until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
While 2021 MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo might have ridden a relatively flawless race at the Catalan Prand Prix to extend his points lead and take home another victory, the main drama of the race was all behind him, as mistakes, desperate moves and the strangest race end you’ve ever seen all played out well behind the Frenchman.
From Taka Nakagami’s opening-corner incident with Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Rins, a lunge that may well have taken the Italian out of the championship battle, to Aleix Espargago’s lap-counting fiasco and resultant lost podium, there were more downs than ups to talk about, even if it did give some of their rivals the chance for a brilliant day out.
As always, the result of another exciting race is that there are plenty of winners and losers and plenty to talk about when it comes to our rider ratings.
Our MotoGP ranking system is simple: the riders who we believe performed the best in every race are at the top, and the ones who underperformed are at the bottom and scored appropriately.
It isn’t just about the end result though, with pre-race expectation and form going into a race and a weekend heavily influencing their eventual score, not just the points they scored every Sunday afternoon.
Jorge Martin – 9
Started: 6th Finished: 2nd
It’s been a long time coming, but finally Jorge Martin is back to his old form, it seems.
Looking fast and consistent all race long in Montmelo even if he did get overtaken by Aleix Espargaro before the latter’s spectacular error, a podium finish was just what the doctor ordered for Martin even as he heads for fresh surgery to alleviate a persistent nerve pain problem.
An important day in the ongoing battle for a 2023 Ducati factory seat.
Fabio Quartararo – 9
Started: 3rd Finished: 1st
This is going to be a championship won (or defended, in Quartararo’s case) by striking hard and fast on the weekends where everything is just right, and that’s exactly what the Frenchman did after a couple races of hanging in there while others did the winning.
The newly-re-signed Yamaha rider fully exploited his advantage to make sure that he took home maximum points in one of the most dominant performances of the year so far.
Johann Zarco – 8.5
Started: 4th Finished: 3rd
Johann Zarco has developed a pretty good MotoGP party trick of anonymously hovering around just outside the podium battle every weekend, ready to pounce if someone else shows weakness – and he did it again on Sunday when Espargaro messed up.
Now the most successful podium finisher never to win a race in premier-class history, he’s done more than enough this year to secure his future.
Remy Gardner – 8
Started: 20th Finished: 11th
Given the nightmare that is KTM’s 2022 campaign, to come home in 11th is already a great result for Remy Gardner – but to come home only four seconds from works rider Miguel Oliveira makes it truly great for the rookie.
In fact, it might just be the sort of result that, should he deliver a few more in the coming weeks, will ensure that he gets the chance to stay with KTM for 2023.
Darryn Binder – 7.5
Started: 23rd Finished: 12th
Another strong race for rookie Darryn Binder, who continues to chip away at the MotoGP learning curve just as his name starts to be linked to 2023 seats.
It would be a shame at this point if he ended up being excluded from the grid next year because, against all expectations, he’s doing a solid job on the year-old satellite Yamaha.
Luca Marini – 7.5
Started: 9th Finished: 6th
We always knew that Luca Marini would be a slow learner in MotoGP even as his rookie rivals got up to speed.
But he’s finally delivering on the hard work that he’d done for the past year and a half with some impressive consistency, and given how he’s operated in the past it’ll be no surprise if he can now maintain his newfound level.
Maverick Vinales – 7
Started: 8th Finished: 7th
Maverick Vinales told us before the race that his plan was a flying start (something that he’s historically not been fantastic at) and to then see what happened from eighth on the grid.
He didn’t quite launch into it, but he didn’t go backwards either, albeit with three riders ahead wiped out.
From maintaining his position he matched his best yet Aprilia result. It’s a sign of things to come, especially given how he looked on one-lap pace, an area where he has struggled.
All in all, an excellent weekend not quite reflected in the results.
Joan Mir – 7
Started: 17th Finished: 4th
Sure, he was gifted a little boost by the crashes in front of him and by Aleix Espargaro’s amazing error, but arguably (given the way said crash split the group on the opening lap) Joan Mir was on course for a solid result at Montmelo regardless of the actions of others.
Working hard all weekend to identify a persistent problem with the Suzuki and then making a flying start to jump 10 places in Turn 1, he can’t be too disappointed with his end result.
Brad Binder – 6.5
Started: 15th Finished: 8th
A rather typical Brad Binder performance, coming from a poor qualifying position to a half-decent race result but getting there marginally too late to fight for any really great position.
To finish a decent chunk of time ahead of team-mate Oliveira despite being only one place in front is perhaps the most positive outcome from another tough KTM weekend battling against its 2022 bike.
Miguel Oliveira – 6.5
Started: 16th Finished: 9th
Much of what applies to Binder applies to his team-mate, too. An OK result on another tough weekend.
Oliveira likewise can’t expect more right now given the state of the RC16. Monday’s test should bring new parts to hopefully make life a little easier, but it’s still a long road ahead for KTM.
Alex Marquez – 6
Started: 25th Finished: 10th
It’s hard to determine how good a race it was for Alex Marquez, really.
On one hand, aided massively by the number of falls in front of him, he was still only 10th – but still the top Honda on a day when none of the others even scored points and where factory rider Pol Espargaro in particular was left embarrassed.
It was a solid finish for him, the sort of day that could well help secure his future.
Raul Fernandez – 5.5
Started: 24th Finished: 15th
First points on the board for KTM rookie Raul Fernandez, and even if he did earn them by staying on when plenty of others didn’t rather than by being outright fast.
It still feels like he’s very much going through the motions this year, with not much in the way of the fire we’ve come to expect of him.
Monday’s test is perhaps more crucial for him than any other KTM rider.
Michele Pirro – 5
Started: 22nd Finished: 16th
Copy and paste from last weekend. Michele Pirro rode an anonymous race, gathered lots of data for Ducati, and will have a solid test day on Monday to round out a standard-issue Pirro appearance.
Pecco Bagnaia – 5
Started: 2nd Finished: DNF
Sunday didn’t quite seem like a day when Pecco Bagnaia was going to be able to stall Quartararo’s title lead extension, but rather one to keep the Frenchman in check.
Now the reality of Nakagami’s over-ambitious move means that Bagnaia’s title race is all but done, it seems. What makes it much worse, of course, is that he did nothing wrong, just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Alex Rins – 5
Started: 7th Finished: DNF
Given he was wiped out before he even got a chance to get things underway, it’s hard to suggest what would have been possible for Alex Rins.
Yet, with strong pace that wasn’t quite reflected in qualifying, it’s entirely possible to imagine that he had the chance for a podium, especially after launching off the line well enough to make sure that he was in the mix.
Aleix Espargaro – 4
Started: 1st Finished: 5th
Oh, Aleix. What a way to lose a surefire podium – a brief moment of madness that’ll live in internet infamy forever more.
It’s a mistake that he’ll rue, and it’ll hurt – but let’s not forget that a few short years ago a fifth place at home would have been phenomenal.
His pace in the latter half of the race was exceptional, and that’s what he should be focusing upon, especially if the lost points end up not affecting any title charge that might come later in the season for him.
Time will tell on that front.
Marco Bezzecchi – 4
Started: 13th Finished: DNF
After an exceptional start to 2022 and a few strong races of late in particular, it’s almost easy to forget that Marco Bezzecchi remains a MotoGP rookie.
But he is in fact less than half a season into his debut year, and that gives him leeway to make unforced errors like he did on Sunday, trying to save tyres by not loading the front enough. It’s a learning process and he’s learning fast.
Fabio Di Giannantonio – 4
Started: 5th Finished: DNF
It’s been a rollercoaster few days for Fabio Di Giannantonio as he bounces from home pole at Mugello and his best ever MotoGP result to a DNF at Montmelo.
But, with his rookie season essentially starting behind the others as he plays catch up from missing much of testing, this weekend’s DNF can be dismissed as teething problems, something that if he continues on his current trajectory he’ll iron out in the coming races.
Enea Bastianini – 3.5
Started: 14th Finished: DNF
Is Enea Bastianini finally starting to show some cracks in what had been a fairly flawless start to the season? Two DNFs in a row perhaps suggests that the sheen of starting the year on an old and perfectly formed Ducati is starting to wear off as the 2022 factory machines catch up.
He’s already done more than enough this year to keep his Gresini Racing team appeased, but he needs to be careful that he hasn’t picked a bad time to be inconsistent as 2023 factory seat rival Martin finds his form.
Franco Morbidelli – 3
Started: 18th Finished: 13th
Franco Morbidelli keeps insisting that he’s doing a good job in getting back to his old form every weekend, but the reality is that we’re just not seeing it in terms of results – and they’re really the only thing that counts.
He looked better than the reality on Sunday thanks to crashes in front of him, and while he did show some pace in practice, his pre-race words hinted at much more potential than he demonstrated in the end.
Stefan Bradl – 3
Started: 21st Finished: DNF
Stefan Bradl might be there to technically replace Marc Marquez – but everyone knows that while he’s in Repsol Honda colours, he’s continuing in his duties as test rider. And that means gathering data, not crashing out.
Not an easy day to stay on track, granted, but plenty managed it.
Jack Miller – 2.5
Started: 11th Finished: 14th
Jack Miller was quick to put the blame for his rather abysmal performance on Sunday on someone else, just like last weekend at Mugello.
Hitting out at tyre manufacturer Michelin, it seems like he was the only one claiming to have any issues with the rubber, but regardless of the cause, just scraping points for the second race in a row probably hints at why he’s not going to be a Ducati rider in 2023.
Pol Espargaro – 2
Started: 10th Finished: 17th
The less said the better about Pol Espargaro’s home race the better, really. Completely unable to find any rear grip, even less so than in practice, it meant the worst-case scenario for him and the end result is evident in his finishing position.
However, given that it seems to show all Honda’s winter work as something of a failure for now, it’ll cause serious consternation in the garage.
Andrea Dovizioso – 1
Started: 19th Finished: DNF
Perhaps the most disappointing result of the year for Andrea Dovizioso, who essentially gave up on it after struggling with front tyre issues.
A constant complainer about grip even when everyone else has it, this weekend was always going to be a nightmare for him – but the fact that a Yamaha won the race and that his rookie team-mate scored solid points makes him look rather bad, and claiming front tyre problem was a convenient get out of jail free card.
Taka Nakagami – 0
Started: 12th Finished: DNF
Going from 12th to third in one corner is ambitious to the point of being downright dangerous, but it’s not the first time that we’ve seen a similarly boneheaded move from Nakagami in the opening laps of a MotoGP race. Unfortunately leaving himself in hospital overnight, it also effectively ended Bagnaia’s title hopes.
How the LCR Honda rider escaped without sanction is a mystery to everyone, but in any case the crash reflects badly upon him.
