When you’ve watched a sport like MotoGP for long enough, some of the finer details begin to blur in your memories. As much as I have watched the sport religiously since childhood, I can no longer name every rider from the 2008 grid off the top of my head. Similarly, thinking of particular tracks on the calendar tends to remind me only of those times we’ve visited recently, and those rare occasions where something wild and unexpected happened.
You could say that Catalunya has had a couple of wild races in recent memory. Last year’s race, for example, saw championship leader Fabio Quartararo’s leathers come undone mid-race, exposing his chest to the bewildered audience for the final laps of the grand prix. Two years before that, Jorge Lorenzo converted his Repsol Honda into a bowling ball and wiped out three different championship contenders in a single move. These moments didn’t define the championships they existed in, nor did they particularly decide the race results in question, but they were certainly memorable enough that I’m unlikely to forget them whenever Catalunya is mentioned.
The thing about these memories sticking out is they tell a slightly off-brand story of the Barcelona track. Catalunya isn’t a particularly crazy track – it’s actually quite balanced, not favouring any one bike or strategy and being generally loved by all who visit. It’s not quite as popular among the riders as Jerez or Philip Island, and not quite as unique as Mugello or Qatar. It exists in a strange middle ground, generating perfectly reasonable racing for the most part.
In a way, this could be a good thing for our championship right now. MotoGP rolls into Catalunya having finally found some consistency in results, with only three riders standing on the top step of the podium in the last five races. The championship contenders are finally starting to take shape; Quartararo, Aleix Espargaro, Enea Bastianini and Pecco Bagnaia appear to be striding away from the rest of the pack as the top riders in general and on their respective bikes. Reinforcing that notion with a nice, predictable race here in Spain would be a nice way to gear up towards the halfway point of the season. Alas, this is 2022, and a predictable race result is fairly hard to come by at present.
Since the Catalan track is as balanced as it is, the only way to predict who will come out on top this weekend is to look at the riders themselves. Quartararo, for example, has a strong track record here, with two podiums joining the unusual result last year that he will be hoping to forget. Joan Mir and Alex Rins will both be hopeful for a return to form this weekend thanks to their previous results here, and the fact that another DNF would likely spell the end of either rider’s championship aspirations. Jack Miller has shown some solid form here in the past, but his factory teammate has not – therefore, Pecco likely has the most work to do on Friday and Saturday to find a good setup.
The real outlier, as it has been basically all season, is Aleix Espargaro. The Aprilia rider has been so good and so consistent all year that it essentially nullifies any previous results here. The bike he’s on is radically different to previous models, but so is the rider on board. Aleix is more driven, confident and motivated than we’ve ever seen him in the premier class, and he will certainly be looking to capitalise on that as the season progresses. With his contract locked in for next year, there is only one goal on his mind for now: to battle for the world championship all the way down to the wire in Valencia.
Realistically, there’s no reason he shouldn’t do well here. On balance, the Yamahas and Suzukis look best suited to Catalunya on paper, though again, the differences felt by the manufacturers will be minimal. This year’s Aprilia is the most well-rounded package they’ve ever developed, so it would make sense that Aleix would be able to score a solid result here, and his current run of form backs that theory up. Should things continue to gel well for him as it has been since we hit the European leg of the championship, then he’s assuredly in with a shout.
There are two manufacturers who will be looking to find something in Catalunya to settle their current woes. Both KTM and Honda appear to be in something of a rut at present, with their bikes not performing consistently and their riders floundering in the championship standings. KTM have covered that over with several impressive podiums, and the fact that Brad Binder could ride a Shetland Pony on Sunday and still manage a top ten result. Honda, on the other hand, face their first race of the season sans Marc Marquez, and their results could take a massive hit from here on out should they fail to raise the overall performance of their bike.
Consistency has been the buzzword of 2022, the goal of all riders and manufacturers with aspirations of a world title this year, and both KTM and Honda have been sorely lacking in that department. Miguel Oliveira and Pol Espargaro are both perfect examples of this: despite taking podiums early on in the season, both men have slumped out of the top ten in the championship and haven’t recaptured that form since. It was passable in the opening flyaways when everyone was struggling, but their competition have found form since then, and their goal must now be to recapture that strength that propelled them to early success.
Whoever wins or loses, I think we can all safely say that a nice, normal race weekend would be a greatly appreciated outcome by the end of this Sunday. And I think we can similarly agree that the odds of that happening this year are pretty slim – so let’s just wait and see what gets sprung on us next, shall we?
Solomon Talks Bikes 