When looking at the start of the 2022 championship, one things stuck out to everyone immediately: the opening rounds were going to be nothing short of manic. The season started in Qatar, a track famous for being completely different to every other track on the calendar, and followed that up with two races in countries we hadn’t visited since 2019. COVID has impacted a lot in the racing world, but one of the big ones was consistency. The only circuits riders were truly still familiar with were the European ones.
We were right, of course. The opening four races – Qatar, Indonesia, Argentina and the US – were completely mental, and showed little to no correlation between one another. Sure, Bastianini won two of the four races, but he was absolutely nowhere in the remainder. Alex Rins bagged two podiums, but struggled in Qatar after a tough qualifying. In total, ten unique riders made up the opening twelve podium positions, a stat that served to remind us of just how competitive the class is this year but also of how irrelevant these races would be. The phrase was repeated by everyone ad nauseum: once we get to Europe, things will settle down.
Shockingly, they actually did settle after that. The seven races held on European soil so far this year have been split between three riders: Quartararo, Bagnaia and Bastianini, arguably three of the four fastest men of 2022. Aleix Espargaro has also regularly joined them on the podium, bagging four on the trot between Portimao and Mugello. The Ducati supporting cast of Miller, Martin and Zarco have been omnipresent as well, but never with any kind of regularity for the individual riders. The story of the championship has taken form with nine rounds left to play for.
The thing is, of the nine remaining races, four of them are just as alien to the riders as the opening races. MotoGP is heading to Asia for the first time since 2019, with the infamous flyaway rounds of Japan, Thailand, Australia and Malaysia coming up in September and October. These races will round out the championship, with only Valencia being held afterwards, meaning that the title could easily be won or lost on Asian or Australian soil.
The question that comes to my mind seeing this schedule is simple: who will make the most of the flyaway races? Will anyone be able to find consistency in their results, and take some solid points from the back-to-back events? If the opening rounds are anything to go by, then we could be in for some completely madcap podiums, but I actually have faith that things will be different this time around. There’s a few factors at play here, but the key word that links them all together is one you hear a lot during pre-season testing: development.
The eight unique bikes that make up the 2022 grid have all changed since the start of the season. The bikes that have been altered the least – that is, the GP21 Ducatis and Darryn Binder’s year-old Yamaha – were likely the best positioned at the Qatar opener, but all the factory bikes have made significant developments since then. When we first went racing in the desert back in March, the Suzuki looked to be the most consistent package, while the factory Ducati seemed to be struggling and the factory Yamaha appeared almost unrideable. Now, we can see GP22 Ducatis at the forefront of almost every race, and Quartararo has proven that the Yamaha can be tuned for success.
I’m convinced that these developments are part of what has driven the championship to reach a more stable and predictable space after eleven races. Sure, the comfort and security that comes from racing at known tracks is a significant factor, but if that were solely responsible for results then the championship would be much closer than it currently is. This narrative that things would become more stable in the European races is only a half truth, as the rise of individual riders since Portimao has likely equally been the changes in the motorbikes themselves.
Take Bagnaia as an example. The Italian came into this season with the expectations that he would battle for the world championship, yet he struggled for any amount of points in the opening races. Once we hit Europe, his results improved significantly, taking three wins in seven attempts. Part of this was the superior knowledge of the track layouts, sure, but the GP22 Ducati also needed to take a step for this to be possible. Had the bike not improved leading into the Jerez weekend, he wouldn’t have been able to hold Quartararo off in the way he did.
Speaking of Quartararo, he represents an even more extreme version of this theory. Coming into the 2022 season as the reigning champion, Quartararo struggled to find any consistent pace in the opening four races, with the exclusion of a wet weather podium in Mandalika. The Yamaha was down on power against the rest of the field, and though the Frenchman continued to request changes there simply wasn’t enough time or room to improve. In his case, the development didn’t necessarily come from the Yamaha, but rather from Quartararo himself. He pushed himself to learn how to best utilise the strengths of the bike underneath him, and as a result has been able to stand clear at the top of the championship.
So, will the flyaways be unpredictable and irrelevant to the title chase? I genuinely think they have the potential to shape one or more riders’ championships, if anyone can continue their strong form from the European leg of the series. Riders like Quartararo, Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro should all be able to carry their momentum through to these unfamiliar circuits thanks to the developments and changes that have been implemented over the course of the season so far. Theoretically, any one of these men – or perhaps a surprise challenger we haven’t yet seen the best of – could take a massive chunk of points heading into Valencia and swing the championship in their favour.
Then again, it’s equally possible that I’m completely wrong and the Asian rounds will be completely nonsensical. I guess that’s part of the joy of modern-day MotoGP: you can never really be sure about anything until the lights go out and the racing gets underway. Here’s hoping it’ll be entertaining regardless.
Solomon Talks Bikes 