Moto GP – Qatar GP – Race

The wait is over, the riders went back to he track for the kickoff of the 2022 MotoGp season. As usual, having the first race of the season at the Losali International Circuit. A clear night and the circuit lights iluminates the track, as the riders prepared at the grid for the first time.

Lights were off and riders started the race, poleman Jorge Martin didn’t have the most wished start of the season, as the Spaniard didn’t found an optimal traction and almost hit the Gresini Ducati of Enea Bastianini, and was quickly demoted to 8th. The lead on the first lap was taken by 2 Honda bikes, Pol Espargaro leading the pack, with Marc Marquez following behind, Brad Binder closer the provisional podium spot.

First last were a calm, but analytical point, where all riders developed a pace and no significant manouvers were made, only a quick exchange between Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez for the lead, that saw Pol holding the lead. Fastest riders at the moment were Joan Mir, Francesco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro. Although they were not close for leading spots, they were closely climbing positions on the standings.

As the race was getting closer to the equator. A series of incidents started to occur successively. Marco Bezzecchi was the first to abandon due to an incident on the final sector, with Jack Miller retiring after some engine issues. On next laps the list increased with incidentes of Alex Marquez and Miguel Oliveira respectively. With a last controversial crash. As Bagnaia attempted to pass Jorge Martin, the Italian lose traction on the bike and took the Pramac bike out of competition.

Things were looking grim for the Ducati bikes, but a unexpected turn of events was slowly developing. With a few laps to go, Pol Espargaro developed a gap of +1 second ahead of Brad Bindet, Bastianini and Marquez. With the Italian rider constantly attempting to surpass the South African rider, with eventually a change on the 2nd place on the standings. A chase was on between the leading Honda and the Ducati.

Bastianini started to fly on lap, with only 8 laps left to erase a +1 second deficit, he only needed 3 laps to catch up with Pol Espargaro. As the Honda bike started to struggle on the soft rear tire, compared to the medium rear tire of the Gresini Ducati. A move was made by Enea Bastianini, meanwhile Pol Espargaro had to go wide on turn 1 after a late brake on an attempt to defend the lead, was consequently overtook by Brad Binder and ended on 3rd. The South African even had a late charge looking for a late lead change, but it was late. The Gresini Ducati bike of Enea Bastianini made a dreamed debut on the main cathegory, as the Italian rider grab his maiden win at MotoGp with a superb ride from the Italian.

Race Result:

1. Enea Bastianini /// 2. Brad Binder /// 3. Pol Espargaro
4. Aleix Espargaro /// 5. Marc Marquez /// 6. Joan Mir
7. Alex Rins /// 8. Johann Zarco /// 9. Fabio Quartararo
10. Takaaki Nakagami /// 11. Franco Morbidelli /// 12. Maverick Viñales
13. Luca Marini /// 14. Andrea Dovizioso /// 15. Remy Gardner
16. Darryl Binder /// 17. Fabio Di Giannantonio ///18. Raul Fernandez

DNF: Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, Miguel Oliveira, Alex Marquez, Jack Miller, Marco Bezzecchi

An intense and contested battle saw Enea Bastianini grabbing the first one of the season, on a last year’s bike. As the final standings saw vast diversity between the first 4 places. A surprising start fof Aprillia, as the could fight for some strong results on future events and a recesion for Ducati and Yamaha, as their newest bikes aren’t found on the top 5 spots on the standings. The calendar goes to Indonesia, as a new racetrack is set to debut, on two weeks.