Three riders who could make the step up to MotoGP in 2023

As is always the case around this time of year, speculation is rife about just who will be riding which bike in MotoGP next year.

Of course, the recent shock news of Suzuki’s departure from the series at the end of 2022 has blown the rider market wide open, with more riders currently on the grid than there will be bikes in 2023.

That will inevitably make it even harder for those currently racing outside of MotoGP to force their way into the premier class of motorcycle racing for next year.

However, it will not be impossible to do so, with certain riders still likely to be hot property for some of those teams currently competing in the GP field.

So with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at three riders who could have a chance of making the step up to MotoGP next year, right here.

Takaaki Nakagami is now well into his fifth season competing in MotoGP for LCR Honda, and in that time, the 30-year-old is still yet to claim a single podium finish, let alone a race win.

As a result, Nakagami has so far been unable to fly the Japanese flag as highly as promoters Dorna, or Honda, would have wanted him to in the market of his home country, and Asia as a whole, which is so important to both the organisers, and the factory he rides for.

That could mean that Honda will be tempted to look elsewhere for the next Japanese hope, and Ogura appears to be emerging as just that. With one win and three further podiums this season, Ogura is a genuine title contender in the intermediate Moto2 class, and showing just the sort of potential those involved would look for when searching for riders to make the step up to MotoGP.

At 21-years-old, Ogura is a more long-term prospect than Nakagami as well, meaning that with the latter continuing to