As The Race reflects on the 2023 motorsport season - one that featured a record-equalling Formula 1 schedule, no fewer than 39 MotoGP races, and no shortage of on- and off-track drama in IndyCar and Formula E - we’ve asked our writers to recount their standout motorsport memory or feeling from the past 12 months.

In the latest edition of our rundown, deputy editor and The Race MotoGP Podcast regular Valentin Khorounzhiy recalls the 2023 race that will linger long in his memory.

As a regular on our MotoGP podcast and the general 'overseer' of our two-wheeled output, I probably should pick a MotoGP option as my 2023 standout. After all, it's not like the options are lacking.

Johann Zarco's long-long-long-awaited first win in the premier class in a mind-boggling Phillip Island showdown with massive championship race ramifications? Great pick. I remember shaking from the thrill of watching that race (while sat, funnily enough, in the reception area of an accommodation near Hockenheim) in what was the very early morning in my timezone.

Or how about the Qatar Grand Prix that so memorably capped off Fabio Di Giannantonio's transformation from "a MotoGP non-factor destined for his walking papers" into "uhhh... when did you get so good?!".

I've talked plenty about both though - and, even if I hadn't, when I was reminded of the subject of this column I realised there could be no other answer, four wheels and all.

Alex Palou's 78-point winning margin and crushing victory streak mid-season may suggest otherwise, but so much of the IndyCar campaign this past year was actually appointment viewing - and Palou, for all his efforts to snuff out any championship intrigue, actually contributed hugely to this.

Yes, sometimes it was a mere case of "hot damn, isn't he fast?", a Scott Dixon-esque stint here or there that didn't really make sense in terms of how much he was outgaining his opposition.

But you can't win an IndyCar title without getting your elbows out, and when Palou found himself in that kind of situation, the other side came out - that of an extremely ruthless racer operating with a real audacity and a willful ignorance of the championship picture.

OUR 2023 MEMORIES SO FAR

• Jack Benyon: A poignant Nashville IndyCar trip
• Ben Anderson: The other F1 returnee who enjoyed his 2023 comeback
• Sam Smith: When Formula E's big on- and off-track stories intersected
• Mark Hughes: A statement drive that drew a line under years and years wasted

In the overall picture, his weekend at Toronto was hardly a standout - if it was one, it was only one in a negative sense. He qualified a season-worst 15th and took some first-stint risks that felt ill-advised in the moment - namely an attempted overtake on Romain Grosjean that led to minor contact and the loss of a position.

But the thing about those risks is they often only feel ill-advised when they don't come off. Further into the race, Palou uncorked a scintillating divebomb on Grosjean that prompted me, done with my work for the day in that moment, to return to our work Slack (communications software) with a "y'all see that Palou overtake lol?" and watch the rest of the race along with my coworkers from that point on.