Bagnaia train rolls on in Misano MotoGP thriller

The Misano World Circuit knows how to put on a show and the 2022 grand prix was no exception. The 27-lap race itself was the culmination of a number of sideshows; title contender Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) was slapped with a three-place grid penalty for irresponsible riding on Friday, teammate Jack Miller was blindingly fast all weekend and starting from pole, front-row starter Enea Bastianini (Gresini Ducati) was finally named as Bagnaia’s 2023 factory teammate, while Ducati also confirmed there were no team orders.

Title rivals Fabio Quartararo (Moster Yamaha) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) were starting the grand prix from eighth and ninth respectively and with Bagnaia aiming to become the first rider in Ducati’s history to win four consecutive races, tensions were high.

It was Miller who got the holeshot from Bastianini, while Bagnaia got an excellent launch off the line to find himself in third place into the first turn. Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Team) tucked in behind the Italian, brimming with self-belief and hunting for his maiden win with Aprilia, ahead of the Mooney VR46 Ducati pairing of Marco Bezzechi and Luca Marini.

It was a dramatic first lap, with Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Ducati), Ducati test rider Michele Pirro (aruba.it) and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) all out in a turn-one tangle, only for the cameras to switch back to Miller picking his GP21 up out of the gravel after having crashed out of the lead, and Bezzechi sliding out a couple of corners later adding to Ducati’s woes.

Bastianini inherited the lead from Bagnaia and Vinales but was relegated to third as they both drafted by the Italian on lap three. For much of the race it looked as if Vinales was biding his time, looking visually quicker than the factory Ducati rider ahead of him. Further back, a mistake by Espargaro allowed Quartararo through for fifth place, but that was as good as it would get for the reigning world champ who was on the limit to keep the leaders in sight.

A track limit warning on lap 12 was the first sign that Vinales didn’t have the race under control and while Pecco held firm at the front of the race, Bastianini passed the Spaniard for second with eight laps to go. Notoriously quick in the latter stages of races, and in a striking Fausto Gresini tribute colour scheme, Bastianini was perfectly poised to pounce for what would have been his fourth victory of the season.

Shadowing his future teammate, the pair had pulled clear of Vinales to make it a two-rider battle for the win, but it was a battle that had to be clean. There were no team orders, but Pecco has a championship to fight for and so as the laps clocked down, it became clear the victory fight was going to play out on the final lap.

A mistimed lunge at turn four put the chasing Italian wide and with work to do, and another lunge a few corners from the end left his rear wheel high in the air as he desperately tried to avoid hitting the factory Ducati, but a wide line into the final corner gave him superior drive and had him level with his countryman on the final run to the flag, but it was Bagnaia who crossed the line just three hundredths of second earlier, for the closest finish of the 2022 MotoGP season, and earning Bagnaia a place in the record books as first Ducati rider ever to win four grand prix races on the trot.

Vinales held on for third for his third podium in the last four races and Marini rode a lonely race to fourth, equalling his best premier-class finish. Espargaro was almost five seconds behind Quartararo in sixth, with Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM), Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati) and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) rounding out the top 10. Andrea Dovizioso (WithU RNF Yamaha) rode the last of his 346 grand prix races to 12th place as he hangs up his helmet for good, while Miller remounted to finish 18th, one place ahead of Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM).

Quartararo’s (211 points) championship lead is reduced to 30 as Bagnaia (181) moves into second place ahead of Espargaro (178) and Bastianini (138). Miller drops to sixth on 123.

Alonso Lopez (+Ego Speed Up) won his first-ever grand prix in a lights-to-flag victory in the Moto2 Grand Prix in Misano, ahead of Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) and Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who won the battle for the last step on the podium from GasGas Aspar rider Albert Arenas.

Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia), who was leading the standings coming into the round, finished in fourth place ahead of the impressive rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in fifth.

One time championship leader and pole man Celestino Vietti suffered his fifth DNF of the season, crashing out of fourth place and putting paid to his title hopes. Australia’s Senna Agius (Elf Marc VDS Racing) was one of as many as 14 riders who didn’t see the chequered flag.

Fernandez (198 points), who’s tipped to replace Remy Gardner in the Tech3 squad in the premier class next year, moves back into the points lead, just four clear of Ogura (194). Canet is on 157.

Leopard Honda’s Dennis Foggia won the Moto3 battle at Misano, but it was GasGas Aspar’s Izan Guevara who won the war after his third-place finish promoted him to the championship leader as his title rival and teammate Sergio Garcia copped a black flag after a crash in the 23-lap contest.

It was a four-way battle between Guevara, Foggia and Red Bull KTM Ajo teammates Jaume Masia and Daniel Holgado, with Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Tech3) muscling his way into the fight in the latter stages. It was the more experienced Masia who finished second behind Foggia with Oncu and Holgado rounding out the top five.

A brake issue during qualifying left Aussie Joel Kelso (CIP Green Power) with a lot of work to do from the back end of the grid, he fought through to 14th for two world championship points. Australian Harrison Voight (SIC58 Squadra Corse) made his world championship debut, qualifying 32nd and finishing 23rd, 52 seconds behind Foggia.

Guevara (204) now leads by 11 points from Garcia (193), while Foggia’s win brings him back into title contention on 169.