Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha YZR M 1), leader of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship, arrived at the “Marco Simoncelli” circuit in Misano Adriatico, venue of the San Marino MotoGP Grand Prix, with the need to “stop” the Italian Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (Ducati Desmosedici GP22), who has three consecutive victories.
After having some performance problems with his Desmosedici GP22 during the season, “Pecco” Bagnaia has found the path of victory, as he accumulates five out of eight possiblewith “zero” in his other three participations of this statistic, and dangerously close to the second classified in the championship, Aleix Espargaró.
Both Quartararo and Espargaró will have a difficult commitment to Misano Adriatico, first because it is “Italian territory”which makes Bagnaia the clear favorite, and then because the sequence of three consecutive victories is accompanied by the fact that the Ducati rider won one of the two races held at the same stage last year.
The performance of the Ducati Desmosedici is without any doubt if we consider that five of the top ten classified in the championship have these mechanisms, so although Bagnaia is the favorite and those responsible for the Borgo Panigale factory “indicated” more more than a chance to “don’t disturb” Bagnaia in his return to the championship lead, all his rivals will have a very difficult time.
Quartararo has gone three Grands Prix without tasting victory and needs to maintain his distance to consolidate his championship leadwhere, in addition to Bagnaia, Aleix Espargaró can have his chances to fight for victory on a track where the manufacturer from Noale also often rides and where they have a lot of information.
In addition to them, you cannot forget, because of their local status, Enea Bastianinibecause “The Beast” will arrive with great encouragement to be recognized as an official Ducati pilot from next season, at the expense of Jorge Martín, with whom he is fighting for the position and will remain in the Pramac satellite team , but with an official motorcycle.
The French Johann Zarco, the Australian Jack Miller and Jorge Martín himself can play a decisive trick to the aspirations of “Pecco” Bagnaia, due to their status as Ducati riders, when deducting as many points as possible from the leader of the championship.
The Repsol Honda team is another of the stars of the weekend, a priori because of its news from outside the track, because the presence of Marc Márquez is expected in the test days after the grand priximportant for the evolution of the 2023 prototype, and for the confirmation that from next season and in two years, Joan Mir, the MotoGP world champion in 2020, will be the official rider of the team with Marc Márquez and will be replaced by Pol Espargaro.
In addition to Aleix Espargaró, his colleague, Maverick Viñales, hoping to consolidate the progression shown in previous appointments of the championship, cut short only by the technical problems it suffered in Spielberg’s “Red Bull Ring.”
Suzuki riders, Alex Rins and Joan Mir, could be other contenders for a good classification on a track where the Suzuki GSX RR feels good and where they want to start with a good result that allows them to prepare a sweeter end to the season, after knowing the withdrawal of the Hamamatsu manufacturer from the championship.
More or less in the same position are KTM riders, the South African Brad Binder and the Portuguese Miguel Oliveiraalthough his state of mind will certainly not be the same because the former will continue next season with the Austrian team and the latter seems to have rejected an offer from them to continue for three years in the Tech3 satellite team to go to the second team to place Aprilia in the RNF.
Pol Espargaró (Repsol Honda RC 213 V) is another rider who will have special encouragementsaid goodbye to Honda in the best possible way, as well as Alex Márquez (Honda RC 213 V).
The case of Raúl Fernández (KTM RC 16) is very different, he was not able to reach the level expected of him and received a lot of criticism for it, although in the end his future seems to be clear when the situation in that found and almost condemned him to continue with KTM even though there was no guaranteed place in the team.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
