MotoGP musical chairs for 2022

Maverick Vinales’ shock decision to terminate his contract with the factory Yamaha squad at the end of the season has meant that a once straight-forward season of new rider signings is becoming increasingly intriguing. Between that, Valentino Rossi being granted two premier-class grid spots, two Aussies with factory deals, and more satellite teams than ever negotiating the use of top-spec machinery, the decisions made during this mid-season layoff will be make or break for many riders.

This is where it stands right now.

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Not that long ago, the only question Yamaha’s MotoGP boss Lin Jarvis needed to answer for 2022 was whether nine-time world champ Valentino Rossi was going to finally call it a day on his racing career and, if so, who would take his place in the Petronas SRT satellite squad. But after inconsistent results including a career-worst finish of dead last in Germany, Monster Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales and the team came to a mutual agreement to tear up the Spaniard’s two-year contract 12 months early.

It leaves Jarvis with plenty to think about, because while Rossi’s contract is with Yamaha, his teammate and 2020 runner-up Franco Morbidelli’s contract is with the Sepang Racing Team. It would make the most sense to draft Morbidelli into the factory squad alongside former teammate Fabio Quartararo, leaving the satellite seat(s) free to bring a so-called junior squad into the fold. Jarvis said we won’t find out until the second half of the season gets underway, but current WorldSBK rider Garett Gerloff will be under consideration – and Dorna wants more American riders on the grid – as will some Moto2 front runners.

All four KTM-branded MotoGP machines are factory bikes and right now it has two signatures on contracts for the 2022 season. One is Red Bull KTM rider Brad Binder – his contract is for three-years in the factory squad – and the other is Aussie Moto2 leader Remy Gardner, who gets a one-year deal in the Tech3 KTM squad. And while Red Bull KTM Miguel Oliveira’s recent performances will almost certainly cement his future in the factory team, there’s one seat left in the Tech3 garage for which KTM is spoilt for choice.

Unless current Tech3 riders Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci can do something amazing in the next few races, their results (21st and 17th in the standings respectively) mean they’ll be out of a ride. And while there’s been all sorts of names linked to the spare seat alongside Gardner, from Andrea Dovizioso through to Moto3 rookie sensation Pedro Acosta, everything points to Moto2 rookie and Red Bull KTM Ajo rider Raul Fernandez following his teammate to the premier class.

A few weeks ago, and with a handful of test sessions under his belt, it looked as if MotoGP veteran Andrea Dovizioso was poised to sign for the factory Aprilia squad to partner Aleix Espargaro for the 2022 MotoGP season. But while the 35-year-old ummed and ahhed whether the RS-GP was the bike to carry him to a premier-class title, it appears as if Maverick Vinales may have gazumped the Italian to what is essentially the final undecided seat left in a factory squad.

With Andrea Iannone out on his ear with a doping ban and Lorenzo Savadori’s swag of lacklustre results edging him towards the door, the ever calculating Dovizioso took his time evaluating his next move. But with a younger and match fit Vinales out of a contract, it looks like Dovi may have left his run too late.

The factory squad is spoken for in the form of Aussie Jack Miller and Italian Pecco Bagnaia, and so is the Pramac Ducati team of Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin. But with the Gresini team defecting from Aprilia to Ducati for 2022, and the incoming VR46 squad also reaching an agreement for Ducati machinery next year, there’ll be eight Bologna bullets lining up on the starting grid for 2022. This year’s Avintia Ducati squad becomes Gresini Ducati for 2022 and retains the services of 2020 Moto2 world champ Enea Bastianini. His current Avintia teammate, Luca Marini, heads to half-brother Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Racing squad, while Gresini promotes Moto2 front runner Fabio Di Giannantonio to the premier class.

That leaves one empty seat, curiously in the VR46 squad and before Rossi himself has confirmed his plans for 2022. Fans of the Doctor will no doubt love to see the 42-year old face the Ducati demons of his 2011 and 2012 seasons and race alongside his brother, but everything points to Moto2 front runner Marco Bezzechi filling the seat. It’s unknown which level of machinery is allocated to the VR46 or Gresini squads at this stage, but with Pramac securing two factory bikes for 2022, one- or two-year old bikes are likely.

It’s steady as she goes for reigning world champ Joan Mir and teammate Alex Rins for the 2022 season, but it could have been different for the Hamamatsu factory. Given the history between former Suzuki team boss Davide Brivio and Valentino Rossi, there was a point towards the end of last year where a VR46-branded satellite Suzuki squad looked to be a viable option.

Not only would Rossi’s former manager benefit from the added data two extra bikes would have brought the team, but what was then the most well-rounded bike on the grid and the one which clinched the world title would have been an attractive carrot for the newest team in the paddock. But Brivio defected to the Formula 1 paddock, and the start of the 2021 season revealed many manufacturers had taken a step forward in the off-season. And all of a sudden Suzuki’s title defence isn’t as strong as many would have hoped.

Marc Marquez is firmly rooted within the Repsol Honda squad and is currently contracted with the Japanese squad until the end of the 2024 season. His teammate Pol Espargaro is currently in the first of his two-year HRC contract. Luccio Checcinello’s satellite LCR Honda team will retain the services of current line-up Alex Marquez and Taka Nakagami into the 2022 season also. Both riders have secured factory machinery for next year, but if this season’s anything to go by, they may opt to revert back to a bitsa of previous season’s machinery in order to find a bike they’re comfortable enough to race while Honda scrambles to find solutions to the problems its riders are currently facing.

Both Alex Marquez and Nakagami’s contracts are with HRC, not Ceccinello. Alex’s will see him through to the end of 2022, while Taka’s announcement was less clear, touting a “multi-year contract for 2020 and beyond.” Nakagami’s IDEMITSU-branded LCR effort brings important sponsorship dollars to the team and means HRC has a Japanese rider in the fold, which is also important for the factory.