REPORT - 2022 AUSTRALIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX - JUST BIKES

REPORT - 2022 Australian Motorcycle Grand prix

Words: Mike Ryan

Photos: Russell Colvin, unless indicated

Three years is a long time in motorsport, but in MotoGP, it’s even longer. That meant a lot had changed between the last MotoGP race at Phillip Island in 2019 and this year’s Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

When the grand prix paddock last visited Phillip Island three years ago, the likes of Valentino Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone were still on the premier class grid, Jack Miller was with Pramac Ducati (and took an epic podium finish), Maverick VInales was on a factory Yamaha and Fabio Quartararo was still on the Petronas SRT satellite YZR-M1.

REPORT - 2022 Australian Motorcycle Grand prix

Remy Gardner, Jorge Martin, Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini, Alex Marquez and others were still in Moto2 in 2019, while the likes of Raul Fernandez, Ai Ogura, Alonso Lopez, Tony Arbolino and Lorenzo Dalla Porta were slugging it out in Moto3; the latter securing the world championship at Phillip Island that year.

Fast forward to 2022 and MotoGP was finally back at one of the fastest and most popular circuits on the calendar. The Aussie fans, starved of racing for three years, came out in force for MotoGP’s return, despite heavy rain prior to the race weekend that closed part of the campgrounds and saw spectators have to shuttle in from Cowes.

Despite this, the event’s three-day crowd of 91,158 was the biggest since Casey Stoner’s last race in 2012 and more than 8,300 greater than the 2019 crowd total.

Those fans came to the 4.448km seaside circuit to witness a championship that was in the balance across two categories and a title that had the potential to be secured in a third. This year also saw the best Aussie representation in more than a decade, with two riders in the premier class and a local representative in Moto3, too.

State of Play

MotoGP came to Phillip Island with a title race that looked radically different than it had a few months earlier. Following the German Grand Prix in June, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) held a 91-point lead over Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and was seemingly on the path to back-to-back world championships. Bagnaia himself conceded as much, but in the next seven races, the Italian racked up four wins and two podiums to cut Quartararo’s lead to just two points.

Incredible consistency from Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) meant he was just 20 points off the championship lead after the Thailand Grand Prix preceding the Australian round, while a win at the Japanese GP and second place in Thailand showed Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo team) wasn’t out of championship contention either; 40 points in arrears and fifth overall in the championship, just behind this year’s rookie sensation, Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP).

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) were mathematical possibilities for the title coming to the Australian GP, but all the attention would be on Quartararo, Bagnaia and, naturally, Miller.

In Moto2, the championship race was even tighter, with just 1.5 points separating the leading Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex) and Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia Kalex) after the rain-shortened Thai GP. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40 Kalex) and Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team Kalex) were well adrift of the leading pair and only mathematical possibilities to still win the championship coming into this round.

The only category that wasn’t on a knife edge was Moto3, where Izan Guevara (Valresa GasGas Aspar Team) held a comfortable 49-point lead over Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing Honda) and could wrap up the championship in Australia, as Dalla Porta had three years earlier.

The only other Moto3 riders still in title contention were Guevara’s team mate Sergio Garcia and Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max); the latter with two wins and three podiums from his previous seven starts.

Local support classes consisted of the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup and Australian Superbikes (a non-championship round for the latter), with attractions like the GP Expo and kids’ activities ensuring there was always something to see when the circuit wasn’t in action.

Practise and Qualifying

The rain that had made the Phillip Island outfield sodden and closed the Highside campground was mostly absent for the opening day, Friday, 14 October, with Free Practise 1 for Moto3 kicking off proceedings, followed by FP1 sessions for MotoGP and Moto2.

While Casey Stoner was greeting fans off track, the first Free Practise session for Moto3 saw Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI KTM) top the timesheets ahead of Foggia and the sole Aussie in the Moto3 field, Joel Kelso (CIP Green Power KTM).

Conditions remained dry for Moto3’s FP2 session, where Sasaki was fastest, followed by Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing Honda) and Moreira. Kelso slipped to twelfth and champion-in-waiting Guevara improved from seventh to fourth fastest.

On Saturday, 15 October, Moto3 was again the first category on track and Sasaki repeated his performance from the previous day, setting the top time in FP3 ahead of Garcia and Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo), while Guevara was ninth quickest. In the cool but dry conditions, Kelso and his team mate Kaito Toba were twelfth and thirteenth fastest, respectively.

For Moto3 qualifying later that day, Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP) was the best of the riders to advance from Q1, setting the fourth fastest time in Q2, but the bigger story was Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team KTM), who just scraped into Q2 in twelfth but then put in a ripping final lap of 1m36.579s to take third on the grid.

A 1m35.854s from Sasaki was a new Moto3 lap record at Phillip Island and secured pole for the Japanese rider ahead of Garcia and the aforementioned Ortola. The second row for the Moto3 grid was made up of Tatay, Moreira and Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team KTM), with Guevara qualifying seventh, Foggia twelfth and Kelso fourteenth.

In Moto2, Fernandez started strong with the fastest time in Free Practise 1, while his title rival Ogura was only twelfth fastest. After being third fastest in FP1, Jake Dixon (Inde GasGas Aspar Team) would top the timesheets in FP2, ahead of Beta Tools Speed Up Boscoscuro team mates, Fermin Aldeguer and Alonso Lopez, who are one of only two teams not using the Kalex chassis this year.

That pair would be fastest again in FP3 on Saturday, ahead of Fernandez, Canet, Dixon and the fast-improving Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex), who had already taken two race wins in his rookie season in Moto2 after winning last year’s Moto3 World Championship. Ogura could only notch up an eleventh fastest time in FP3, but that was enough to get him into Q2.

Due to geese on the track (for the second time on the weekend), Q2 for Moto2 would be cut short, potentially spoiling a few riders’ attempts to better Aldeguer’s lap time of 1m32.233s, which happened to be a new Phillip Island lap record for the class.

Alongside polesitter Aldeguer on the front row would be Fernandez and Lopez; with the latter required to serve a long lap penalty in the race for an incident in FP1.

Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), Canet and Vietti made up row 2, while Ogura would start from the fifth row of the grid after qualifying in thirteenth.

Turning to MotoGP, their first Free Practise session was held in similar dry, cool and windy weather as the other classes. Zarco would excel in these conditions, topping the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2, while those behind him included Miller, Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) and the Repsol Honda Team pairing of 2019 Australian GP winner Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro.

FP1 also saw the appearance of a wallaby, which bounced across the track near Siberia corner and was almost collected by Aleix Espargaro as he travelled at 200+km/h.

Of the two main championship contenders, both Bagnaia and Quartararo were slow out of the gate in FP1, although the Frenchman would improve to fourth in FP2 while Bagnaia’s best was eighth.

Jack Miller, second in FP1, could only post thirteenth in FP2, while Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) was 20th and 22nd across both sessions.

Come Saturday, 15 October, and Marc Marquez was the big improver in Free Practise 3, recording the session’s fastest time, followed by Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). Bagnaia and Quartararo were at the tail end of the top ten in FP3 and Miller jumped back up to sixth, while Gardner held station in 22nd.

Miller also had the honour of having Turn 4 renamed Miller Corner on this day, joining Casey Stoner, Wayne Gardner and Mick Doohan in having sections of the Phillip Island circuit named after them.

With Team Suzuki Ecstar in their last few races, Alex Rins and Joan Mir had been underachieving early in the weekend, but Rins made it into Q2, and would go on to qualify tenth, with Mir 14th.

Pole went to Martin with a 1m27.767s lap that broke the all-time two-wheel lap record at Phillip Island set by Jorge Lorenzo way back in 2013. Marc Marquez also broke Lorenzo’s 1m27.899s record on his way to second on the grid, with Bagnaia completing the front row.

Aleix Espargaro and Quartararo would line up alongside Zarco on row two, while Miller qualified in eighth, placing him on the third row between Marini and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team). Row 4 was made up of Rins, Alex Marquez and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing), with Gardner 19th.

With the grids decided and the promise of better weather on Sunday, the stage was set for action across all three classes.

Race Day – Moto3

In front of an estimated 40,000+ spectators, Sunday’s warm-up session for Moto3 didn’t reveal too much, but rain an hour out from the race start meant riders would be facing a mix of dry and damp track conditions.

For Guevara, the equation was simple; add at least two more points to the lead of 49 he already had and the 2022 Moto3 World Championship was his, regardless of Foggia’s finishing position.

When the lights went out, Garcia got the jump to lead Moreira and Ortola into the first corner and would hold that advantage, off and on, for the first ten laps before Guevara made his presence felt.

Part of a leading group of six that included Kelso in the early stages, Guevara took the lead for the first time on lap 9, but always had Garcia and Sasaki close behind.

Kelso, meanwhile, lost touch with the leaders after an incident with Nepa at Turn 4 that saw the Spaniard and John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) move ahead of the Aussie.

Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was in that leading pack, too, almost pushing Guevara off track at Turn 10 and holding on with Guevara, Garcia and Sasaki as they began to pull away.

Typical Moto3 slipstreaming down Gardner Straight and divebombing overtakes into Turn 1, Turn 4 and Turn 10 meant a winner was impossible to predict, even in the closing stages, while further back, a second group of four that included Kelso were having their own tussle to be the best of the rest.

For Foggia, his chances of keeping the championship alive looked slim; stuck outside the top ten for most of the race and ultimately finishing in ninth place.

With four laps to go, Guevara was as low as fourth, which would have been enough for the championship if he finished in that position, but the 18-year-old Spaniard seemed determined to take the title with a win.

Leading out of Turn 1 on the final lap, Guevara would keep Garcia, Öncü and Sasaki behind him to take victory by 0.345 seconds, giving him an unassailable 65-point championship lead with two rounds to go. An ecstatic Guevara celebrated at Turn 4 with his team that included former 125cc World Champion Nico Terol, who was dressed himself in a spare set of the new champion’s riding gear!

“In the start of the race, it was really complicated with the slightly wet conditions, but the track dried quickly [so] it was possible to push in the lead group,” Guevara said.

“I'm so happy with this moment, this Championship... I'd like to thank my team, my family for the support, and all my friends."

Öncü and Garcia completed the podium, followed by Sasaki, with Kelso taking his best ever Moto3 finish in eighth, a mere 0.001 seconds behind Moreira. Ninth for Foggia meant he dropped back to third in the championship behind Garcia.

Race Day – Moto2

With the two title contenders separated by eleven positions on the grid – Fernandez second and Ogura thirteenth - the advantage appeared to lay with the Spaniard.

It would be Arbolino who would take the early lead, getting past poleman Aldeguer and Lopez within the opening two corners, but Lopez would be in front at the end of the first lap, then build a margin of more than 2.6 seconds within three laps.

On lap four, Lopez took his required long lap penalty and still managed to remain 1.5 seconds ahead of the chasing pack led by Arbolino, Aldeguer and Fernandez.

An unusually high attrition rate for a Moto2 race started with Simone Corsi (MV Agusta Forward Racing) and Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40 Kalex) crashing out on Lap 4, followed by Arbolino on lap 7 and Dalla Porta on lap 9.

Meanwhile, Lopez was building his advantage and would be more than four seconds ahead of the pack by the midpoint of the 25-lap race. Acosta and Fernandez had a similar advantage over fourth-placed Dixon (up from 14th on the grid) and Cameron Beaubier (American Racing Kalex), while Vietti led a group of five a little further back.

After 15 laps, with no change to the leading five riders, Fernandez was looking on course to extend his championship lead, as Ogura was down in 13th place. The championship was turned upside down a lap later when Fernandez crashed out at Southern Loop, meaning that even if he finished where he was, Ogura would take the championship lead.

Out front, Lopez was riding flawlessly, holding a lead of more than three seconds over Acosta (who it should be noted was exceptional in his debut at Phillip Island), with Dixon a further five seconds back, then a group of four that was alternately led by Beaubier and Aldeguer in the closing stages.

After cruising to victory by 3.556 seconds, Lopez pulled out an Ace of Hearts playing card he’d carried in his leathers for the duration of the race; a reference to the 21-year-old’s self-proclaimed image as a magician. The young Spaniard also thanked Casey Stoner post-race.

"I missed out on pole because of a Red Flag and I knew I had the pace, but today, the track was completely different. I did my best with the Long Lap, I felt really comfortable.

“I want to thank my team and also Casey! It's his birthday and I learned a lot from watching him. Thank you to all the sponsors, and thanks everyone!"

Acosta and Dixon completed the podium, separated by six seconds across the line, with polesitter Aldeguer six seconds further back in fourth, followed by Manuel Gonzalez (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team Kalex), Jeremy Alcoba (LiquiMoly Intact GP Kalex) and Beaubier.

With Ogura only able to finish in eleventh place, he couldn’t really capitalise on Fernandez’s crash, taking only a 3.5 point championship lead going into the penultimate round.

Race Day – MotoGP

As the MotoGP field assembled on Gardner Straight for the first time in three years, the anticipation was palpable (1,085 days between races will do that!), with the grid packed and the grandstands opposite heaving with people.

Plenty of questions were being asked, including whether Marc Marquez could repeat his performance from 2019, whether Quartararo’s late-season collapse would continue and whether Miller could convert a premier class podium three years ago into a win this time around.

Phillip Island has seen plenty of blowout wins in the past, but this race would be different, delivering one of the closest finishing packs in GP history, a new championship leader and a race winner that virtually no-one saw coming.

From pole, Martin made a clean start and held Marquez and Quartararo at bay through the opening corners. Bagnaia and Aleix Esparagaro had issues with their holeshot devices, compromising their starts, while Bastianini had to deal with his rider airbag being accidentally deployed.

As Bagnaia and Aleix Esparagaro recovered to be in the lead pack, Martin remained out front for the opening dozen laps, while Miller, in an effort to make up for his poor qualifying, was on a charge, up from eighth to fourth by lap three.

Quartararo’s first stumble came on lap four when he overcooked it into Turn 4 and ran on, rejoining at the tail of the field. The defending MotoGP Champion’s race went from bad to worse when he crashed out on lap 11, automatically handing Bagnaia an advantage – if the Italian finished the race in the fourth-place position he was occupying at the time.

While the to and fro of the championship was one story of this race, the other was the performance of Alex Rins, who showed that neither he nor his team would be coasting to the end of Suzuki’s participation in MotoGP.

From tenth on the grid, Rins was methodical in picking his way through the field, using Southern Loop as his favoured spot to overtake. By lap 8, Rins was holding down the final podium position and nipping at the heels of Marquez.

If Rins’s charge was the great story of this race, the great irony was the departure of Miller, who was taken out of the race – and any chance of championship contention – at the same Turn 4 corner that had been renamed in his honour barely 24 hours’ earlier. On lap nine, a runaway Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) cannoned into the Aussie at Miller Corner, ending the race for both of them.

That left one Aussie, Gardner, in the race, who was tenth at this stage, but that was his high point as tyre wear saw him slowly fall back through the field.

As Gardner was moving backward, Rins was moving forward, taking the lead for the first time on lap 13 at Martin’s expense, but losing it immediately afterwards in a fight with Marquez and Bagnaia that was more like a Moto3 race. Martin, Bezzecchi, Aleix Espargaro and Binder were all close behind this trio.

With Quartararo out of the picture, Bagnaia could have eased off and still taken the championship lead, but was fighting for the win and looked like he would take it as he led the field across the line for the final lap. However, after being passed by Rins and Marquez through Southern Loop, Bagnaia perhaps decided that third and 16 points was better than a potential DNF.

That left Rins and Marquez to fight it out for the win. The former shut the gate at Turn 4 and Siberia, and when Marquez got out of shape going into Turn 10 it was all over. Rins held on to take a deserved win, while that battle for the lead meant those chasing had closed up, so less than a second covered the first seven finishers.

"First of all, thanks to everyone who's come to the Island to support us!” Rins exclaimed. “Last time here with the Suzuki is special and it's amazing to go out with the victory. Thank you so much and see you next year, Phillip Island!"

Marquez’s runner-up placing was his 100th premier class podium (and first for 2022), while Bagnaia’s third place moved him into the championship lead for the first time this season – 14 points clear of Quartararo with two rounds remaining.

Bezzecchi was the top-placed Independent Team rider in fourth; a result that would also see him take the Rookie of the Year award. Bastianini finished fifth, followed by Marini, Martin, Zarco and Aleix Espargaro, with Binder completing the top ten.

Cal Crutchlow (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP), a past winner at Phillip Island, finished in 13th, Gardner claimed the final championship in 15th, ahead of his team mate Raul Fernandez, while Rins’s team mate Mir was a distant 18th.