Episode #345: Qatar MotoGP 2022 Report

Motorsport101

After 15 years of struggles, difficulty, and tragedy, Gresini is back. This one was for Fausto. For the first time since that legendary day in Estoril in 2006, Gresini Racing wins in MotoGP and history was made as Enea Bastianini shocked the world and gave us the sport’s first ever female team principal win!

We break down the unlikely win… and beyond, with Brad Binder and Pol Espargaro completing a podium that I don’t think anyone could have predicted going in. But there are rumblings beneath it all, with Gresini winning on the 2021 Ducati, while Pramac struggled on the 2022 bike, and Ducati’s factory were nowhere… with a hybrid of the two? This wasn’t the plan, and we discussed whether that’s good for business!

We also talked about the good ol’ vibe check. Yamaha’s feared struggles in testing were very much true, with Fabio Quartararo beaten to the line in 9th, Morbidelli 11th, and the customer bikes barely fighting for points. And what about Suzuki, who looked astonishing in practice, but struggled in race trim. We break that down too!

We also had Dennis Foggia and more drama in Moto3, as stewarding reared its ugly head again. Weaving on straights only hit with minor penalties with last year’s horror crash at COTA still fresh in the memory. Has the sport gone backwards in their stewardship? And are their solutions to be found?

All of that and more in an emotional, in-depth Motorsport101!