2022 San Marino MotoGP, Misano Circuit – Race Results

* Rookie

Francesco Bagnaia wins a photo-finish with future team-mate Enea Bastianini for victory in the San Marino MotoGP, at Misano.

Bagnaia’s fourth in a row also moves the factory Ducati star ahead of Aleix Espargaro for second in the world championship.

• New 2022 MotoGP World Championship standings – Misano

Espargaro’s Aprilia team-mate Maverick Vinales completed the podium after taking the fight to Bagnaia for much of the race. But when the RS-GP began to fade Bastianini burst past to trigger a showdown with Bagnaia.

Bagnaia held firm and Bastianini, who carved through the field for podiums in both of last year’s Misano races, almost ran into the back of the factory machine under braking for the Turn 4 hairpin on the final lap.

The Beast closed back in, almost pulling alongside Bagnaia out of the final corner but lost out by just 0.055s at the line!

Luca Marini matched his MotoGP best with fourth place in front of his home fans for the VR46 team.

World champion leaders Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro were unable to make an impact at the front, holding fifth and sixth for almost the entire race.

Andrea Dovizioso’s final race saw the former triple title runner-up bow out with 12th place in front of his home fans on the RNF Yamaha.

Some dramatic early laps for Ducati saw Johann Zarco get a shocking start from sixth on the grid, then involved in a nasty three-rider pile-up with Michele Pirro and Pol Espargaro at Turn 1.

Pole qualifier Jack Miller ed from the lead a lap later, with fellow front row starter Marco Bezzecchi (VR46) then also falling. New leader Enea Bastianini then saved a massive front-end moment as Gresini team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio hit the deck along with Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli.

When the dust had cleared Bagnaia – who began the race from fifth due to a three-place grid penalty for ‘riding slow on the racing line in FP1 and causing a dangerous situation for other riders’ – and Vinales had demoted Bastianini to take over first and second.

Title leaders Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo were promoted to fifth and sixth by the incidents ahead, having started just eighth and ninth on the grid due to the tricky damp qualifying.

Quartararo snatched fifth from Espargaro when the Aprilia rider ran a little wide shortly after, then set his sights on the lead group of Bagnaia, Vinales, Bastianini and Luca Marini.

Vinales, returning to the track where he made his Aprilia debut one year ago, hounded Bagnaia for lap after lap but couldn’t quite get his RS-GP ahead.

Then when Vinales began to lose a few bikelengths with 8 laps to go, Bastianini made his move on the Spaniard and set his sights on Bagnaia.

Pol Espargaro was holding his arm as he walked away from the turn 1 accident, with Pirro also appearing in pain.

Dovizioso, 36, made his grand prix debut as a 125cc wild-card back in 2001 and has gone on to take 24 victories and 103 podiums. 15 of those wins and 62 podiums came in the premier-class, where he raced for Honda, Ducati and Yamaha.

“4

The Italian will be replaced by Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow for the final six rounds.

31-year-old Japanese Superbike rider Kazuki Watanabe, called up by Suzuki to replace the injured Joan Mir, rode to 21st and last on his MotoGP debut.

A test will be held at the track on Tuesday and Wednesday, when Marc Marquez will make his return to an RCV for the first time since May’s Mugello round.