Enea Bastianini has claimed his maiden MotoGP victory, and first win for the independent Gresini Racing team, this Sunday at the Qatar MotoGP 2022 at the Losail Circuit in Doha. After the Italian pilot came Brad Binder (KTM), an unexpected result for the Austrian manufacturer considering the many doubts that surrounded its competitiveness.

Completing the champagne spots, but with a bittersweet taste in his mouth, was Pol Espargaró. The Honda rider, who led for much of the race, had his tires fail him just a few laps ahead of the checkered flag.

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The Spaniard paid a hefty price for his choice of a soft rear tire, which could not handle the pressure from his attempt to escape ahead. The opposite can be said of Bastianini, whose choice of a medium compound was just right to take him to glory. 

Aleix Espargaró (+2.242s) finished in fourth place demonstrating the great performance leap undergone by his Aprilia. Marc Márquez (+4.099s) arrived behind, getting visibly stronger as the race advanced. 

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A day to forget for Ducati and Yamaha 

Ducati provided one of the biggest disappointments of the Qatar MotoGP 2022. Its GP22 showed an absolute lack of competitiveness despite having started as one of the big favourites. Its pilots, Jack Miller and Pecco Bagnaia, also left a lot to be desired with both crashing out of the race. 

Yamaha also gave a lacklustre performance, to say the least. Showing no rhythm or conviction, defending champion Fabio Quartararo could only attain the ninth position, two places ahead of his teammate Franco Morbidelli. 

Also Suzuki team has a day to forget. Its riders, 2020 World Champ, Joan Mir, and his teammate Alex Rins, was sixth and seventh, respectively. due to GSX-RR machine is not competitive to fight for the win.

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 Marc & Pol´s Hondas take the lead   

Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing), who started the Qatar MotoGP 2022 on the pole, fell behind early and kept sinking back to eighth place. Going in the opposite direction, Honda’s gladiators Marc & Espargaró came up to claim the lead of the race. Behind them appeared Binder, who had made his way up from seventh. Bastianini suffered a poor start and dropped three positions to fifth during the opening laps. 

As the laps went by, Pol, who overtook Marc (turn 3, lap 1), gradually increased his distance over Binder, who had taken advantage of a mistake by Marc Márquez to take his position. Shortly after, the Spaniard lost one place again as he was swallowed up by Enea. ‘The Beast’ was beginning to roar. 

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Halfway point: Pol keeps a tight hold on the lead  

At the halfway point of the 22-lap Qatar MotoGP 2022, Pol had broken the race in two with a commanding 0.7s advantage over a pursuing trio made up of Binder, Bastianini and Marc. A very confident Bastianini, however, would soon overtake Binder for second place. At that point, the Spaniard’s lead over the Italian amounted to 1.2 seconds. Pol seemed to be in control of the race. 

The Beast takes advantage of Pol’s faltering tires  

Bastianini, as any good predator would, had no mercy at the Qatar MotoGP 2022. On the next turn and with only four to go, he devoured the Spaniard and sped ahead to open ground in between. With the very vivid memory of the recently deceased Fausto Gresini in his mind, he crossed the finish line 0.3s ahead of Binder. 

But Pol’s ill-fate was not over yet. The Spaniard went on to lose second place to a mistake and finished third, 1.3 seconds behind the unanticipated winner who had just claimed his first win of the top motorcycle racing category. 

Aleix Espargaró finish in a very well deserved fourth place behind his brother. Meanwhile, the other official Honda of Marc Márquez crossed the finish line in a hopeful fifth place. The former champion still has some way in his adaptation to the new RC213V. 

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Images of Qatar MotoGP 2022: Gresini Racing.