Pecco Bagnaia Wins Assen Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo Crashes Out, Aleix Espargaro in a Ride of His Life & Mid-Season Summer Break has Arrived
Author: Myanna Wedes
The 2022 mid-season summer break has arrived and not without controversy after the Dutch TT Assen Grand Prix with the World Championship shifting once again and in the favour of Aleix Espargaro and Pecco Bagnaia. It was a mistake that has cost Fabio Quartararo some serious points, lunging down the inside of A Espargaro and grabbing his front brake lever, sending himself careering into the Aprilia rider and ending up in the gravel trap. Not only did Quartararo fail to finish, but he also ended up with no points and a sore body. With reluctance he came into the pits, went back out by the request of his team and high sided in the exact same spot putting pressure on himself and lucky not to be injured after a violent accident. The French rider had a significant lead and to add salt to his wounds, has also received long lap penalty for the next race for his ambitious attempt. The penalty is controversial considering the fact other riders have received less of a reprimand for their behaviour and Quartararo being used as an example. Everyone will have their own opinion on the incident. What we do know is that the summer break for Quartararo will be important to regain his focus, rest and recover whilst being prepared for the rivals to be ready to chomp at his heels. It is game on in the title battle. What we can say from this race is that A Espargaro had ride of the day and the move of the season with the last corner duel that took place with Jack Miller and Brad Binder. It was sensational and a true display of the courage and confidence he has with the Aprilia machine in and out of the corners. The Spanish rider was ambitious knowing full well that Binder and Miller were fighting for the fourth-place position. His decision to go all out paid off considering at one stage his was towards the back of the pack after the Quartararo incident. The ride is career defining and the result could be an important one when it comes to the overall World Championship. This time, A Espargaro was thinking and riding on the limit lap after lap knowing how a handful of extra points would allow him to rest during the summer break to then come back like a fighting bull when the season recommences.
Aleix Espargaro #41:
"There is something they don’t give points for but which is extremely important for me, especially in terms of the championship, and that is the sensation of feeling like the best on the track. Today I was back to having that feeling. I had it throughout the weekend and I'm rather certain that the win would have been within our potential. My Aprilia was extraordinary today. Unfortunately, the contact was an unlucky situation and after that I just focused on giving one hundred percent and demonstrating my speed. Ahead of the weekend I had said that my goal was to close the points gap behind Fabio before the summer break and we managed to do just that, with an important performance. I'm sure that I’ll be missing my RS-GP very soon!"
Fabio Quartararo #20:
“I made a rookie mistake. It was only the third lap and I attacked like it was the last one. It was totally my mistake. My apologies to Aprilia and Aleix for making him go out of the track. It was a race accident. I came into the pits because I felt there was a problem, but the team told me to continue because rain was supposed to come. But we crashed again. I feel pretty lucky I haven't broken anything. I could save the first moment, but as soon as I moved, I had another one and fell. I feel a bit sore in the shoulder. But it's my fault, I could have done a better result than crash in the third lap and crash again later. I crashed only twice in the first ten rounds of the season, and today I crashed twice in ten laps. We spoke with the team before the race. The strategy was that if I was in front, I would push. If I was behind, I would try not to make any mistakes. But I did the opposite. Not something I would do on purpose. It was just a stupid mistake.”
The race podium results for rookie Marco Bezzecchi and the new improved Maverick Vinales certainly put a spring in their steps with both riders achieving their goals to which they knew were attainable, just not when that would happen and this weekend it was a pleasant surprise. The VR46 era continues with Bezzecchi. He is a VR46 academy rider and has delivered Valentino Rossi with his first team podium, an unfortunate event to stomach for Luca Marini who has been working around the clock to try and secure it for his family legacy, boss, and team. No doubt, Marini will be training hard in the summer break to try and be the next Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider to step up onto the podium. In comparison, Vinales was a totally different rider, putting his body on the line, pushing and had the confidence to really kick goals to which A Espargaro was so proud of his teammate. It was a real Aprilia team and family celebration with both riders hugging, cheering, and smiling at one another. This is the type of team sportsmanship that can deliver World Championships as two riders performing is far better than just one. If you look back at the start of the season, Vinales was struggling to find his feet and within eleven races has become a new rider, something Yamaha did not have when he was with them in the later part of the years. It has been a wild 12 months for Vinales and like many, we are very happy to see him back to his normal smiling self, oozing confidence with humility and enjoying himself most importantly above all.
Maverick Vinales #12:
"I am super happy! We worked hard, without ever giving up, and today we had the first reward for my efforts and Aprilia’s. We never stopped believing because we knew that our time would come. The only thing missing was to put all the pieces in the right place during one weekend and today, despite starting from behind, we succeeded. I started well and managed to make up a few positions already on the first lap. Then I kept pushing all the way to the podium. Now we just need to take the next step, which is winning. If we improve more in qualifying, we can do it. And it would be extraordinary."
The Monster Energy British Grand Prix is the next event which will take place at Silverstone from the 5th to the 7th of August. The time away from the sport is sure to be a benefit for some and others a burden. Bagnaia had to finish the Dutch Grand Prix in a positive headspace otherwise another negative result would have put a dent in his confidence with the team and his machine. The fact Ducati won at Assen this weekend is a real indicator of their performance considering the last person to do was Australian rider Casey Stoner. The fact that Quartararo has a long lap penalty at the next race will make things interesting and qualifying at the front will be the goal for Bagnaia. His season to date has been an emotional one and mistakes that define a rider. The ability for Bagnaia to look past his errors is moulding him into a quality team leader because let’s face it, next year, Bagnaia is the one charging at the helm for Ducati as a brand.
Pecco Bagnaia #63:
“I really had fun this weekend, especially today in the race. It was a special race, and this result gives us the right motivation before we start the summer break. The last time Ducati won at Assen was in 2008 with Stoner, so it's nice to know that we have taken the Desmosedici GP to victory again at this circuit after such a long time. I'm also happy for Marco Bezzecchi, a friend of mine and an Academy rider, and it's nice to have been able to share the podium with him. Now we will try to relax and come back even stronger on track in August."
The two riders who were caught out by the element of surprise on the last lap were both Jack Miller and Brad Binder. The two future teammates performed well under pressure although Miller at a disadvantage with the long lap penalty which he felt was unjust considering that he tried everything in his power to move off the racing line in the safest way possible. The time off will do Miller good because he has everything to gain and nothing to lose as he proceeds closer to the second half of the season and his last as a Ducati rider. The horizon is bright for the Australian rider as his abilities become more refined, sharper and his ability to fight under pressure improving race by race. We are proud of Miller and what he is doing on track. There is a potential title out there for “Thriller Miller”. In contrast, South African rider Binder is a real talent, not only as an individual rider, as an overall team member within KTM. He feeds back the data, information and is not shy of trying regardless of the issues that may arise at a particular circuit. His ability to perform during a race is crucial to the success of KTM and as he finds ways to fix up the qualifying results, the opportunity to win and bag a podium again is closer than ever. He is taking the time necessary to ensure the second half of the season is reflective of what the KTM team is capable of even with a great start to 2022 all things considering. He puts in the effort, work and is really wanting KTM as a factory to step up to the plate, especially with Miller coming to join them next year who will have high expectations for the team to deliver.
Jack Miller #43:
"The long lap today cost me a lot. I've had a great pace all weekend, and I was able to show it in the race, but when you find yourself so far behind, it isn't easy to make up positions straight away and ride the way you want to. Nevertheless, I didn't give up and pushed until the end. I tried to attack in the last laps, but I lost the rear allowing the rivals behind to get closer. Overall, I think I had a good race, and I'm happy about that, so I'm trying to take the positives from today. Now we head into the summer break, and I'll try to carry these good feelings into the second part of the Championship."
Brad Binder #33:
“A good race and it felt like it was qualifying from the start to the end! I tried my-heart-out for the podium, I thought it was possible. On the last lap I dived up the inside of Jack but then Aleix got us both: I’m glad we all made it around and nobody crashed! Anyway, it was nice to have a top five finish; it’s been a while. I started at the front, more than I have done lately, and it’s easier to be fighting from 10th than say 15th. I think we got some good data for the team and it’s clear where we need to improve. Once we get it right then I believe we will be really strong.”
In major news, Alex Marquez is leaving the Honda brand at the end of 2022 and joining Gresini Racing for the 2023 season partnering Fabio Di Giannantonio. The change has surprised some in the paddock and is no surprise to others considering the recent form of the Honda machine which has been challenging to ride. A Marquez feels the time is right to go in a completely different direction and it may just work! The battle between the Marquez brothers will be on as in 2023, they will no longer be under the same umbrella brand. In fact, the Spanish World Champions are guaranteed to be rivals because in the end of the day, you must perform for your manufacturer as that is what you are employed to do. Some of us do feel that this could also be vital data for M Marquez if the Honda bike continues to be troublesome. Could there be a radical switch by the Spanish Ant?! In terms of the race, once again it was a data collecting exercise for Honda with majority of the Honda riders nowhere near the top ten. A fit and super-fast Marc Marquez is required to bring the team back to a winning position. With Bradl finishing towards the back, it was no better with Pol Espargaro out due to injury and Taka Nakagami taking 12th place on the LCR Honda machine. The climb to the top is not going to be an easy one for the Honda manufacturer considering the performance levels of their rivals Ducati, Aprilia and Yamaha.
Stefan Bradl #6:
“It was not a bad race and overall I am happy with what we did. It’s clear that we suffered a lot, the bike at the moment does not have the right balance and we need to keep working on it. I made a good start and I was able to stay with Marini for most of the race which was good for information. This was good to feedback to the engineers. Now we go into the Summer Break but I have another test in Jerez in July, so we will keep working then. We are not going to stop working until we have more improvements.”
Alex Marquez #73:
“I’m really happy to announce that I’ll be joining Team Gresini MotoGP, and I’m also very excited to be starting this new adventure: it was crucial for me to change in order to recover the same type of motivation I had when I first joined this class. This was the best option for me, with a team that helped writing the history of this championship. I would like to thank Nadia, Carlo and all the GR staff for believing in me. I still have half a season left to do my best before starting 2023 with top motivation.”
It was still a tough yet rewarding weekend for Joan Mir and Alex Rins on board their Team Suzuki Ecstar machines and the 2022 season has been a mental challenge week upon week. The double finish in the top ten is a nice way to have both riders go on holiday to then come back ready for battle. Both are still yet to announce their plans for 2023 and this is sure to be playing on their minds whilst trying to race competitively with a bike that was a complete package and yet still thinking about Suzuki announcing their intention to leave the sport. It is a complete whirlwind of emotions and the performances at each race event certainly have shown this in their body language. We look forward to seeing how the second half of the season progresses for the two talented Suzuki riders.
Joan Mir #36:
“There were two key things about this race for me, one is that my start was quite bad and I didn’t gain any positions, and the other is that in the last part of the race I lost a lot of time trying to overtake Zarco. But in general today’s result isn’t bad because the lap times showed I was quite pacey, and I was able to make up quite a lot of places in the end and get some points on the board. I feel a bit of a boost now ahead of the summer break, and I’ll be ready to come back and fight for more in the second half.”
Alex Rins #42:
“My start wasn’t as good as usual, and I’m not really sure why - I started ninth but I was only 16th in the early laps. Then I wanted to make sure I had enough heat in the tyres and I didn’t want to push until I felt more able to. I did feel some pain during today’s race, and it wasn’t easy, but I managed to get my way up to 10th and that’s quite a nice finish after such a difficult period for me and my team. Now it’s time to take a few weeks of rest and come back in Silverstone – a track I really love.”
The silly season of contracts is still evolving with many seats still left to announce. We are very curious to see who gets the top Ducati role, how the rider who loses out on that adapts to their promotion to another Ducati team which is sure to be Prima Pramac Racing MotoGP Team, where Alex Rins finds himself if it is at LCR Honda, if Miguel Oliveira ends up with an Aprilia machine and how everyone else finds their feet currently active on the grid or with potential promotions from Moto2. The summer break is long overdue for the riders, team personnel, managers, families, friends and no doubt, fans are already eager to see how the second half unfolds with a title battle in full swing!
Protect your Motorcycle. Call Shannons Insurance on 13 46 46 to get a quote today.
