10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Argentina Grand Prix

MotoGP celebrated its newest winner at the Argentina Grand Prix as the series’ new era continued to divide reaction.

A depleted 17-rider grid took part in Sunday’s wet contest at Rio Hondo, which was dominated by sophomore Marco Bezzecchi to claim his first win and Valentino Rossi’s first as a team owner.

Listening to several riders after the enthralling Saturday sprint, Bezzecchi looked a shoo-in for victory if conditions stayed dry.

Despite his despair at seeing wet conditions on Sunday morning, he followed through on his sprint promise to take the championship lead from his fellow VR46 Academy chum Francesco Bagnaia – who crashed in circumstances reminiscent of his 2022 errors.

There were mixed fortunes for Yamaha in Argentina, while off-track rumblings surrounding stewarding continued.

With the 2023 MotoGP season well and truly in full swing now, here are the 10 things we learned from the Argentina Grand Prix.

1. Bezzecchi Ducati’s dark horse threat?

Marco Bezzecchi was a name few gave much regard to when he was announced as a MotoGP rider for the VR46 Ducati squad for 2022. That quickly changed as he scored a maiden podium at Assen and a first pole later in the year in Thailand.

Continuing in the same surroundings but with the 2022-spec Ducati that won the championship, Bezzecchi enjoyed a strong pre-season as he could simply focus on fine-tuning his bike set-up and riding style.

Third in the Portuguese GP was a believable start to his campaign; after all, Enea Bastianini in 2022 on a year-old satellite Ducati won two of the first four races. While Bezzecchi didn’t think repeating Portugal every weekend was realistic, he was easily the strongest rider in Argentina.

The first to switch to slicks on the drying track in qualifying, he could well have taken pole had he not been delayed by Takaaki Nakagami during his bike swap. Holding onto second in the sprint gave many cause for concern, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro noting after: “I was on the limit to follow the guys in front and today I really didn’t see anyone really fast, just Bezzecchi has more speed than anyone. If he started first, for sure he was the man.”

From feeling “desperate” when he saw the grand prix would be wet, Bezzecchi’s tune changed after the rain-hit warm-up. At one stage over eight seconds clear of the field, Bezzecchi was untouchable from the moment…