10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix

Francesco Bagnaia bounced back to prove critics wrong with victory in the MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix.

Back-to-back grand prix crashes for Bagnaia had resumed doubts about his ability to handle pressure, but the Ducati rider brushed those aside at Jerez with his second main race victory of the season.

He now leads the championship again by 22 points heading to France, while KTM emerged from Jerez celebrating double podiums in the grand prix and the sprint to perhaps begin a genuine title challenge in 2023.

Yamaha and Honda continued to battle their inferior machinery, while FIM stewarding overshadowed everything as several penalty calls drew unified criticism.

Elsewhere, an old star returned to remind the world just why he is one of MotoGP’s best, while a new initiative from the FIM and Dorna Sports aims to improve gender equality in motorcycle racing.

With four rounds now in the history books, it’s time to look at the 10 things we learned from the 2023 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix.

1. Bagnaia’s rebound ability remains unrivalled

Regardless of whether conditions in Argentina and America were tricky or not, the cold hard fact of the matter is that Bagnaia surrendered 45 points with two costly grand prix crashes.

After Austin, he blamed his Ducati for being too perfect and stable for his crash, as it was stopping him from truly feel what was going on with the front-end of his bike. He seemed to roll back on this on Thursday at Jerez, but the inevitable questions about his handling of pressure arose.

Bagnaia has, for the most part, always come across well in interviews and press conferences. And, while there was no venom in his response about the fact he’s crashed out of the lead on four occasions in his career, the fact he was fielding such a query clearly rankled.

At the end of Friday’s action, as he sat outside of the Q2 spots and battled a lack of front-end feeling, the weekend ahead looked tough. But his team found what he needed from the bike, he qualified fifth and finished second in the sprint.

But it was his grand prix performance that truly stunned. Brushing aside a questionable penalty (more on that later) mid-race, Bagnaia looked like a world champion. A stunning lap 19 of 24, in which he set the fastest lap of the race and wiped out Brad Binder’s lead, set him on a collision course with victory.

Pointing to the number one plate on…