The race day in Misano was the hottest of all since the beginning of the weekend, and Ducati was able to take full advantage of the home track. Fabio Quartararo had to settle for the role of catching up. Results and report on the San Marino MotoGP Grand Prix.
The San Marino Grand Prix was supposed to be dictated by Ducati, it was expected. The asphalt warmed up to +42 by the start of the race, which allowed the Italians to install a super set of tires – front Hard and rear Medium. Unlike the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix of 2021, there were no subtle moments here, like a possible decrease in temperatures.
In addition, six of the nine Borgo-Panigale pilots started from the first two lines: Jack Miller from the pole, Bastianini, and Bezzecchi from the first line, and Bagnaia and Joan Zarco from the second. They were accompanied by Aprilia pilot Maverick Vinales.
But the Red Squad immediately suffered losses. Joan Zarco also dropped out of the race right at the start – the Frenchman got into a massive blockage in turn 1, along with Mikkeli Pirro and Pol Espargaro. Jack Miller made a great start from pole position and led the race for a whole lap, but like a year ago, he prematurely started loading the front hard tire – Jack slipped into the safety zone of the 4th turn. On the same lap, but at turn 10, Bezzecchi fell.
Bagnaia started from the 5th position after penalization but immediately found himself on the wheel of Enea Bastianini, 3rd. And after Miller’s fall, Pekko attacked the Beast and took the lead on the 3rd lap, and led the race until the last lap. Pekko won last year’s San Marino Grand Prix in similar weather conditions, he had everything to repeat the success. The third in the fight for the podium was Maverick Vinales. The Aprilia pilot felt comfortable, and attacked Bastianini, but failed to gain a foothold in the 2nd position. But he quickly increased the gap from the 4th Luka Marini, who followed the whole race.
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Enea Bastianini clearly had his sights set on this race. He did not quite correctly understand Luigi Dall’Igna’s recommendation “not to disturb Bagnaia”: Enea kept extremely close to the Bagnaia until the last lap, and when they reached the 4th sector, he went on the attack. Bastianini came out of the last corner a little earlier, but Bagnaia managed to make an impressive leap forward in the last 100 meters in front of the line – and get to the finish line ahead of his future partner in the Ducati Lenovo Team.
Fabio Quartararo, after all the falls in front of him, drove almost the entire race 5th, without any chance to catch up with Marini and Vinales. Yamaha drove the race, trying not to take risks. One of his main tasks was to be at the finish line ahead of Alex Espargaro, as in Silverstone with the Red Bull Ring. The goal was achieved, but Bagnaia is really back in pursuit of the title!
Bagnaia moved to the 2nd line of the championship, finally moving Alex Espargaro, and reduced the gap from Quartararo to 30 points. This is a key mathematical formula: in the presence of 6 races, Bagnaia now forces Fabio to take risks. To maintain the advantage in the championship, Quarararo needs to finish extremely close to Bagnaia, and on such tracks as Motorland, Chang International, Sepang, and Motegi, it will not be easy.
Position in the MotoGP Championship after the San Marino Grand Prix:
- Quartararo – 211 points
- Bagnaia – 181 (+30)
- A. Espargaro – 178 (+33)
- Bastianini – 138
- Zarco – 125
- Miller – 123
- B. Binder – 115
Results of the San Marino MotoGP Grand Prix (4/09/2022)
