Michael Scott | December 7, 2022
Cycle News In The Paddock
COLUMN
That Was The Year That Was
How special was 2022? Very special. As 2023 will be, as well. I promise. That’s because motorcycle grand prix racing is great, and we love it.
So, it’s time for some awards. The good, the bad—and the others, as well.
Comeback of the Year – Runner up, Pecco Bagnaia, title hopes dead and buried after the German GP. Three crashes in 10 races left him 91 points adrift of Fabio Quartararo. A masterly final run of five wins and three more podiums in the last 10 revived the corpse.
But the winner is Marc Marquez, after four operations and a staggering 30-degree retwist of his broken arm, who finished the season like a demigod.
Underdog of the Year – Fabio Quartararo, on a Yamaha others could barely get into the points. It took until the last race before his title was lost.
Cheeky Rascal – Enea Bastianini won the opening race and three more in his second year, but most notably haunted and twice beat supposedly senior Ducati rider Bagnaia. Fireworks when they’re teammates next year.
Rampant Rookie – some hot prospects, but frilly-haired Marco Bezzecchi took pole in Thailand and a podium at Assen. Precocious talent.
Sunday Best – Brad Binder was reliably better on Sunday than in qualifying. Best improvement of the year was 10 places at Le Mans, from 18th to eighth.
Oh Brother – younger brothers all had a hard time. Pol Espargaro’s early hopes on the factory Honda were shattered with repeated crashes; Alex Marquez just battled his Honda; Yamaha victim Darryn Binder is down to Moto2 next year.
Best Overtake – so many, and bad luck Jack Miller was victim at Assen when Aleix Espargaro nailed him and Jorge Martin in one go into the final chicane and in Austria, when Quartararo bamboozled him at the new chicane. Jack made up for it with his series of round-the-outside outbraking moves for his brilliant win at Motegi.
Junior Overtake – Moto3 full of them, like new champion Izan Guevara’s magnificent round-the-outside at the final Jerez hairpin. Personal favorite from John McPhee, up from 22nd on the grid at Sepang, and from fifth to first at the last corner.
Gaffe of the Year – Aleix Espargaro celebrated second place a lap early at home in Catalunya and dropped to fifth. Runner up, his Aprilia team, leaving the fuel-saving program engaged at the start at Motegi for his only no-score.
Riding Clot of the Year – Ai Ogura, for throwing away the Moto2 Championship in a mad last-lap bid to win in Malaysia, crashing out when second would almost certainly have been enough.
If It Wasn’t For Bad Luck – Moto2 rider Aron Canet not only had a genius for falling off while in top positions, and for having to pull out of the Dutch TT with an unstoppable nose-bleed from a car crash before the race, but also switched from Italian Boscoscuro chassis to dominant Kalex just as the independent constructor found a new level of success, with five podiums including two wins for late replacement Alonzo Lopez.
Ghost at the Feast – Valentino Rossi, busy elsewhere, who attended only three GPs. Or was it many ghosts, the missing spectators in Italy?
Ghost Leaving the Feast – Suzuki, with the (to race fans) unaccountable decision to walk away from MotoGP, as well as off-road and World Endurance. Supreme irony that Alex Rins won two of the company’s last three races.
Prehistoric Innovation – seat-back fins for Ducati, to be copied by all. Well, they worked to keep the stegosaurus stable in hard braking. Didn’t they?
Precocious Talent – Step forward 18-year-old Izan Guevara, elbowing aside a platoon of other hopefuls. A dominant upcoming Moto2 season promises a bright future for the latest Spanish shooting star.
Family Fortunes – the Ezpeleta clan, with nephew Tome Alfonso Ezpeleta joining son Carlos and daughter Ana in Carmelo Ezpeleta’s Dorna.
A Step Too Far –Ducati’s front-dipping ride-height control to be used out of corners. Confused the riders so much it was canned, then banned.
Must Try Harder – everyone except Ducati and Aprilia. Specially all of them.
Dupe of the Year – so many candidates, but the winner is whoever commissioned Dorna’s lame internet fan survey. It revealed that bike racing fans love bike racing, and either go to races or watch them on TV. And have access to the internet.
Climate Change of the Year – not to belittle the topic, but in Indonesia a rain shaman had to come out and chant awhile to allow the main race to happen at all. And in Thailand similar tropical cloudbursts had the MotoGP race very late, and Moto2 truncated for half points after two false starts.
Whats In a Name? – KTM entered Moto3 bikes under its own name, plus Husqvarna, GasGas and CFMoto. Next year formerly Spanish maker GasGas moves into MotoGP, with full factory status but on rebadged KTMs made in Austria.CN
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