Sunday
MotoGP
The Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia has won the 2022 MotoGP World Championship by finishing ninth in the final race of the season at the 2022 Valencia MotoGP, a first such title for the man mentored by Valentino Rossi.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo started the Grand Prix needing nothing less than victory to have any hope of a second straight crown but finished a fighting fourth in a contest won by Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins – one more victory for the Hamamatsu manufacturer. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) rounded out the podium after 27 laps around the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
Rins qualified on the middle of Row 2 but made a brilliant start and led the field to the first corner, ahead of pole-sitter Martin and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team). Quartararo took a wide berth at the Turn 2 braking zone, emerging behind Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and in a battle for fifth with none other than Bagnaia. When Marquez attacked Miller for third on the opening lap, Quartararo squeezed his Yamaha down the inside of the Australian’s Ducati at Turn 8 as well, and he was up to fourth.
Miller hit back at the start of Lap 2, forcing Quartararo to pick up his YZR-M1 at Turn 2 with a pass which incentivized Bagnaia to also have a look. The title contenders made contact which pulled a wing off the factory-entered Ducati, but Bagnaia was ahead of his key rival. It stayed that way until Lap 4, when Quartararo was down his inside at Turn 6 and back into fifth position – but facing a task to catch the top four.
In said top four, Miller moved back into the podium positions when he passed Marquez on Lap 6 at Turn 1, before the eight-time World Champion crashed out altogether, four laps later at Turn 8. In the meantime, Quartararo had shaken Bagnaia, who, due to some combination of caution and the damage from his contact with ‘El Diablo’, was on the slide. He had already been overtaken for sixth by Brad Binder when he gave Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) an easy position on Lap 13 at Turn 14.
Up the road, Rins was trying to break away but the rest of the top five was compressing, which was both good and bad news for Quartararo given he was running fourth with a KTM ridden by Binder catching up. The Frenchman braked as deep as he dared at Turn 1 at the start of Lap 18 to try and keep the South African behind him, but ran wide and was picked off by Binder at Turn 2.
Meanwhile, Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was also through on Bagnaia, and soon Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was as well. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) then caught up to his future teammate and while he might have had thoughts about the Ducati hierarchy watching on in the garage, Pecco left a humongous gap at Turn 2 on Lap 22 to give ninth position to ‘La Bestia’ and save himself any possible trouble.
It was more dramatic in the battle for the podium places, with Binder going past his own future teammate, Miller, on Lap 23 at Turn 2, then setting after Martin. Halfway around the lap at Turn 11, Miller’s last race with Ducati came to a premature end when he crashed out, handing over fourth spot to Quartararo again.
Rins had not quite been able to drop the field like he might have hoped, but was still nine tenths of a second to the good when Binder overtook Martin for second place at Turn 4 on the penultimate lap. They would take the chequered flag 0.396 seconds apart as Rins delivered the final win for Suzuki in its current stint in MotoGP™, with Martin getting home just over a second from victory, and Quartararo nine tenths further back.
Oliveira would pass Mir for fifth, with the 2020 World Champion therefore classified sixth, ahead of Marini and Bastianini. Bagnaia found himself under pressure from Quartararo’s Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ teammate Franco Morbidelli in the final laps but beat the Italian to ninth position. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) finished 11th, ahead of Tech3 KTM Factory Racing duo Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner, then Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) in 14th and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) in the last points-paying position. Joining Miller on the list of retirements was Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) after a crash on Lap 16, plus both the Aprilia Racing entries of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales, both the Repsol Honda Team entries of Marquez and Pol Espargaro, and also Darryn Binder (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team).
2022 Valencia MotoGP Results—Sunday
| 1 | Alex Rins | (Suz) | |
| 2 | Brad Binder | (KTM) | + 0.396 |
| 3 | Jorge Martin | (Duc) | + 1.059 |
| 4 | Fabio Quartararo | (Yam) | + 1.911 |
| 5 | Miguel Oliveira | (KTM) | + 7.122 |
| 6 | Joan Mir | (Suz) | + 7.735 |
| 7 | Luca Marini | (Duc) | + 8.524 |
| 8 | Enea Bastianini | (Duc) | + 12.038 |
| 9 | Francesco Bagnaia | (Duc) | + 14.441 |
| 10 | Franco Morbidelli | (Yam) | + 14.676 |
Moto2
Augusto Fernandez is the 2022 Moto2 World Champion. The Spaniard finished second to Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Pedro Acosta in the final race of the season at Valencia but the title was already his by the time he took the flag after Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) crashed out of second place on Lap 8. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) led for much of the 25-lap race and would eventually complete the podium at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
The final race of Cameron Beaubier’s Moto2 career ended with a crash while lying a competitive fourth. Joe Roberts finished 15th and Sea Dylan Kelly came home 18th.
2022 Valencia Moto2 Results—Sunday
| 1 | Pedro Acosta | (Kal) | |
| 2 | Augusto Fernandez | (Kal) | + 1.232 |
| 3 | Tony Arbolino | (Kal) | + 10.163 |
| 4 | Fermin Aldeguer | (Bos) | + 14.407 |
| 5 | Albert Arenas | (Kal) | + 18.904 |
| 15 | Joe Roberts | (Kal) | +45.238 |
| 18 | Sean Dylan Kelly | (Kal) | +53.109 |
Moto3
Izan Guevara snatched victory in the Moto3 race at Valencia from Deniz Öncü despite trailing the Turk into the final corner. Guevara led all the way until midway through the last lap of the season at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, but then got the run off Turn 14 and powered his Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team entry to a triumph of just 0.062 seconds. Four from four on his home soil of Spain, then, for the man who wrapped up the title in Australia, while Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was visibly disappointed with himself at missing out. Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team) clinched second in the Championship by finishing a lonely third on the day.
2022 Valencia Moto3 Results—Sunday
| 1 | Izan Guevara | (GASGAS) | |
| 2 | Deniz Öncü | (KTM) | + 0.062 |
| 3 | Sergio Garcia | (GASGAS) | + 6.557 |
| 4 | Dennis Foggia | (Hon) | + 14.133 |
| 5 | Ayumu Sasaki | (Hus) | + 14.574 |
2022 Valencia MotoGP News—Saturday
Razali hands over the keys
Hot on the heels of losing WithU as a title sponsor, RNF Racing, Razlan Razali’s beleaguered satellite outfit, announced it has a new majority shareholder: CryptoDATA Tech.
The company, described in an official release as a blockchain-applied technologies pioneer and developer of hardware and software cybersecurity solutions, found a way into MotoGP via title sponsorship of the Austrian GP.
This partnership comes on the back of reported financial issues for Razali’s year-old RNF outfit, with certain team members thought to have gone considerable time without getting paid. Next year, the team will switch from Yamaha to Aprilia machinery.
Quartararo: Impossible for him to win
In light of Pecco Bagnaia’s qualifying struggles, Ducati stablemate Luca Marini has aimed to soothe any lingering fears by saying chief rival Fabio Quartararo will be unable to win Sunday’s race, a feat he must do to have any chance of taking an unlikely title triumph.
Quartararo was in inspired form on Saturday, showing excellent rhythm and qualifying fourth. But Marini didn’t see that as enough. “For Fabio it is impossible for him to win the race tomorrow, not because he doesn’t have the pace because he has beautiful, amazing pace but, as in every event of this year if you look at his Sunday pace it is impressive but then in race conditions, he is slower because he’s with other riders.
“He struggles a little bit when someone overtakes him or someone is in front of him because he cannot do his lines – looks like – I have never spoke with him but from the TV it looks like this. I think tomorrow it will be impossible for him.”
From the Frenchman’s side, winning is the only thing on his mind. “Today was one of the best Saturday’s of the season,” he said. “FP4, the pace was really good, the pace was great.
If I win the race, maybe something will happen. But my main objective for tomorrow will be to fight for the victory, that is the only thing that I can do by myself. So I think we are in a really good way, we start in a good position, the pace is good, tires are quite clear, so I’m feeling confident.
New KTM chassis
KTM’s testing program began in earnest at Valencia with Brad Binder using a new chassis to aid with the RC16’s turning deficiencies. The South African was competitive in qualifying and free practice, despite feeling far from fully comfortable aboard the revised frame.
“Lap time wise I’m not sure if it is (much faster),” he said. “It’s different. I feel I gain more on gas and acceleration, from corner to corner. But I definitely lose on entry because the front is a lot looser. And it takes a lot more to trust where the limit is because it moves a lot. It’s difficult to understand where the limit is running into the corners. You’ve got to use that advantage which is when you pick the bike up. Still learning a little bit That’s about it. We’ve got some work to do still but let’s see what Tuesday brings.”
KTM’s Motorsport Director Pit Beirer has indicated the company will bring a new bike with substantial changes to Tuesday’s test.
Saturday
MotoGP
The stage is set for 2022 MotoGP World Championship decider after the completion of qualifying at Valencia.
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) has secured pole position for the final race of the season while Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) pushed as hard has he could – and then some – to earn P4 on the grid at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
Importantly for Yamaha’s title contender, he will start a full row ahead of World Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who qualified eighth – it’s been a nervous weekend for Pecco so far and everything is possible in this title fight.
As was the case a fortnight ago in Malaysia, Martin was on the pace immediately in Q2, setting a 1:29.621 which would still be fastest at the end of the first runs. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) was second on a 1:29.834 and Quartararo fourth on a 1:30.135, while Bagnaia was back to pitlane after a single 1:30.766 which left him 11th when the track went quiet.
Miller’s hopes of one last pole for Ducati then disappeared when he crashed at Turn 2, while an under-the-weather Marc Marquez jumped from ninth to P2 when he fired in a 1:30.049. Bagnaia moved to sixth, ahead of Quartararo, when he set a 1:30.049 before ‘El Diablo’ leapfrogged his title rival by clocking a 1:30.027.
There were more yellow flags when Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) had a spill at Turn 6, while Bagnaia toured the run-off at Turn 8. Quartararo was still on a hot lap and, fortunately for him, it was unaffected as he sought to elevate himself further up the grid. He did indeed move up two spots more to fourth with a 1:29.900 before running into the Turn 2 gravel trap on his final lap of the session – although that was in fact a moot point with replays showing FQ20 also running onto the green at Turn 1 anyway.
Martin had no improvement during his second run but still bagged pole, ahead of Marc Marquez and Miller, who kept his berth on the front row despite the tumble. Quartararo heads up Row 2, next to Q1 graduate Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and the pace-setter in that earlier qualifying session, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing). Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was classified seventh, ahead of Bagnaia, Zarco, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar).
In Q1, Rins had been fastest on a 1:30.230 and Viñales second on a 1:30.307 at the end of the first runs. Viñales then went top with a 1:30.090 before Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) moved into second place with a 1:30.193. However, Rins hit back with a 1:30.126 and then Bastianini’s chances of advancing to Q2 were dashed when he crashed at Turn 2 – rider okay. ‘La Bestia’ is set to start 13th and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who topped FP4 and then threatened to upstage both Viñales and Rins late in Q1, from 14th.
Bastianini and Oliveira will be joined on Row 5 by Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), who finished the session on his second bike after pulling off with a technical problem for his first. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) earned 22nd after a crash at Turn 2, while Raul Fernandez (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) was a notable in qualifying 23rd – the rookie had missed FP4 altogether after a visit to hospital following a crash in FP3, but was declared fit and completed eight laps in Q1. Both he and Espargaro will move up one position due to a grid penalty for Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu).
2022 Valencia MotoGP Results—Saturday
| 1 | Jorge Martin | (Duc) | 1:29.621 |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | (Hon) | + 0.205 |
| 3 | Jack Miller | (Duc) | + 0.213 |
| 4 | Fabio Quartararo | (Yam) | + 0.279 |
| 5 | Alex Rins | (Suz) | + 0.319 |
| 6 | Maverick Viñales | (Apr) | + 0.334 |
| 7 | Brad Binder | (KTM) | + 0.418 |
| 8 | Francesco Bagnaia | (Duc) | + 0.428 |
| 9 | Johann Zarco | (Duc) | + 0.481 |
| 10 | Aleix Espargaro | (Apr) | + 0.503 |
Moto2
Beta Tools Speed Up’s Alonso Lopez has taken his first Grand Prix pole position by topping Moto2 Q2 at Valencia by just 0.001 seconds with a lap-record 1:34.314. For the first time this weekend at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Red Bull KTM Ajo did not go one-two but a P2 for Pedro Acosta and a P3 for World Championship leader Augusto Fernandez is a big tick for the latter, given his title rival Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) qualified fifth.
2022 Valencia Moto2 Results—Saturday
| 1 | Alonso Lopez | (Bos) | 1:34.314 |
| 2 | Pedro Acosta | (Kal) | + 0.001 |
| 3 | Augusto Fernandez | (Kal) | + 0.167 |
| 4 | Tony Arbolino | (Kal) | + 0.269 |
| 5 | Ai Ogura | (Kal) | + 0.351 |
| 6 | Joe Roberts | (Kal) | + 0.360 |
| 13 | Cameron Beaubier | (Kal) | +0.606 |
| 27 | Sean Dylan Kelly | (Kal) | +0.979 (Q1) |
Moto3
Izan Guevara has scored one last pole position in this, the final round of his World Championship-winning Moto3™ season, at the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. He set a 1:38.479 late in Q2 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo and Sergio Garcia made it Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team riders first and third on the starting grid, with Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Deniz Öncü set to line up between them. The result is a plus for Garcia’s hopes of clinching second in the riders’ standings given his rivals for that honour, Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) and Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing), were classified fifth and seventh respectively in the latter 15-minue stanza of the afternoon.
2022 Valencia Moto3 Results—Saturday
| 1 | Izan Guevara | (GASGAS) | 1:38.479 |
| 2 | Deniz Öncü | (KTM) | + 0.046 |
| 3 | Sergio Garcia | (GASGAS) | + 0.175 |
| 4 | Diogo Moreira | (KTM) | + 0.218 |
| 5 | Ayumu Sasaki | (Hus) | + 0.282 |
2022 Valencia MotoGP News—Friday
Bagnaia v Quartararo
Pecco Bagnaia may have transmitted tranquility. Yet the Ducati box has been anything but in the weeks leading up to a race that could (and should) end Ducati’s 15-year wait for a MotoGP title. Jack Miller explained the images of Ducati bosses beset by tension in Sepang didn’t convey the full emotion in the red box. “You guys didn’t even get to see the half of it. Those guys were wound up like one of those toys, you wind it up till it stops.”
Despite the rather manic surroundings, Bagnaia – leader by 23 points coming to the final race – insisted he has managed to maintain an air of calm. “Looking at the garage during the race, it was quite intense,” admitted the Italian. “Sincerely I feel like always. Yesterday, today, also in Sepang…. I don’t have that feeling (Jack described). During the race I don’t know. We are all human. And we are all Italian so we feel always the pressure.”
For his part, Fabio Quartararo has taken on the role of a rider with nothing to lose. “Why would I be nervous,” he said if he shared the nerves felt in the Ducati box. “I have said to all; my team, my friends that in this race I give ‘all-in’. Whatever happens we will party Sunday night. Of course, I am not leaving here without trying.”
New Safety Officer
MotoGP will have a new FIM Safety Officer for 2023 after Franco Uncini confirmed on Friday his retirement from the role he has held since 2013. Prior to that, he was nominated by riders as a Safety Delegate in the paddock in 1993. ”I’m a grandfather of two, I have two daughters, and my wife who has been by my side since 1981,” was his given reason.
Uncini’s replacement raised a few eyebrows. Tomé Alfonso Ezpeleta has experience as a track marshal at Jarama, timekeeping coordinator at Dorna, General Manager of Lusail International Circuit, and most recently Managing Director of Motorland Aragon. But he is also the nephew of Dorna CEO Carmelo.
But riders generally waved away calls there was possible nepotism at play. On whether he’d have preferred an ex-rider appointed, Maverick Viñales explained, “But we don’t know about the tarmac. I think you have to be a specialist about tarmacs, gravel, run off areas and so on.”
Aprilia in 2022 – undoubted success
Time provides perspective. And once Aleix Espargaro had cooled off after a succession of disappointments during the flyaway races, he accepted this season has been a massive achievement by all at Aprilia, despite falling short in the title chase.
“I am really competitive and the faster you go and the more results you achieve the more you want,” he said on Thursday. “It’s not that you are happier and more relaxed; it is the opposite. The more you win and the more you push is never enough.
“Maybe I was too critical of the team in the last races but this is what I felt at that moment. Maybe it was a mistake to tell everybody and maybe it was better to discuss internally but I am as I am. But, yes, our season has been incredible. Last year we celebrated the podium of Silverstone like a victory, like historic and this year we won a race, took 5-6 podiums, took Pole Positions and fought for the title until the end, so it doesn’t matter what happens this weekend in Valencia. Our season has been a 10 (out of 10).”
Friday
MotoGP
Friday Free Practice is done at the 2022 Valencia MotoGP and, fittingly, there is almost nothing between the two MotoGP World Championship combatants of Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo.
Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) set the pace in FP2 with a 1:30.217 during the time attacks but the back end of the top 10 makes for very interesting reading in the context of the title fight. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) secured eighth for the session and the day, just one position and 0.005 seconds ahead of the man he is trying to overhaul in the championship standings, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) would claim second on a 1:30.322 and Jack Miller (Lenovo Ducati) made it an all-Ducati top three when he improved to a 1:30.345, ahead of Marc Marquez on a 1:30.390 and Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) in fifth on a 1:30.394. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took sixth on a 1:30.422, ahead of Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) on a final-lap 1:30.424. Quartararo, Bagnaia and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) complete the top 10.
2022 Valencia MotoGP Results—Friday
| 1 | Luca Marini | (Duc) | 1:30.217 |
| 2 | Jorge Martin | (Duc) | + 0.105 |
| 3 | Jack Miller | (Duc) | + 0.128 |
| 4 | Marc Marquez | (Hon) | + 0.173 |
| 5 | Enea Bastianini | (Duc) | + 0.177 |
| 6 | Miguel Oliveira | (KTM) | + 0.205 |
| 7 | Johann Zarco | (Duc) | + 0.207 |
| 8 | Fabio Quartararo | (Yam) | + 0.225 |
| 9 | Francesco Bagnaia | (Duc) | + 0.230 |
| 10 | Brad Binder | (KTM) | + 0.302 |
Moto2
Pedro Acosta might have upstaged Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Augusto Fernandez in FP2 at Valencia but the Moto2 championship leader should be feeling quietly confident with his performance.
Fernandez’s fastest lap of the day was only 0.031 seconds slower than Acosta’s 1:34.948 around the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in the afternoon session, and he was once again significantly quicker than his only remaining rival for the title, Idemitsu Honda Team Asia’s Ai Ogura.
Best of the rest would be Beta Tools Speed Up’s Alonso Lopez, and the Boscoscuro pilot 0.180 seconds off the pace with a 1:35.128 halfway into FP2. Fourth for the day went to Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) on a 1:35.554 and fifth to Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) on a 1:35.571. Mattia Pasini, who is riding this weekend as an injury replacement for Barry Baltus at RW Racing GP, is sixth on the timesheet despite a spill in FP2, having already laid down a 1:35.623 in that session.
Seventh on the timesheet currently belongs to last-start winner Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), from Cameron Beaubier (American Racing), another injury replacement rider in Borja Gomez (Flexbox HP40), and Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) in 10th. Ogura enters the weekend 9.5 points behind Fernandez in the Championship and right now, coincidentally, he is 0.905 seconds off the pace set by Acosta as he holds 11th on the timesheet.
2022 Valencia Moto2 Results—Friday
| 1 | Pedro Acosta | (Kal) | 1:34.948 |
| 2 | Augusto Fernandez | (Kal) | + 0.031 |
| 3 | Alonso Lopez | (Bos) | + 0.180 |
| 4 | Jake Dixon | (Kal) | + 0.606 |
| 5 | Somkiat Chantra | (Kal) | + 0.623 |
| 6 | Mattia Pasini | (Kal) | + 0.675 |
| 7 | Tony Arbolino | (Kal) | + 0.733 |
| 8 | Cameron Beaubier | (Kal) | + 0.775 |
| 9 | Borja Gomez | (Kal) | + 0.776 |
| 10 | Albert Arenas | (Kal) | + 0.816 |
Moto3
Tatsuki Suzuki has claimed Friday honors in the Moto3 class at Valencia in a Leopard Racing one-two. Suzuki clocked a 1:39.467 late in FP2 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo before Dennis Foggia moved into P2 with a 1:39.488 as he took the checkered flag. ‘The Rocket’ is still a good chance of taking second in the World Championship, needing to overcome an eight-point deficit to Sergio Garcia (Valresa GASGAS Aspar Team), and is looking quick this weekend given he was fastest for much of FP2 after being among the pace-setters in FP1.
2022 Valencia Moto3 Results—Friday
| 1 | Tatsuki Suzuki | (Hon) | 1:39.467 |
| 2 | Dennis Foggia | (Hon) | + 0.021 |
| 3 | Izan Guevara | (GASGAS) | + 0.066 |
| 4 | Carlos Tatay | (CFMoto) | + 0.070 |
| 5 | Diogo Moreira | (KTM) | + 0.076 |
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