uses instinct more than reasoning, he sometimes does this, he wins wonderful Grands Prix and other times he crashes. However, you can see he is quite a rider”.
Jorge Martin: 9
“He took the world championship battle right down to the wire and many were counting on him. I give him one point less for how he raced in the last Grand Prix, he was probably too stoked, overexcited, I didn't like him because a champion has to fight for the title with more tranquillity and he has to have it within himself."
Pecco Bagnaia: 10 with honours… and a big hug from the university
“He deserves 10 cum laude with a big hug from the university for his season: he wanted to win the last Grand Prix and he did it, that's something for champions. Furthermore, let's not forget that in the first 6 GPs he didn't have a teammate, carrying out the highly difficult development of the 2023 bike alone and that means a lot. Finally, without the crash in Barcelona caused by a tyre and not by his mistake, the World Championship would have ended 3 races earlier. For these three reasons he deserves that grade."
