2022 Thailand MotoGP, Buriram Circuit – Race Results

TIMES TO FOLLOW

* Rookie

Miguel Oliveira wins a rain-delayed 2022 Thailand MotoGP at Buriram, while a nightmare race for Fabio Quartararo means the Frenchman’s world championship lead has been slashed to just two points.

• Thailand Moto2 Grand Prix, Buriram – Race Results
• Thailand Moto3 Grand Prix, Buriram – Race Results

Rain arrived as the Moto2 riders were on the grid, later causing red flags after 8 laps of the intermediate race, with several further downpours cancelling the planned Moto2 restart and delaying the MotoGP race.

When the red lights went out almost an hour later than planned, rookie pole qualifier Marco Bezzecchi ran wide after a close moment with Jorge Martin at turn 1 and was later told to drop a position for exceeding track limits – just as he was pulling away from factory Ducati riders Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia.

Bezzecchi backed off to allow Miller into the lead, while VR46 team-mate Luca Marini fell as he closed on the leaders.

The one-place penalty seemed to sap Bezzecchi’s speed and he began fading down the order, while KTM’s wet Mandalika winner Miguel Oliveira took over as Miller’s nearest rival.

After some quiet opening laps, Marc Marquez, on pole in the wet a week ago at Motegi, picked off his rivals to reach Bagnaia and a podium place by lap 9 of 25, creating a two-by-two fight at the front.

Oliveira grabbed the lead from his 2023 replacement Miller into the final corner with 11 laps to go, as the track conditions steadily improved.

But the Portuguese couldn’t break away from Miller, who was himself being caught not only by Bagnaia and Marquez but also Johann Zarco, the fastest man on track.

Marquez responded to the Frenchman’s surge by trying to pass Bagnaia with 5 laps to go, but the Italian instantly responded. The #93 fell victim to Zarco later on the lap and – with race leader Oliveira 2.7s ahead – Zarco was in the hunt for a long-awaited first MotoGP victory if he could swiftly pass Bagnaia and Miller…

But, with thunder rumbling overhead, Zarco struggled to overtake the Italian and attention returned to the victory contest – with Miller almost on Oliveira’s rear wheel as the last lap began but not quite able to strike.

Reigning world champion and title leader Fabio Quartararo was forced wide at turn 1 and plummeted from 4th to 17th in the early laps. Things then got even worse for the young Frenchman who languished as low as 19th, lapping two seconds off the pace of the leaders.

Quartararo’s Yamaha eventually finished out of the points in 17th, meaning his 18-point lead over Bagnaia has been slashed to just 2 points with three rounds to go.

Title contender Aleix Espargaro, who had pledged to take risks in the wet after qualifying 13th after a nightmare weekend in the dry for Aprilia, made early contact with Brad Binder that forced the KTM rider wide and cost the RS-GP a winglet.

Espargaro paid a heavy price for the move with a long-lap penalty for the Spaniard, dropping him from 10th to 14th, just behind team-mate Maverick Vinales. The #41 passed Binder cleanly the second time around but could rise no further than 11th.

The consolation was that Espargaro still gained 5 points on Quartararo, and is now 20 adrift.

Further back, fresh from finishing runner-up in the MotoAmerica Superbike championship, double premier-class winner Danilo Petrucci finished 20th on his Suzuki debut for the injured Joan Mir.

HRC test rider Tetsuta Nagashima, who ed out of a MotoGP race debut last weekend at Motegi, was 22nd in place of countryman Takaaki Nakagami at LCR Honda.

There will now be a weekend off before the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

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