With MotoGP midway through its annual summer break, it's time to look back at the first part of what has so far been a captivating season and rate the riders - who have been the star pupils and who needs to do more homework?
Marc Marquez (E, Repsol Honda), 1st - 163pts A+
As early as the second round of the season at Austin, when Marquez became the sport's youngest ever race-winner, it was clear that the reigning Moto2 champion had the potential to go all the way in his debut season at this level. In a campaign that so far has even put Valentino Rossi's 500cc debut season back in 2000 to shame, Marquez has notched up three wins, two second places and three third places, meaning he has been on the podium at every round bar one - when he crashed in the closing stages at Mugello. It will be fascinating to see how the 20-year old responds to the challenge of preserving his 16-point lead for the remainder of the year.
Dani Pedrosa (E, Repsol Honda), 2nd - 147pts A-
Just as Pedrosa was finally set to emerge from the shadow of the two-time champion Casey Stoner, the pint-sized Spaniard's title aspirations have been dealt a body blow by the arrival of Marquez in the other side of the Repsol Honda garage. Pedrosa responded well after his defeat at Austin with back-to-back victories at Jerez and Le Mans, consolidated by a pair of second places, but his challenge has faltered since his injury sustained in practice at the Sachsenring. He'll need to be firing on all cylinders for the rest of the year if he is to overcome Marquez to take a well overdue first premier class title.
Jorge Lorenzo (E, Yamaha Factory Team), 3rd - 137pts A
Like his countryman Pedrosa, Lorenzo has seen his title aspirations damaged by injury. More impressive than any of his three victories at Qatar, Mugello and Catalunya was his superhuman ride to fifth in the Dutch TT just two days after suffering a fractured collarbone in a crash during practice. He was forced to miss the following race at Sachsenring after he aggravated the injury in another crash, but soldiered to sixth position a week later at Laguna Seca. If titles were won on virtue of sheer bloody-mindedness, Lorenzo would be champion already, but there's a lot of work ahead to reel in the Repsol Honda riders in the latter half of the year.
Valentino Rossi (I, Yamaha Factory Team), 4th - 117pts B+
Rossi's season started auspiciously enough with a strong second place at Qatar behind teammate Lorenzo, but things appeared to tail off somewhat after that. Five more races went by until he returned to the podium, taking advantage of his teammate's injury to take a universally popular victory at Assen, backed up by a brace of solid, if unspectacular podiums in the next two races. Those results prove "The Doctor" can still cut it at the front of the MotoGP field, albeit perhaps not as consistently as we have been used to previously. A title challenge is still within the realm of possibility, but more wins will be essential to keep Rossi's hopes alive.
Cal Crutchlow (GB, Monster Tech 3 Yamaha), 5th - 116pts A
2013 has seen Crutchlow blossom into one of the championship's most impressive performers. The Coventry-born rider managed to take his satellite Tech 3 bike to an incredible four podium finishes in five races, including the second step twice at Le Mans and the Sachsenring, as well as to a superb pole position at Assen. His early fall at Catalunya and a mysteriously indifferent ride to seventh at Laguna Seca have been the only noticeable blots on an otherwise unspoiled copybook for Crutchlow, who must be desperately hoping he can bag a maiden win before he moves to the struggling Ducati team for the 2014 season.
Stefan Bradl (D, LCR Honda), 6th - 84pts B+
It was a shaky start to the season for Bradl, who fell from his bike in three of the first four rounds, but since then the German has begun to rival Crutchlow for the honour of the year's outstanding non-factory rider in his sophomore year in the premier class. Fourth place at Mugello marked the start of five successive top-six finishes, the latest of which was a highly impressive ride from pole position to second place at Laguna Seca. That upturn in form has proven sufficient to guarantee Bradl another season within the HRC stable, though he'll have to do more to be in with any chance of a full factory ride in years to come.
Andrea Dovizioso (I, Ducati Team), 7th - 81pts A-
Much like last year, it's difficult to find too much fault with the performances of Dovizioso, who has been the only rider in the field to have scored points at every race this season. Unlike last year however, when the Italian could be expected to challenge for a podium on a good day with the Tech 3 team, Ducati's struggles have largely relegated the talented Italian to a series of private battles with teammate Nicky Hayden in the lower half of the top ten. Fourth place at Le Mans, when the conditions masked the bike's lack of pace to a degree, has been the highlight, along with a well-earned fifth place on home turf in the dry at Mugello.
Alvaro Bautista (E, Gresini Honda), 8th - 71pts C+
The latter half of 2012 seemed to suggest that Bautista may be ready to prove his worthiness of factory machinery, but the first half of this year's campaign has been underwhelming in comparison to his fellow satellite Honda rider Bradl. In addition to back-to-back crashes at Mugello and Catalunya, the Spaniard has been largely outpaced by the former Moto2 champion, his best finish of fourth at Laguna Seca coming on a day where Bradl was busy fighting Marquez for the win. Bautista will need to find a way back on to the podium before the year is out to be assured of maintaining his seat at the Gresini outfit for next year.
Nicky Hayden (US, Ducati Team), 9th - 65pts B
The MotoGP paddock will be a poorer place next year if, after losing his factory Ducati ride for next year, Hayden takes the opportunity to bid the series farewell. While the "Kentucky Kid" may have been outscored by teammate Dovizioso, the pair have finished very close together at the majority of races this season, no more so than the most recent round at Laguna Seca where he narrowly pipped Dovizioso to eighth place in front of his home fans. Hayden still undoubtedly has much to offer; it's simply a question of whether any other team is willing to eschew youth and exuberance in favour of the 2006 champion's services.
Aleix Espargaro (E, Power Electronics Aspar), 10th - 52pts A
Quite simply the class of the CRT field, it's a huge injustice that Espargaro looks set to be overlooked for a prototype ride in 2014. The Spaniard's crash at Laguna Seca was his first real mistake of the season, before which he had been the first CRT rider home in each and every race. Admittedly, the Aspar-run ART bike is demonstrably superior to its rivals in the class, but the way Espargaro has put more experienced teammate Randy de Puniet to shame - as well as certain prototype riders on occasion - has been highly impressive.
Bradley Smith (GB, Monster Tech 3 Yamaha), 11th - 51pts C
Though it's not unreasonable to expect most MotoGP rookies (Marquez aside) to take half a season or so to find their feet, there comes a time when they need to begin showing what they are made of. It's been an underwhelming first nine races for Smith, who could probably have benefited from a further year of Moto2 competition before making the step up. Still, the Oxford-born rider has made commendably few mistakes, taking a best finish of sixth at the Sachsenring, but it's time Smith added some more speed to his consistency.
Michele Pirro (I, Pramac Ducati), 12th - 36pts B
In addition to two outings as 'wildcard' for the beleaguered Ducati team, test rider Pirro has found himself thrust into the limelight on no fewer than four other occasions as a result of Ben Spies' injuries. The Italian has acquitted himself well in both scenarios, making few errors and measuring up well to his principal opposition, compatriot Andrea Iannone. Taking the 'lab bike' to a creditable seventh place at Mugello has been Pirro's finest hour so far, and if Spies remains on the sidelines there could be more assured performances to come.
Andrea Iannone (I, Pramac Ducati), 13th - 24pts B-
The transition from Moto2 to MotoGP for the rider they call "Crazy Joe" has not been an easy one, and the volatility that prevented Iannone from reaching his potential in the intermediate class shows little sign of mellowing. Crashes at Jerez and Catalunya have taken their toll on the Italian's points tally, as has an injury sustained in practice for the Sachsenring which has seen Iannone miss two races. There have been some solid finishes though, not least of all back-to-back top tens in the first two rounds of the year ahead of teammate Spies.
Hector Barbera (E, Avintia Blusens), 14th - 24pts B
Stepping down from a prototype to a CRT bike must have been a difficult pill to swallow for Barbera. Despite that, the Spaniard has put his teammate and former 250cc sparring partner Hiroshi Aoyama in the shade so far this year, and more often than not he has been the first user of the FTR chassis across the line, even breaching the top ten on two occasions. It's not all been plain sailing for Barbera though, with a crash at Catalunya and a subdued ride at Assen among the low points of the first half of the season.
Randy de Puniet (F, Power Electronics Aspar), 15th - 19pts C
Whereas Aspar teammates de Puniet and Espargaro were relatively evenly matched in 2012, this year the pendulum has swung decisively in favour of the latter. The Frenchman continues to crash far too frequently for a rider of his experience, more than likely trying to compensate for the inadequacy of his CRT bike, and has been regularly outpaced by Espargaro all season. That de Puniet is being linked with Suzuki's forthcoming MotoGP return shows nevertheless that he is still highly regarded; it may be just the thing to reinvigorate his career.
To see my Formula One half-term report, click here.
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