RunningWide’s Crystal Ball for 2023

Can you feel it? That night-before-Christmas-like giddiness. Winter is nearing its end and that means that it is about time to get sucked into a brand new season of motorcycle racing. This very weekend, the World Superbike Championship is going to kick us off in Australia. By the time MotoGP and BSB join in at the end of March, the WSBK boys will already be six races (2 race weekends) into the season.

Trying to predict the outcome of a full season of motorsports ahead of time is nonsense, as it should be. History has proven time and time again that literally anything can happen. That being said, because our guess is as good as the next man’s, we will happily pitch in. Step right up as RunningWide takes you through some of our hopes, dreams and predictions for this season.

WSSP

Opening with the World Supersport Championship, our hopes are that this class will be the best watch of all four discussed here. It will deliver us with a lovely blend of Ducati V2s, 600cc four bangers from Kawasaki, Yamaha and Honda and the three cylinder MV Agustas. Main event for us being the glorious sound of the Triumph 765 triples. We might be biased.

For our dream pick, we’d consider Can Öncü, just because we can never quite forget what he showed us in 2018. But, as we glance past the Ten Kate team’s rider lineup, our true prince catches our eye. Glenn van Straalen. Our dream pick for the WSSP class has to be the Dutchman who had such a good showing last season. If Van Straalen could again be up there, fighting for podiums or even wins, we’d be jumping on the sofa, foaming at the mouth.

The predictions then. If we turn out to be wrong, don’t sue us. The boys on the Ten Kate machines, Manzi and Navarro, are bound to be up there. The team has a winning bike and a pretty good track record of putting the right riders on it. The betting man, we suspect, is going to put his money on Nicolo Bulega. Ducati have got their ducks in a row all across the board and Bulega appears to be on point too. If we were going to call it, and we are, he is taking it home this season. Plus, he looks like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, so there is that.

WSBK

Our hope for the World Superbike Championship is that Ducati doesn’t get away with it too easily. We are totally fine with the three-way battles we have seen the last season. Alvaro Bautista becoming even more dominant would lead to very boring races indeed. Do not let that little dude escape without a good fight, is what we’re saying.

Choosing a dream champion for this class is a bit like having to choose which finger you’d like to keep. As much as we love Razgatlioglu, Lowes, Redding, Petrucci, Van der Mark and Aegerter, the dream choice would be reigning British Superbike champion, Brad Ray. In our opinion, people that do not like Ray simply cannot be trusted. It will remain a fantasy though, for now. Damn you Bradley Ray not doing a full season.

Predictions? Well, it is just going to be the tiny Spaniard, isn’t it?

MOTO2

As far as hopes go for this class, we just can’t wait to hear the Triumph 765s come screaming past in Assen. Oh noise, glorious noise…

Celestino Vietti takes the honor of being RunningWide’s dream champion for the class. Reason being that seeing Vietti finish a race on the top step again, would make us want to pinch ourselves. After starting out last season in high spirits, he had eight DNFs under his belt by the time it wrapped up. Still, he is mighty fast when he can find the right buttons to push and we figure he deserves a break from being (great) meme-material.

As for the championship, we would like to say it will be Ai Ogura this time around. With our heads on the block though, we would chicken out at the last second and give it to Aron Canet or maybe even Dennis Foggia. Wait, no! Pedro Acosta will have to be the one.

Who can predict Moto2 anyway? Could be Sam Lowes you know…

MOTOGP

The top class of motorcycle racing has been immensely entertaining for the last couple of years. The bikes are generally quite close and the riders are very competitive. It really doesn’t leave much to be desired. But, as we discussed in an earlier article, we do feel that one tiny little thing has been missing. The King.

Our hope for this year’s MotoGP season leads us nicely to our dream champion too. We have honestly never been huge fans of Marc Marquez, the person. That said, there is absolutely no denying the otherworldly class of Marc Marquez, the rider. After all he has had to endure over the last three seasons, we reckon his determination alone could sink a battle ship. The fantasy of a fighting fit number 93 returning makes us feel all silly inside. We cannot wait to see Marc Marquez go full-blown Thanos on this grid.

Our prediction then? Surely, Honda is nowhere near ready to take a championship. The safer bets are Bagnaia, Quartararo or maybe Bestia. But you know what? We know the bike is utter dog dirt, we know he’s not the same old champ. But we’re going to go out on a limb here and predict that this season will mark the return of the King. Marquez it is.