Eric Uribe
Seven MotoGP races down, 12 to go (maybe 14 if two postponed races get rescheduled). One-third of the way into the race season, who are the best MotoGP World Championship picks to make right now? Perhaps as a hedge against your preseason pick to win or perhaps the first futures wager of the season? We’ll let you know throughout the course of this article.
Before we give out our free picks, it would benefit us to know what online oddsmakers are thinking. As of mid-June — days before the German Grand Prix — here’s which drivers have the best odds at winning the MotoGP drivers title:
| Driver |  |  |
| Fabio Quartararo | -165 | -165 |
| Francesco Bagnaia | +500 | +500 |
| Johann Zarco | +500 | +500 |
| Jack Miller | +600 | +600 |
| Joan Mir | +1000 | +1000 |
Don’t expect the above MotoGP futures odds to stay stable. They change almost weekly, based on race results and the latest World Championship standings. But for the purpose of this article, we’ll use current lines to guide our betting selection(s). There’s a lot to cover so let’s get right into it!
Betting Pick — Fabio Quartararo
Many knew Quartararo’s time was coming, but most didn’t expect it to arrive this soon. Only 22 years old, the Frenchman for Yamaha has been on a tear to start the season. Here are his finishes at all seven races — fifth, first, first again, 13th, third, first, and sixth. No other driver has as many outright wins and podium appearances as Quartararo.
The lingering question with Quartararo is if he can keep the hot streak going all season long. A year ago, he too got off to a blazing start before fizzling late. What’s different his time around? Easy enough, it’s experience. In 2021, he didn’t know what he didn’t know (it was, after all, only his second year in MotoGP). Learning from those blunders, Quartararo now knows what it’ll take to stay atop the driver leaderboard this time around.
Betting Pick — Joan Mir
As much as we love Quartararo, you shouldn’t “put all your eggs in one basket” as they say. It would be smart business to bet alongside another driver (or two) as insurance in case Quartararo injures himself — or worse, chokes once again. As a backup plan, you can’t go wrong with the reigning champion, Mir.
Thus far into the season, Mir has been a constant threat to end up on the podium. His worst finish was a seventh-place run at the Doha Grand Prix. No, he hasn’t finished first quite yet, but our money says he eventually breaks through. Once he does, he’ll quickly leapfrog others in the driver’s standings — he’s currently fifth, but only 12 points away from third. A combo bet on Quartararo and Mir is a great place to park your hard-earned money.
Is Marc Marquez Worth A Bet?
Here’s a question that never gets old. Of course, Marquez is synonymous with MotoGP. He won six of seven world titles between 2013 and 2019. A devastating injury in 2020 ended his reign of dominance and in the eyes of some, his career.
Technically speaking, Marquez is back in MotoGP action. However, it’s very evident that one of two things is happening a) Marquez isn’t even close to 100 percent or b) he’ll never be the same again. Us, personally, we are in camp A (for now). Marquez hasn’t finished each of the last three races so evidently, something is off.
We don’t want to write off an all-timer like Marquez forever, but we are doing so for 2021. Bookies currently have Marquez at +2800 to win the championship and we think even that’s too friendly. C’mon, the guy has 16 points in the standings and is currently sitting in 18th overall. It would take quite the miracle for Marquez to “return from the dead.” Marquez’s comeback tour will have to continue in 2022.
Alright, that’s a wrap for this article. Further into the season, we’ll be sure to do an updated picks article because as we all know, things change fast in a high-thrill motorsport like MotoGP — and we mean fast! But we’re confident our three picks above will remain the thick of the championship hunt ’til the very end.
If you want all the latest MotoGP odds (or Moto2 and Moto3, along those same lines), then head to one of the sportsbooks listed underneath. Any one of those featured in the table will have up-to-the-minute betting lines on all things MotoGP, whether that’s futures on the World Championship or an individual Grand Prix event.
But you know what else they have aside from great prices on races? Huge promotions for bettors, new and returning ones alike! The more lucrative of the two is the sign-up bonus, geared at first-time players. Look at the table underneath to grasp what we mean by lucrative. See that dollar amount next to the green “bet now” button? Yep, that’s the max bonus available at each bookmaker.
So you want up to $1000 in free play? All you have to do to earn the bonus is register an account at the bookmaker and deposit money into it. The dollar-figure amount you deposit is matched in free play. Therefore, to earn a cool grand in free play, it requires a $1000 deposit on your end. Of course, you can do less if you so like. Whatever you do, it’s hard to beat free money!
