There have definitely been two riders in 2022 that have disappointed relative to their 2021 campaigns – Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia. The two Ducati riders had a slew of fantastic results last season, particularly at the end of the year, and both looked to be in fantastic shape heading into 2022. The expectation was that the two of them would launch into championship bids from the get-go this year, alongside the like of Quartararo, Marc Marquez and the Suzukis.
Instead, it’s been a very disappointing beginning to the 2022 championship for both Ducati riders. Despite the strength of the Ducati last year, this year’s model needed time to get going, time that other manufacturers punished severely. While Enea Bastianini stormed to two wins in four races, his more senior compatriots were struggling to put together good results and consistency.
However, the Jerez weekend has shown that the two riders are in very different places right now. Jerez represented the first ‘normal’ race of the season so far: a track with plenty of use and history in the class, a favourite of the riders and fans. There was no weather conditions to master, no brand-new circuit or surface issues. This was a race where the best riders would deliver, and rise to the top.
Jorge Martin’s race ended after only a couple of laps, the Pramac rider biting the dust in the infamous Jorge Lorenzo corner. He remounted, but finished way outside of the points and off the time of the remaining riders. The Spaniard has now failed to score in four of the opening six races, and sits mired down in thirteenth in the championship. Martin is struggling, visibly so, and will need a massive overhaul to get back into his strong form we saw in his rookie season.
Compare this to Bagnaia. The Italian was in great form all weekend, fast and consistent, and shattered the pole record at Jerez by a whopping 4 tenths of a second. He then converted that into a perfect race, with him and Quartararo being head and shoulders above the rest of the field and finishing the race a full ten seconds up on third. This was the first weekend all season we’ve seen the Bagnaia of old, the one from the rear end of 2021 – fast, dominant, nigh impossible to beat. There is no doubt in my mind that Pecco is back in business.
This result means that the GP22 is likely almost solved for its riders. Bagnaia and Miller were strong this weekend, and Zarco was on the podium in Portimao. The GP22 was still under development when the season started, but clear steps have been made in recent rounds, and the riders now look and sound far more confident moving forward. This is great news for everyone involved in the project, and rather bad news for anyone else hoping to beat them in this championship.
Quartararo was the other danger man of this race, finishing just a few tenths behind Bagnaia and hanging onto his coattails all race long. Two podiums on the trot has seen the Frenchman soar to the top of the world championship and reignite his challenge to repeat his title victory of 2021, something that seemed a far reach as recently as Austin. While Bagnaia looks strong thanks to the union of rider and bike, Quartararo is performing well in spite of his machine. The Yamaha is still struggling, and will take some serious development to remain competitive for the rest of this season.
The difference between Quartararo and his Yamaha stablemates appears to be how they utilise the strengths of the bike. The Yamaha is still fantastic at cornering and braking, and Quartararo is using these abilities to find time in every corner against the more top speed-heavy opponents such as Ducati and Honda. Additionally, his qualifying record is saving his bacon here; by qualifying towards the front of the grid, Quartararo is giving himself less Ducatis to overtake in the early stages, and can keep himself towards the front so long as he gets a good start.
Aleix Espargaro was third, marking his fourth podium in the last twelve months and his third in 2022. The Aprilia is a competitive package, there can be no denying it now, and Aleix currently represents their best chance at a championship spin this season. Aprilia continue to refer to themselves as underdogs, but no-one in the paddock is fooled any more. The riders and teams know full well what a threat Aleix represents, which is especially impressive given how close he was to retirement just a few short years ago.
These three riders, our podium finishers for Jerez, represent the three biggest championship challengers moving forward in my mind. Quartararo and Aleix are first and second in the championship, with a 50% podium record so far for each of them, and Bagnaia looked so dangerously quick all weekend that he has to be considered a factor from now on. It’s obviously very tough to pick the best of the current MotoGP grid given how close the pack was, but these three certainly seem to be on a higher level than their competition at present, so I would keep an eye on all of them moving forward.
The biggest disappointment for me this weekend was the Suzuki team. Mir had a fine race and came across the line in sixth, but he never once looked like having the pace of the five riders ahead of him. Rins, meanwhile, had his worst race of 2022, being mired in the midpack with no way of moving forward and running off into the gravel trap to prematurely end his race. For a rider that has looked so good so far this season, it really did feel like a return to the norm from Rins. To go so quickly from podium contention in Portimao all the way down to his abysmal finish in Jerez, he really needs to change his tact to try and rebound in Le Mans, or face losing even more points to his rivals.
After back-to-back weekends, the riders get some time off now to visit their families and work on themselves before we return to Le Mans in a couple of weeks’ time. Who will return in France and continue their strong form, and who will flounder under the increasing pressure? It’s a hard call, but I would certainly keep and eye on both Fabio and Pecco. If the storyline of 2022 is the closest MotoGP grid of all time, then a ten-plus second win should raise plenty of concern amongst their competition. We’ll have to wait and see who can deliver on this promise.
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