2022 Japanese MotoGP, Motegi – Full Qualifying Results

* Rookie

Official Motegi MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha 1m 43.790s (2022)
Fastest race lap:
Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha 1m 45.350s (2014)

Marc Marquez ends a three-year pole position drought in a soaking wet and delayed qualifying session for the 2022 Japanese MotoGP.

Rain arrived at Motegi on Saturday morning, with thunder and lightning then being combined with a torrential downpour during this afternoon’s Moto2 Qualifying.

Red flags were duly raised and MotoGP final practice subsequently cancelled.

Conditions eventually improved, allowing the completion of Moto2 Q2, but more rain at the end of the Triumph-powered session meant MotoGP Qualifying was delayed once again due to standing water.

The Safety Car splashed its way around the track for ten minutes before a new Q1 start time was confirmed at 4:10pm.

Pramac Ducati team-mates Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin then progressed through Qualifying 1, their knowledge of track conditions proving valuable in the following Q2 pole position shootout.

Zarco set the early pace before Marquez’s charge, the Frenchman then confirming second on the grid while KTM’s Brad Binder snatched a late third to claim his first MotoGP front row.

That came at the expense of Maverick Vinales, pushed to the second row, where he will be joined by Jorge Martin and Aprilia team-mate Aleix Espargaro.

Espargaro was the best of the title top-three, with Yamaha’s world championship leader Fabio Quartararo ninth after a late scare and Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia 12th and last in Q2.

Aragon winner and outside title contender Enea Bastianini fell at the end of Qualifying 1, leaving him 15th on the grid.

Injured home rider Takaaki Nakagami also tumbled in Q1 and will line-up 25th and last.

After an overcast Friday, led by Jack Miller, and soaking wet Saturday, dry weather is expected for Sunday.

• Japanese Moto3 Grand Prix, Motegi – Qualifying Results 
• Japanese Moto2 Grand Prix, Motegi – Qualifying Results
• Japanese MotoGP, Motegi – Free Practice (2) Results

Just 17 points cover Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro at the top of the MotoGP World Championship standings as the series head into the unknown with its first Asian and Australian races since 2019.

Quartararo’s opening lap accident with Marc Marquez at Aragon, combined with Bagnaia’s second place behind Enea Bastianini, has put the factory Ducati star just 10 points from the Monster Yamaha rider, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro also back in the hunt in third.

Home star Takaaki Nakagami has been passed fit to ride despite requiring surgery for injuries to his fingers in last Sunday’s clash with Marquez at Aragon.

The tight travel window to transport freight from Aragon to Motegi means a revised practice schedule in Japan, with a delayed and extended opening practice session running from 15:05-16:20 on Friday. Free Practice 2 is pushed over to Saturday morning with FP3 reduced to 30-minutes (replacing the usual FP4), followed by Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2.

The absence of Motegi from the calendar in both 2020 and 2021, due to Covid restrictions, means ten of the full-time riders have never raced at the circuit in the premier class: Brad Binder, Alex Marquez, Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini, Luca Marini, plus this year’s rookies Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio di Giannantonio, Darryn Binder, Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez.

Also on track this weekend will be Suzuki test rider Takuya Tsuda and Honda test rider Tetsuta Nagashima. Both have been entered as wild-cards in front of their home fans this weekend, although Tsuda will now technically be replacing the injured Joan Mir.

Following Andrea Dovizioso’s retirement, Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow will be starting his second weekend at RNF, where he will complete the season alongside Darryn Binder. Unlike most of the grid, Crutchlow has some private testing experience at Motegi this year.

Friday September 23rd 

05:15 – 05:55am Moto3 FP1

06:10 – 06:50am Moto2 FP1

07:05 – 08:20 MotoGP FP1

Saturday September 24th

01:00 – 01:40 Moto3 FP2

01:55 – 02:35 Moto2 FP2

02:50 – 03:35 MotoGP FP2

04:35 – 04:50 Moto3 Q1

05:00 – 05:15 Moto3 Q2

05:30 – 05:45 Moto2 Q1

05:55 – 06:10 Moto2 Q2

06:25 – 06:55 MotoGP FP3

07:05 – 07:20 MotoGP Q1

07:30 – 07:45 MotoGP Q2

Sunday September 25th 

02:00 – 02:10 Moto3 Warm Up

02:20 – 02:30 Moto2 Warm Up

02:40 – 03:00 MotoGP Warm Up

04:00 Moto3 Race

05:20 Moto2 Race

07:00 MotoGP Race