(Motorsports news) MotoGP 2022 season is set to kick off on 6 March in the Losail International Circuit in Qatar and this season guarantees to be one of the most interesting and most open seasons ever. 2021 saw every manufacturer take home a podium and which meant that it was the closest top-15 finish of all time. More records were broken, new winners emerged, and a few pieces of history were created when France got its first premier class World Champion. We bid adieu to the greatest bike racer of all time in Valentino Rossi but that's already a chapter in the history books and now we're about to uncover the mysteries of 2022 and welcome the new gen in MotoGP.
Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo is set out to retain his World Championship after he became the first Frenchman to win the MotoGP title last season. If Quartararo can manage to defend his crown then he will become the second-youngest rider after Marc Marquez to win consecutive World Championships but heading into the new season, the 22-year-old has voiced his displeasure with the top speed of his Yamaha bike in pre-season testing, the defending world champion is adamant he will fight and give his best to compete against his main rivals.
His main threat will be Marc Marquez who after two injury-plagued years, will finally return to his full fitness as he bids to create history by joining the great Valentino Rossi on nine MotoGP titles. Marquez suffered a horrific fractured arm which he sustained in a 2020 Jerez crash and it had ruled him out of action for 12 months, before a training incident towards the end of 2021 saw him diagnosed with diplopia (severe double vision). After 265 days out of action due to the arm fracture, Marquez returned to race action in April 2021 and the Spaniard has since shown glimpses of his usual best, he didn’t really put serve pressure on his shoulder but still managed to win two races. An earlier indication is that he is back and back with vengeance to regain his World Championship crown.
Pecco Bagnaia ended the 2021 season with three consecutive victories and helped his team Ducati win the constructors championship also. He will hope that he can replicate his end season form this year and hope to become the first Italian after the great Valentino Rossi to become a Premier Class Winner in MotoGP. Last year, Bagnaia finished runner up in the riders Championship in 2021 with nine podiums and four wins to his name. The Italian will be looking to carry across his incredible form from the end of 2021 into 2022 for a title charge.
Quartararo: “Well it will make life more difficult but for the show and everyone it will be nice to not have that big difference. I remember maybe 10 years ago we had a few riders and then the rest, but now basically everything is so tight and the level of riders is really high. Now I think it’s the closest ever and it will be fun.”
Bagnaia: “It’s something good for the show, but I think years ago, the way of working was different. Now you have to do the time attack. I was feeling years ago, I was doing the time attack my first year in MotoGP and with the lap time I did in 2020 I was fifth, and this year like 17th; a big difference. I think it’s the way to work on the test.”
Marc Marquez: “Of course as you say in the test it was very close but it’s not the first year that in the test it was very close. Let’s see during the first four or five races we will understand who the top guys are. Anyway it will be interesting to have equal bikes, equal level between the riders and this makes everything more interesting.”
MotoGP 2022 rider and team full line-up:
- Aprilia Racing
#12 Maverick Vinales
#41 Aleix Espargaro
- Ducati Lenovo Team
#43 Jack Miller
#63 Francesco Bagnaia
- Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
#23 Enea Bastianini
#49 Fabio Di Giannantonio
- Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
#10 Luca Marini
#72 Marco Bezzecchi
- Pramac Racing Ducati
#5 Johann Zarco
#89 Jorge Martin
- LCR Honda
#30 Takaaki Nakagami
#73 Alex Marquez
- Repsol Honda Team
#44 Pol Espargaro
#93 Marc Marquez
- Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
#33 Brad Binder
#88 Miguel Oliveira
- Tech3 KTM Factory Racing
#25 Raul Fernandez
#87 Remy Gardner
- Team Suzuki Ecstar
#36 Joan Mir
#42 Alex Rins
- Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
#20 Fabio Quartararo
#21 Franco Morbidelli
- WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team
#04 Andrea Dovizioso
#40 Darryn Binder
Also read: Aston Martin on track to become title contenders by 2025: Mike Krack
Full 2022 MotoGP calendar:
6 March – Qatar, Losail
20 March – Indonesia, Mandalika
3 April – Argentina, Termas de Rio Hondo
10 April – USA, Circuit of the Americas
24 April – Portugal – Portimao
1 May – Spain, Jerez
15 May – France, Le Mans
29 May – Italy, Mugello
5 June – Catalunya, Barcelona
19 June – Germany, Sachsenring
26 June – Netherlands, Assen
10 July – Finland, KymiRing
7 August – Great Britain, Silverstone
21 August – Austria, Red Bull Ring
4 September – San Marino, Misano
18 September – Aragon
25 September – Japan, Motegi
2 October – Thailand, Buriram
16 October – Australia, Phillip Island
23 October – Malaysia, Sepang
6 November – Valencia, Ricardo Tormo
