Qatar MotoGP, Lusail International Circuit – Race Results

Enea Bastianini has charged to a dream debut MotoGP victory after passing surprise long-time leader Pol Espargaro in the closing stages of the 2022 Qatar season-opener.

The talented young Italian thus handed the new look Gresini Ducati team, which lost team principal Fausto Gresini a year ago, an emotional first premier-class win since Toni Elias in 2006!

The upsets continued with Brad Binder taking advantage of a mistake by Espargaro, struggling for grip by the closing laps, to snatch second for KTM – and almost catch Bastianini!

Repsol team-mates Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro perfectly announced the arrival of the all-new Honda by blasting to the front of the field at the start, with Binder seizing third from front-row qualifier Bastianini.

Espargaro used a braking moment for Marquez to take the lead, while an identical Marquez mistake then allowed Binder into second. Marquez’s Turn 1 misery continued when Bastianini used Ducati (GP21) power to lever third away by lap 7 of 22.

Espargaro – on the podium once last season – built his lead to 1.5s over the middle stages but, after working his way around Binder, Bastianini began dramatically closing in on the Spaniard, making his victory move with five laps to go.

Bastianini, who took two podiums during his rookie MotoGP season with Avintia, is the second satellite Ducati rider to win a MotoGP race after Pramac’s Jorge Martin, but the first to do so on a year-old bike.

After fending off the Suzukis of Joan Mir and Alex Rins, Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro used his medium rear tyre to pass Marc Marquez in the closing laps, then set his sights on trying to reach younger brother Pol and the podium.

After impressive pace and top speed in practice, Mir and Rins were eighth and tenth in qualifying, just ahead of Yamaha’s reigning world champion and 2021 Qatar winner Fabio Quartararo.

“4

Mir and Quartararo made early gains to sixth and seventh, but the Frenchman couldn’t keep pace with Mir, who used the more powerful GSX-RR to carve through to a peak of fourth. Against expectation, Mir’s rise ran out of steam, leaving he and Rins sixth and seventh.

Quartararo’s fears over the level of the Yamaha were realised as he faded to ninth place.

Jack Miller, hoping to avoid last year’s Qatar woes, instead dropped to the back of the field and then retired with some kind of technical issue.

“5

Things got worse for Ducati when factory team-mate and title runner-up Francesco Bagnaia, recovering well from a lowly 15th on the opening lap, lost the front while overtaking pole starter Jorge Martin, sending them both down and out.

VR46 rookie Marco Bezzecchi, LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez and KTM’s Miguel Oliveira also ed.

A majority of riders chose the soft front tyre over the medium, with an equal split between soft and medium for the rear.

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The race began at an earlier time of 6pm, just after sunset. Unlike in previous years, there was no pre-season testing at Lusail before the race weekend.

Round two will be held at Indonesia’s new Mandalika circuit, venue for the final pre-season test, on March 18-20.

* Rookie