It was a crazy weekend for MotoGP at the Algarve circuit, with the only true dry session being the race. This meant the grid was slightly mixed up, at least from previous qualifying form, although that didn’t seem to matter much. In the end, the race showed what a difference two weeks can make in Motorsport, as a rider being almost written off, came back with a vengeance.
Many people including myself, felt that Yamaha were in a really difficult position after the race in Austin, but they came back and showed that on a more European, ‘normal’, track, their bike still works better than anyone else’s. Quartararo got a good start from the second row, and hounded the leader Mir for the first few laps, before passing him and disappearing. It was reminiscent of early last year, when he built a championship lead no one could close down. This will be a great boost for him and the team, and potentially quieten the rumours of him leaving. Yamaha aren’t out of the woods yet though, firstly, it was just one race, and I would wait a few more races before proclaiming it a success. Secondly, and more worryingly, they continue to have the ‘Honda’ effect, as none of the other Yamaha riders could get anywhere near him, and it was only thanks to other riders crashing that they scored points. This means that if Quartararo does leave, they are in serious trouble.
With qualifying being damp, it weakened Ducati’s chances this weekend, as usually starting up front helps their race. Zarco did start the race from pole, but was the only Ducati on the front row. His start was not great, but he held down 3rd for most of the race before passing Mir near the end. This was a weekend he desperately needed, after a lacklustre start to the year, and shows he still has it, which may help to fend off the young guns vying for his seat. Bagnaia struggled in the wet conditions, and could not even reach Q2. At least he made up for it in the race though, rising to 8th by the end. The VR46 boys did brilliantly in qualifying, with both of them in Q2, however, they couldn’t continue it in the race sadly. Miller was well on the way to defying all the rumours of him leaving the factory team, with a strong weekend, until he risked too much on the brakes going for 3rd on Mir. He went down taking them both out, which is a bit embarrassing for Jack. Enea had an even worse weekend, considering he was the championship leader.
After a difficult honeymoon for the team after their first win, Aprilia bounced back at Portimao, with another podium for Aleix. The wet qualifying helped him to start up front on the first row, and despite a bad start, he came back through with great race pace. That bike is really starting to look like the whole package. Vinales didn’t have the same pace in the wet, and from 14th could only climb to 10th, he is making progress, but needs to get on pace soon.
Suzuki looked impressive going into the race once again, but as we have seen so far this year, it is yet to truly translate into results. Mir got a perfect launch off the line, from his best ever qualifying of 2nd, and led the first few laps. Initially, it looked like he could battle Fabio for the win, but when the Yamaha went half a second faster, Joan couldn’t match him, and fell to second. He held off Zarco for a while before he was passed on the straight, and was the innocent party when Miller crashed. An unfortunate end to what looked like a 4th or 5th result, however, that bike is still not quick enough. Rins had a polar opposite day, starting from near last, he gained 10 places on lap 1, and flew into the top 10. His pace got him to 4th, but what could have been if he had qualified better. Another superb ride from him.
Olivera was able to get some kind of result at home, and 5th is not a bad result. Both he and Binder benefited from the wet Saturday, and their race pace was pretty good too. The bike overall though is still lacking in many areas. Binder ended up crashing out, whilst Gardner got a few points.
Just to show how competitive MotoGP in 2022 is, all 6 manufacturers were in the top 6 to end the race. That means that whilst 6th is a good result for Marquez, and Honda had 3 bikes in the top 10, they were on paper the slowest bike in the race. In fact, those 3 bikes had a fascinating battle in the dying laps, with all 3 clearly wanting to be top dog. No one would fight harder than Marc though in the end. It is good to see that the bike is more equal among the riders in terms of pace, although I am sure they are not pleased it is at the cost of raw speed.
Yamaha have shown the field that they are not down and out yet, and with the European part of the season coming to life, these next few races may well define the season, at least in terms of who is in the title fight. Right now, it does look like Yamaha, Ducati, and maybe Aprilia are the ones to beat!
-M
Meaning of Motorsport 