The Losail Circuit in Qatar officially debuted almost 20 years ago in 2004, so it’s pretty much now a classic track. In terms of layout, it’s actually one of the easier ones, with a wide track and massive run off areas that don’t really punish you that much if you run off.

In terms of bike setup, you need something that’s good around prolonged 90 degree corners since there’s quite a few of those in succession on this track. You need something that has stable and consistent leaning and braking characteristics.

I tested a few setups, but in the end a very slight mod of my starter MotoGP 23 setup that I found using the Guided Setup feature, worked very well on this circuit.

Here it is:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 2
    • Oil Quantity – 3
    • Front Spring Hardness – 4
    • Front Swingarm compression – 3
    • Front Swingarm extension – 3
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 4
    • Swingarm connector – 3
    • Rear spring hardness – 2
    • Single shock absorber compression – 3
    • Single shock absorber extension – 3
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 4
    • Trail – 4
    • Steering plate position – 3
    • Rear swingarm length – 5
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 5-5-4-4-4-3
    • Final ratio – 4
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 340 High mass
    • Rear disc – 220mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 5
    • Engine braking – 4
    • Anti-wheelie – 3
    • Power mapping – 2

I should mention that I am using partial assists – I’m currently setting my own fastest lap times with the Braking and Throttle Neural Aids on Moderate. But this setup felt quite good and I could lap consistently with it, mostly avoiding that horrible understeer you can get using the default game setup.

Test and tweak as desired to your own preference. The ECU settings I’m using are a bit unusual and no assists players might want to lower the TC and AW setting especially.

Alternative MotoGP Class Setup

I did test another setup which I found online that was decent, but for me at least not as good as the first setup.

Here’s an alternate bike setup for MotoGP class for Losail:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 7
    • Oil Quantity – 1
    • Front Spring Hardness – 6
    • Front Swingarm compression – 1
    • Front Swingarm extension – 6
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 6
    • Swingarm connector – 2
    • Rear spring hardness – 4
    • Single shock absorber compression – 5
    • Single shock absorber extension – 5
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 3
    • Trail – 4
    • Steering plate position – 3
    • Rear swingarm length – 4
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 5-5-4-4-4-3
    • Final ratio – 4
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 340 High mass
    • Rear disc – 220mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 4
    • Anti-wheelie – 3
    • Power mapping – 2

With this setup, the lower ECU settings might suit some players better. For me, it was OK but not my favourite.

Moto2 and Moto3 Class Bike Setups

For the slower and less powerful Moto2 and Moto3 class bikes, check out our generic setups page for MotoGP 23 for starter setups for these bikes also. You can also try porting over the MotoGP class setup as far as it’ll go, but some setup parameters differ between classes.

Losail is not one of the harder circuits; it’s got a very wide track with obvious braking zones, and you can see pretty clearly what’s coming up next. So it’s a great track to practice on with these bikes and build up confidence.

Tips For Riding Around Losail

I normally love that Losail is the season opener race as it’s a great race to “get your eye in” and practice the handling of the new game. But for MotoGP 23, it’s actually near the end of the official season. Either way, it’s a relatively straightforward track.

Here’s some tips for riding it specific to MotoGP 23:

Braking – Braking into sharp hairpins can be tricky on this year’s game. There’s a couple of hairpins in sector 2 where it’s good to coast into the braking zone to make sure you get the braking/leaning correct. If you lean over too far whilst also applying the brakes too heavily or too long, you’ll fall off the bike. The front brake is dominant, but you can also use the rear brake to get the rear end of the bike turned in for sharp corners. But only dab the rear brake very briefly, and then let go. Holding the rear brake is a recipe for disaster on MotoGP 23.

Kerbs – Some of the kerbs can be quite deadly on this game, especially the second half of the lap – those 3 successive 90 degree rights followed by the left to end the lap. Don’t take too much kerb on the inside or the bike loses traction and crashes. Get your leaning just right and you can find a lot of time through this section.