MotoGP is BACK!
After three months away, the premier class of motorcycle racing returned to its now traditional season opener in Qatar.
While it is difficult to gauge how the season will pan out because of the uncharacteristic conditions under the lights in the desert, many surprises were sprung.
More importantly, it has whet the appetite for this year could bring.
1st. Enea Bastianini – 10
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Since the second half of last season, Enea Bastianini has simply been a joy to watch.
Still riding an old Ducati, albeit a 2021 version instead of 2019, the Italian gave the newly reformed Gresini team their first win since 2006 thanks to a superbly controlled race.
Having qualified second, the 2020 Moto2 champion stuck with the leading quartet of riders during the first half of the race.
Overtaking Brad Binder for second on Lap 14, the 24-year-old then hunted down Pol Espargaro for the win, passing the Spaniard down the main straight and into Turn 1 with four laps remaining.
With rumours circulating around Jack Miller’s Factory seat, Bastainini’s chances will be done no harm with performances like this.
2nd. Brad Binder – 9.5
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If this race is anything to go by, Brad Binder could be a dark horse for the championship.
The quickest KTM on track all weekend, the South African produced a great lap to make it through Q1.
He then backed that up with a stunning start, launching himself from 7th to 3rd by the first corner.
Usually a Sunday man, he kept his KTM in the podium places thereafter to secure the Austrian manufacturer’s best result in the premier class in Qatar.
3rd. Pol Espargaro – 8
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A mixed weekend for Pol Espargaro.
On the one hand, the Spaniard comfortably beat his teammate for only the fourth time – and the first when both riders have finished – never falling behind Marc Marquez after launching ahead of him off the line.
He also controlled the race for 18 of the 22 laps, looking at ease on his Honda while doing so.
However, he can’t be given a higher mark because of his rookie mistake into Turn 1 after Bastianini passed him. Not only did that cost him the chance to compete with the Italian for the win, it also cost him second spot on the podium.
Close on several occasions, he must be wondering if that first MotoGP victory will ever come.
4th. Aleix Espargaro – 9
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4th place represented a great start to the 2022 season for Aleix Espargaro.
Showing consistent pace all weekend, the Spaniard reeled in and passed compatriot Marc Marquez for 4th in the closing stages, and only missed out on the podium by less than a second.
Now in his twelfth year as a MotoGP rider, the 32-year-old still might not have the bike to compete for the championship. The steps he and Aprilia have made in recent seasons should mean he can compete consistently for podiums, however.
5th. Marc Marquez – 8
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Marc Marquez was eager to point out all weekend that he was still not used to his new Honda, even saying it felt like he was riding for a different manufacturer.
Yet when the Spaniard stuck his RC213V in third on Saturday, it looked for a moment like the old, imperious Marquez had returned.
By his own admission, he couldn’t match the pace of those in front of him in the race. Yet with Fabio Quartararo finishing behind him and Pecco Bagnaia crashing out, the two riders that the eight-time world champion is supposedly competing with for the 2022 title, 5th place represented a good haul of points.
6th. Johann Mir – 7.5
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After the race pace Joan Mir had shown during Friday practice, it was quite an underwhelming Sunday for the Spaniard.
He wasn’t helped by a relatively poor qualifying; in what is still his Achilles heel, Mir was only able to put his Suzuki in 8th, unable to find sufficient speed over one lap.
Still, 6th place isn’t a bad result, and the 2020 world champion will be satisfied with his bike’s straight-line speed, Suzuki appearing to have made giant strides forwards with their engine.
7th. Alex Rins – 7
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Copy and paste the above for Alex Rins.
Showing good race pace in Friday practice, the Spaniard was unable to deliver on that promise over one lap.
He then lagged behind his teammate on Sunday, coming home 4 seconds after Mir, hence the slightly lower mark.
8th. Johann Zarco – 7
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While Johann Zarco should have had the pace in practice to make it straight through to Q2, he was unfortunate in that he had his fastest lap time in Q1 deleted, being the victim of a yellow flag that rendered his fastest lap time void.
The 31-year-old can nonetheless take satisfaction from the fact he was the second-best Ducati to finish, behind only race winner Bastianini.
9th. Fabio Quartararo – 7
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A sign of things to come this season for Fabio Quartararo? Excluding his DNF at Portimao and his 13th place in Jerez where he suffered arm pump issues, the Frenchman’s 9th place in Qatar was worse than all his other results last year.
The inferior straight-line speed of his Yamaha – Quartararo was the slowest through the speed traps all weekend and was pipped on the line by the much faster Ducati of Johann Zarco – meant 9th place was the maximum the reigning world champion could probably have achieved.
Indeed, it could have been worse; the Frenchman only made it through Q1 after compatriot Zarco had his fastest lap-time deleted.
He will be hoping that a return to more conventional circuits will bring the speed out of his Yamaha. If it doesn’t, expect the 22-year-old to become even more disgruntled than he already is, especially considering he is out of contract at the end of this season.
10th. Taka Nakagami – 7
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Solid, if unspectacular, from Taka Nakagami.
One of the most experienced riders on the grid nowadays, the 30-year-old was comfortably ahead of teammate Alex Marquez all weekend, including before the latter’s crash.
Selected others:
11th. Franco Morbidelli – 7
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Franco Morbidelli can be satisfied with his performance in Qatar.
Having had the pace in practice to progress straight through to Q2, the Italian stuck his Factory Yamaha directly behind teammate Quartararo on Saturday.
He struggled to keep pace with the Frenchman in the race, however, although a 6-second margin isn’t a bad start considering the injury-plagued season he experienced last year.
12th. Maverick Vinales – 6.5
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Different bike, same story as Maverick Vinales was running as low as 20th after the opening laps.
He had a decent recovery to 12th, but 8 places behind his teammate isn’t an ideal start to what is big season for the Spaniard on the Aprilia.
14th. Andrea Dovisioso – 7
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As with Quartararo, Andrea Dovizioso maximised what he could from his satellite Yamaha.
He won’t have been happy to be languishing down at the bottom end of the points, but there was little more he could have done at a power heavy circuit.
DNF:
Jorge Martin – 7.5
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How many times will Jorge Martin be involved in a crash that isn’t his fault?
This time it was the turn of Pecco Bagnaia, the Italian losing control of his Factory Ducati as he attempted to pass Martin up the inside of Turn 1.
Having qualified on pole, there is an argument to say that the Spaniard shouldn’t have been competing with Bagnaia for 8th in the first place, Martin falling down the order after an awful getaway.
Still, he showed superb speed at points throughout the weekend, and the Factory Ducati bosses will have noticed as they begin to think about Miller’s seat.
Pecco Bagnaia – 4.5
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In what is expected to be a tight tussle for the championship, Pecco Bagnaia cannot afford to be throwing points away.
After a brilliant end to last season, in which the Italian won 4 of the last 6 races and smashed the lap record at Jerez when testing for this season, it was surprising to see him so far off the pace all weekend.
Qualifying behind his teammate, Bagnaia then slipped as low as 15th after a poor start. He put in a decent recovery thereafter, but then crashed into Jorge Martin when battling for 8th.
Like Quartararo, the 24-year-old will be hoping a return to circuits in more conventional climates will bring the best out of his Ducati.
Alex Marquez – 5
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Alex Marquez began the 2022 season the same way he spent much of last season: binning his LCR Honda.
Now in his third year in the premier class, the Spaniard must improve if he is to have a long-term future in MotoGP, let alone deliver on his rich promise.
Jack Miller – 6.5
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Jack Miller must be sick of sight of the Losail International Circuit.
Having never finished higher than 9th in Qatar in the premier class, the Australian was well placed to do so after his performance on Saturday, Miller putting his Ducati in 4th, five places ahead of his teammate.
Yet, after developing an electrical problem in the race, the Australian fell like a stone before being forced to retire.
With questions over his Factory Ducati ride already surfacing, it got the 27-year-old’s season off to the worst possible start.
