Francesco Bagnaia successfully defended his Riders' Championship at the final race in Valencia, becoming the first rider to achieve back-to-back titles for Ducati since the manufacturer entered the series. The 2023 campaign was characterized by extraordinary parity among race winners: eight different riders took Grand Prix victories, and no rider won back-to-back Grands Prix — a first since the inaugural 1949 season. Japanese manufacturer Yamaha endured its worst season in two decades, failing to win a single Grand Prix for the first time since 2003.
Ducati's dominance was total. Winning 17 of 20 Grands Prix and 16 of 19 sprint races, Ducati secured their fifth Constructors' Championship and their fourth consecutive title in that category. Satellite outfit Pramac Racing claimed the Teams' Championship, capping a near-complete sweep of the major titles by the Italian manufacturer.
The sprint race format, borrowed in modified form from MotoGP's own regulatory deliberations, became a defining feature of the 2023 season. Sprints were contested on Saturdays over roughly half the Grand Prix distance, with points awarded to the top nine finishers on a 12-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, mirroring the system used in Superbike World Championship Superpole races. Sprint wins were recorded separately from standard Grand Prix victories and carried their own statistical category. The format also reduced on-track practice sessions and eliminated the warm-up session that had previously concluded Saturday programmes.
Bagnaia led the standings entering the summer break with 194 points, ahead of Jorge Martín on 159 and Marco Bezzecchi on 158. The championship tightened significantly across the Asian rounds. Martín briefly led the standings after winning the Indonesian sprint while Bagnaia crashed from 13th on the grid to claim the main race. At the Indian Grand Prix, Martín narrowed the gap to 13 points with seven rounds remaining. By the penultimate round in Qatar, Martín trailed by only 14 points heading into the Valencia finale, but crashed while attempting to recover from an early mistake. Bagnaia won the race and sealed his second consecutive world title.
The French Grand Prix at Le Mans marked the 1,000th motorcycle Grand Prix in the history of the world championship since the series began in 1949. At Phillip Island in Australia, severe weather forced an unusual schedule reversal: the main race was moved to Saturday and the sprint was cancelled due to inclement conditions. Johann Zarco, long without a premier class win, took his maiden MotoGP victory at Phillip Island. Indonesian round history was also made when Bagnaia's victory there represented the 500th Grand Prix win for tyre supplier Michelin, whose first triumph had come in 1973.
The Catalan Grand Prix proved the season's most chaotic day for Ducati. Five Ducati-mounted riders — Álex Márquez, Enea Bastianini, Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Di Giannantonio, and Johann Zarco — crashed in a single first-lap incident. Championship leader Bagnaia crashed shortly afterwards, was struck on the legs by Brad Binder's KTM, and sustained a minor injury that prevented him from restarting.
Aprilia's RNF satellite operation switched from Yamaha to Aprilia machinery, while the Tech3 KTM structure was rebranded as GasGas Factory Racing Tech3. Suzuki's withdrawal from MotoGP at the end of 2022 reshuffled the grid significantly: Álex Rins moved to LCR Honda, Joan Mir joined the renamed GasGas squad at Repsol Honda's expense (replacing Pol Espargaró), and Raúl Fernández joined RNF Aprilia. Jack Miller crossed from the Ducati factory team to KTM, with Enea Bastianini moving in the opposite direction to the works Ducati. Álex Márquez arrived at Gresini Racing on a Ducati, replacing Bastianini.
The 2023 season was among the most injury-disrupted in recent memory. Bastianini missed multiple rounds due to a fractured scapula, fractured ankle, and hand surgery. Álex Rins missed seven consecutive Grands Prix after breaking his right leg in the Italian sprint. Marc Márquez missed three rounds after fracturing his first metacarpal in Portugal.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) claimed the Riders' title ahead of Jorge Martín (Pramac Ducati) and Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati). Ducati won the Constructors' Championship and Pramac Racing won the Teams' Championship.