Bagnaia to the top as Quartararo falls
That Francesco Bagnaia has surged from 91 points adrift of the championship lead eight rounds ago to now leading it by 14 is as much a testament to the strength of the 2022 Ducati as it is to the failings of its Yamaha equivalent.
Since Motogp returned from its summer break, reigning champion Fabio Quartararo has faced an uphill struggle on the Japanese bike, scoring just one podium from the past seven races and 47 points to the 127 of Bagnaia, who has scored three wins and three other podiums in that same period. And none of it has been of the Frenchman’s own making. A tyre-pressure team error robbed him of points in the wet Thai GP, while an unavoidable collision with Marc Marquez in Aragon led to a second retirement of the year. But the Yamaha’s lack of rear grip and top speed means Quartararo is having to override the bike, and this is what led to his Phillip Island disaster last weekend.
Quartararo qualified fifth despite feeling his time-attack laps are “never enough”, and briefly leapt up to third into the first corner, before he was shuffled back by Bagnaia and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro at Turn 2. Home hero Jack Miller was next to overtake Quartararo (prior to the Australian’s race being ended on lap nine of 27 by Alex Marquez), before Luca Marini on the Vr46run Ducati demoted Quartararo further.
In his desperation not to lose touch, Quartararo had to push harder through the corners and in braking zones to mitigate the Yamaha’s lack of power. And for this, he paid the price at Turn 4 when he ran through the gravel and rejoined in 22nd place on lap four. He was up to 15th by the end of the ninth lap, but Quartararo’s charge – and possibly his title hopes – ended with a crash at Turn 2 next time around.
Ducati was quick to notify Bagnaia of Quartararo’s third non-score in four races, and he tried to capitalise at the front by taking the lead on lap 15. Unable to shake the chasing pack, Bagnaia reasoned that it was better to avoid unnecessary risk with such a massive opportunity having been presented to him.
While factory orders are in place at Ducati, its riders are still allowed to battle for podium places. Marco Bezzecchi for VR46 very much took this to heart as he engaged in a spirited pressuring of Bagnaia’s lead. Bezzecchi, crowned rookie of the year after finishing fourth, couldn’t quite find a way through, and Marc Marquez and Alex Rins were the riders to finally displace Bagnaia on the final lap.
After too many errors this year, Bagnaia claimed that his third place in Australia showed how he’s learned his lessons – although he said the same thing prior to crashing out of the Japanese GP. Regardless, with Quartararo out and Aleix Espargaro a frustrated ninth, Bagnaia’s true test will come this weekend in Malaysia when he faces up to his first opportunity to clinch the world crown.
None of that was of any concern to Rins and Marquez, though. After starting 10th, Rins scythed his way through the field on his Suzuki in his strongest run for months.
After taking several brief stints leading the pack, the decisive move came on the last
lap when Rins carved up Bagnaia’s inside at Turn 2, opening the door for Marquez to follow suit. He’d faced off against Marquez before, in the Silverstone thriller of 2019, so Rins was wise to the Honda man’s advances and rode defensively at the key braking points of Turns 4 and 10.
Rins took the chequered flag in front by 0.186 seconds to become the seventh different winner of 2022. The significance of it wasn’t lost on anyone in the paddock, either, as it could well be the last time a Suzuki rider stands on top of the podium in the premier class ahead of the Japanese marque’s exit from the series next month.
What isn’t likely to be a final occasion is a Marc Marquez podium. He gambled on the soft rear tyre, and used the ultra-slow pace and anti-clockwise nature of Phillip Island to put himself in the hunt for victory in what he described as the first race he truly enjoyed since that fateful 2020 Spanish GP.
While there remains work to do, the rest of the grid must surely be starting to get nervous again…