Yamaha wouldn’t let the title slip through their hands again!
2021 was a thrilling year for MotoGP, as whilst the championship battle never really heated up, we had plenty of crazy races, and tense fights through the field. As ever in a series as tight as MotoGP, there are teams who shone, and others who were underwhelming!
After 6 years of watching Marquez dominate, and then letting an opportunity pass them by in 2020, Yamaha were able to seal the deal this year, with their superstar lead rider in Quartararo. The bike hadn’t really changed much from 2020, it was still the silky smooth bike, which was perfect in the corners, just lacking the power on the straights. The difference for 2021 was the mindset of the rider onboard it, and possibly the team around him, which allowed him to maximise the equipment every weekend, and never get flustered, unlike the previous year. You have to have major respect for Fabio in acknowledging the issues he had, and being able to put them behind him. He will surely be a formidable force in the future.
The rest of Yamaha was a mixed bag really, as Vinales got fairly close to Quartararo in the 1st half of the year, not quite on his level, but able to take wins and podiums, until he made the crazy decision to leave. Despite the new pace of Aprilia, I still don’t understand the move. This move caused a chain reaction of new riders at the team, who all struggled to get a grip of it. It was not helped by injury for Morbidelli, who had a difficult time early in the year on an underpowered bike, but showed promise in the last few races, on a bike he could actually race on! Dovizioso did the job you would expect him to do, as he adapted well, and likely gave great feedback to the team. Finally, there was Rossi, who you cannot deny had an underwhelming year, an unfortunate statement for a man of his talent, but the one thing it did, was leave us all in no doubt as to the validity in his decision, to leave behind the sport he has changed forever!
Another year, another 2nd for Ducati, although the teams title will be some solace for them. Their usual ethos worked as planned, with the power of that bike firing it to many wins, and even better, consistent results for most of the riders. They are improving the bike in other areas too, which is threatening for the future. Bagnaia came strong during the year, and outshone his teammate, who many believed would be the main man at Ducati. The Italian has the capacity to do great things in the sport, and it would be a fairy tale if he brought the ultimate glory to Ducati! Miller will probably not be pleased with how 2021 turned out, despite 2 wins, as he has been pushed aside at the team, and will want to come back fighting. Martin and Bastiannini have shown themselves right in the spotlight, and with a years’ experience under them now, they could take more wins next year. Zarco started the year well, but lost his way as things got serious.
As the reigning champions, to be that far away from the title, can never be satisfying for Suzuki. They simply were out developed, combined with better execution for Yamaha, who had the pace last year too. There was no gain in qualifying, and they lost the race pace edge they had, so they were just stuck in the midpack most of the season. Mir did his best, and Suzuki is lucky he was good enough to get 3rd in the championship. Whether he could beat Quartararo and Bagnaia in a straight fight is something I don’t know, but want to find out! Then we come to Rins, who may have had one of the worst seasons of anyone on the grid. It wasn’t for a lack of pace, or trying, he just couldn’t get to the end of the race, and cost himself and the team a bucket load of points. That combined with the truck incident whilst cycling, means he is on thin ice for 2022.
It was a weird year for Honda, they had plenty of highs with some wins for Marquez, but that was combined with a lot of weekends where they were nowhere, especially early on in the year. You can still see that the bike is built around Marquez, as no one could peak as high as he could, although part of that could be just down to how good he is. Pol Espargaro did best in cool conditions, whilst Nakagami could come through in the races. However, if Honda don’t want to risk more tough years of being down the order, they need to adapt their bike to suit all the riders. All of the other 3 showed potential at points during the year, they just need help from Honda. As for Marquez, if he gets good bike for next year, he could be fighting for another championship very soon.
On the face of it, 2 wins for KTM is a solid year, as it matches their breakthrough year in 2020, yet those were the peaks of a year full of troughs. Their word of the year was tyres, as they couldn’t get the bike to work on the softer tyres which Michelin gave them. Binder was the star man for KTM, as he often fought through in the races to bag great top 10 results. Then, at Spielberg, he took a risk and made it work, to win on slicks in wet conditions, showing his natural talent. Olivera didn’t excel quite as well as he would have hoped, he did take a win at Catalunya, thanks to his tyre wear, but was hampered by injury and other issues. Petrucci had the odd glimpse of pace, although given the talent waiting in the wings, you cannot blame KTM for dropping him. Lecuona leaving is a harder decision to take, as the rookie did brilliantly, he wasn’t consistent, but on a bike which was clearly struggling this year, he often beat Danilo, which says a lot.
Finally, we come to Aprilia, who in some ways do not deserve to be last on this list, given the consistent performance of Aleix this year. A corner was turned with the bike over last winter, as the Spaniard could be in the top 10 in both qualifying and the race for most events. Power looked to be their main weakness, but given the potential of the V4, that should be fixed soon. Savadori couldn’t match his teammate at all this year, which is what held the team back overall. Vinales is still getting comfortable with the new machinery, so I wouldn’t read much into his pace for the last few races. For 2022 though, anything is possible for the dark horses of the grid!
The 2021 season gave us plenty to talk about, and will have moments we will never forget, but there is a real chance that 2022 could be so much better. This is because, there is reason to believe that every single manufacturer could have a shot at the title next year, for Aprilia and KTM it is more of a long shot, but they aren’t far off yet! I already can’t wait for it to start!
-M
Meaning of Motorsport 