There has been a lot of complaining in MotoGP recently about the nature of races, and the ability – or lack thereof – for riders to battle one another for positions. The last two races in Jerez and Le Mans both had a distinct lack of overtakes, particularly in the top 7 or 8 positions and after the opening couple of laps had allowed for riders to settle into their grooves. A lot of this boils down to the technology involved in the front ends of bikes: ride height devices and aero fairings are forcing riders to push their front ends more and more, and that reduces the possibility for overtaking, leading to these processional races we’ve been seeing of late.
Thankfully, Mugello came around at the perfect time to break that bugbear. It was a brilliant race that featured duels up and down the grid, riders battling up from lower positions to take big points, and high drama all the way through. This is what MotoGP should be – it’s the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, and as a result it should provide fans with the pinnacle of entertainment, strong riders throwing down on track to the delight of motorheads worldwide. Mugello is considered one of the crown jewels of the calendar, and it delivered on that promise on Sunday.
It also feels like finally, after eight races, there is a real sense of a championship afoot. Fans and riders alike complained of a lack of consistency in the opening races, with no clear riders or bikes showing the strength to fight for a world title. Those days may finally be behind us, just as we dip towards the halfway point of the season. Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro have both taken yet another podium, the Frenchman’s fourth of the season and the Spaniard’s fifth, and now stand clear in the points tally ahead of the chasing pack. We were promised regularity once we reached Europe, and these two men have delivered on that.
Quartararo certainly doesn’t appear to have the same dominance he had about him this time last season, but make no mistake – he is still very much in the driver’s seat of this championship. The reigning champion rode an incredible race on Sunday, at a track dominated by horsepower and surrounded by much faster motorcycles than his underpowered Yamaha. He never once blinked or doubted himself, instead running a consistent race and playing to the strengths of his motorcycle. This kind of merciless running, this ability to ride to the absolute limit without dropping out – these are the marks of a true champion, and will put him in good stead for the remainder of this season.
Espargaro, on the flip side, is perhaps the most consistent rider we have on the grid right now. Having faced the same hardships as the rest of the grid in the opening rounds and survived the Qatar-Indonesia-America run with as many points as he could manage, and now sits second in the standings having finished third in every race since we hit Europe. The Aprilia man is doing what many thought would be impossible at the start of this season and showing up to each weekend as one of the top contenders, and delivering on that promise every Sunday. It’s no wonder Aprilia have locked him down for the next two seasons; right now, he’s one of the main challengers for this world championship.
Neither of these men had anything for the main man of Mugello, however. Pecco Bagnaia stormed home to his second win of the season after starting fifth and dropping as low as eighth in the opening laps. This was the race that he promised in Le Mans, and it’s also what he should have done this time last year in Mugello. The hours and hours spent at this track with the VR46 Academy delivered on Sunday, and Bagnaia looked every bit as cold and in control as we’ve seen him in recent months. It was an important win for his championship, and a reminder that he still remains very much in contention for this world title.
As recently as the American race, we were struggling to understand who was really in the mix for this title, and who was beginning to fall by the wayside. Make no mistake of it, there is now a clear top four in the championship, both in points total and in consistency: Quatararo, Aleix Espargaro, Bagnaia and Bastianini. All four of these riders have shown the most consistency since we hit Europe, and are clearly the top riders on their respective motorcycles (remembering that Bagnaia and Bastianini are on two different Ducatis, the GP22 and GP21). These guys have won the most, been on the podium the most, and appear to have the most consistency even on their bad days.
Really, the only exception amongst them is Bastianini. The Gresini rider took his second DNF of the season on Sunday, and continued the trend of being on the top step or out of the equation. Despite having the most wins of any rider this season – he and Bagnaia are the only riders with more than one win – the rest of his results look a lot more dire than the men in front of him in the championship, with 8ths and 10ths where others have podiums and top fives. Consistency is key in MotoGP, and it does seem like the Beast is a step below where his current rivals are in that regard despite his strong performances in Qatar, Texas and Le Mans.
The story of Sunday was Bagnaia taking home glory on an Italian bike, but the story of Saturday was certainly a different trio of Italians. In one of the more shocking qualifying sessions this season, Luca Marini joined rookies Marco Bezzechi and Fabio DiGiannantonio on an all-Italian, all-Ducati front row. It was a remarkable moment, and a truly strong performance by all three, particularly poleman Diggia. Despite his rookie status, the Gresini rider was able to master the challenging conditions and time his run to perfection to beat the others out across the line. Though he would fall the furthest down the order in the race, I truly believe all three had their best performances of the season so far.
In a way, though, this shock qualifying led to one of the better moments of reinforcement in the weekend overall: that MotoGP is finally settling down and becoming more predictable. Had we seen a qualifying order like this earlier in the season, it would have dictated a totally manic race bearing down on the field, but despite the upset on Saturday the cream was still able to rise to the top come Sunday. Bagnaia, Quartararo and Aleix were the three best men in terms of race trim and speed, and though they were mired down the order they were still able to claim the results they deserved. This is how MotoGP should be, and it’s a genuine relief to see things returning to a degree of normality.
So, we know who the biggest winners were this weekend, but who were the losers? The immediate answer has to be Suzuki, who recorded their second double DNF in a row. The two riders who looked to be the most consistent in the opening four rounds have now scored just once apiece in the last four races, and continue to drop further and further down the championship standings. This is not where we expected these riders or this bike to be, and in a way it’s representative of how things appear to be behind the scenes at Suzuki at present. Their world is in chaos, with the manufacturer set to pull out of the sport come November and their riders trying desperately to land a spot somewhere in the grid for 2023 and beyond. It’s no wonder neither of them can keep their bikes upright at present.
The other biggest loser has to be Repsol Honda, but not for their race results in particular, though it was admittedly disappointing to see Pol Espargaro back in the gravel trap once more. Rather, it was the announcement that former world champion Marc Marquez will be undergoing surgery once again, likely ruling him out for most or the rest of this season as he faces yet another lengthy layoff period. The 8-times champion was clearly suffering this season, but we know he has incredible guts and determination and will return with a fire just as fierce as he’s always had. The problem is, Repsol must once again deal with the reality of spending most of a season without their star rider. They were already suffering in the championship standings, and now it seems inevitable that they will continue to spiral downwards for the remainder of 2022.
I would also like to close out today by shouting out some strong performers in the lower classes. Moto3 saw an absolute barnstormer of a race, with the top two places going to GasGas riders Sergio Garcia and Izan Guevara. The Spanish duo capitalised on rare mistakes from two of their key rivals and punished them to the maximum, and now sit first and second in the rider’s championship. These two are the real deal in my eyes, and could both very easily continue this form all the way to the end of the season. Garcia has some of the best race craft I’ve seen in a Moto3 rider in some time, and Guevara has a raw speed and instinct that allows him to duel other riders incredibly well. They both represent a serious problem for anyone with aspirations for the 2022 Moto3 crown.
In Moto2, we saw a rather important record fall, that of the youngest rider to ever win an intermediate class race. The previous owner is a name we’re all familiar with, Marc Marquez, but the new holder is someone we should all be getting ready to remember by now. Pedro Acosta took a slightly belated birthday gift on Sunday, with his first Moto2 win coming at 18 years and 4 days. There’s not much I can say about the kid that hasn’t already been said: rookie Moto3 champion, dazzling talent, destined for great things. Having watched his performance in Mugello, especially after the disappointment of letting a win slip in Le Mans in similar conditions, I had just one thought on my mind: some day, this man will win a MotoGP championship.
Thankfully for those of us still dealing with the aftereffects of Sunday’s adrenaline, we need not wait long for another dose of MotoGP. One week on from Mugello, the grid will do battle once again, this time in Catalunya. For riders like Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro, it will represent another opportunity to bag valuable points and control the championship standings. For others mired further down the order, time may soon begin to run out for a come-from behind run at the 2022 title. At least we won’t have to wait long to see.
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