The reigning MotoGP World Champion Fabio Quartarao celebrates in this file photo.
Doha: The opening round of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship is only around the corner, with the lights of Losail International Circuit primed and ready for the Qatar Grand Prix.
There’s plenty to look forward to as six manufacturers, 12 teams and 24 full-time riders prepare to battle it out in wheel-to-wheel combat for Championship glory across 21 weekends.
“Look at the number of World Champions who are now in the class. Plus, the quality of the rookies. It really is a dream field,” Tech3 team boss Herve Poncharal recently told motogp.com in an exclusive interview.
It certainly looks a tantalising prospect when you consider that there are 14 riders on the grid who have claimed a World Championship crown during their careers.
It’s the most that there has ever been on the full-time entry lists and they share 24 titles between them.
The loss of Valentino Rossi to retirement means that it’s not quite as high as last year, when the number was 30, while the all-time record stands at 32.
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) are the three riders with premier class crowns, while the rest are a mix of Moto2 and Moto3 Champions. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing), the incumbent, have all experienced title success in the intermediate class.
Andrea Dovizioso (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team), Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) had successful campaigns during their lightweight class days.
There’s plenty of premier class pedigree across the grid, with 12 riders on the full-time entry list with race-winning experience, with 111 wins between them. Following Rossi’s retirement, Marc Marquez holds the record for most wins from an active rider with 59, more than all the other riders put together (52).
There’s plenty of premier class pedigree across the grid, with 12 riders on the full-time entry list with race-winning experience, with 111 wins between them. Following Rossi’s retirement, Marc Marquez holds the record for most wins from an active rider with 59, more than all the other riders put together (52).
Twenty three riders have had race victories in at least one of the three classes of Grand Prix racing, four more than last year, with a total of 330 Grand Prix victories (379 in 2020). The only rider who has no GP win so far is Aleix Espargaro, though the Aprilia man will be hoping to end his wait on a competitive RS-GP this season.
One rookie is a GP winner and a World Champion: Remy Gardner (six wins and 2021 Moto2 World Champion). However, his Tech3 team-mate Raul Fernandez has 10 GP wins (eight in Moto2 and two in Moto3). Marco Bezzecchi has six GP wins (three in both Moto2 and Moto3), Fabio Di Giannantonio has three GP wins (one in Moto2 and two in Moto3) and Darryn Binder has one GP win in Moto3.
With so much quality across the field, it is set to be another enthralling season which kicks off with the Grand Prix of Qatar at the Losail International Circuit on March 6.
