2022 British MotoGP Rider Ratings
Calum Gill 09:45 09/08/2022
Francesco Bagnaia seemingly defied all pre-race predictions of his chances of victory at Silverstone last weekend to come through from fifth to take a fourth win of the season.
In a race relatively low on attrition, poleman Johann Zarco yet again failed to convert a pole into a maiden premier class win when he dropped his Pramac Ducati at the Vale Chicane on the fifth lap of the race. Joan Mir also continued his bad run of form when he crashed his Suzuki at Stowe ten laps later. With first a long lap penalty and then tyre issues for championship leader Fabio Quartararo, plus a practice crash that left Aleix Espargaró, his nearest rival, with a broken heel, the end result was a weekend that may well have been one of the most important in the championship so far for Bagnaia.
Here are our rider ratings for the 2022 British motorcycle Grand Prix.
Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) 6.5
Qualified: 4th Finished: 8th
Quartararo obviously entered the weekend with the handicap of a visit to the long-lap penalty loop looming over the Frenchman following his crash into Espargaró at Assen last time out. The fact that he and Yamaha went all weekend without trying the hard rear tyre remains a mystery, and was certainly more of a hindrance than the penalty. Despite extending his championship lead by a single point, two low scoring races has allowed Bagnaia to claw back 42 points on the reigning world champion, a deficit that was 91 points now stands at 49.
Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) 8.25
Qualified: 6th Finished: 9th
Following his huge FP4 crash at Farm corner, Espargaró rode with, as we now know, a broken right heel, holding out for ninth place in a ride that, should he pip Quartararo to the title, will be looked back on as one of the most important of the season if not his entire career. The only frustration for the Spaniard though will be what could have been, with his pace up until his crash looking extremely promising, and evidence in the race that the Aprilia had at the very least podium pace. To recover from what was an undiagnosed injury to limit Quartararo to extending his lead by a single point can only be a positive for Espargaró.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 9.5
Qualified: 5th Finished: 1st
It was a case of right place, right time for Bagnaia as he capitalised on the demise of fellow Ducati runner Zarco to emerge from the 20-lap race with maximum points, on a weekend where - before the race - nobody really expected the Italian to be in the mix for the victory. Runner up Maverick Viñales certainly made it interesting, but Bagnaia was able to keep his cool for a first win on British soil.
Enea Bastianini (Gresini Ducati) 8.5
Qualified: 8th Finished: 4th
Over the last few races, the balance has been seemingly shifting in the favour of Jorge Martín in the race for the factory Ducati seat alongside Bagnaia last year. Bastianini though certainly reversed some of that shift with a stellar ride at Silverstone that may rank as one of his best yet. After losing a wing at Copse on lap 1, due to a contact with Martín and Marco Bezzecchi, Bastianini maximised his package and then some as he charged through the field late on, a piece of racecraft becoming synonymous with 'The Beast'. Who knows where he could have finished on a fully functioning bike?
Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) 2.0
Qualified: 1st Finished: DNF
Zarco demolished the track record at Silverstone to record his eighth MotoGP pole position, but that was where his weekend peaked. The Frenchman has entered the race with good long run form at the Northamptonshire circuit, but he threw away all his good work with a completely unforced error that ensued his wait for a premier class win to back up his double middleweight title success. Zarco's wait to add his name to the premier class winners list continues.
Jack Miller (Ducati) 8.0
Qualified: 3rd Finished: 3rd
Miller never looked able of really fighting for the win once first Zarco and then Bagnaia dismissed him in the early stages of the race, but he was nonetheless never out of podium contention and while it’s sure that he’d rather have been closer to his team-mate at the chequered flag, another podium onto his 2022 tally is a job well done - especially considering nobody really saw it coming before the race.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) 5.0
Qualified: 14th Finished: 11th
For a rider associated with being stronger on race day rather than qualifying day, only recovering three positions will sure be a disappointment for the South African. The fact that his teammate in the works KTM squad Miguel Oliveira was able to put a good run together on the other side of the garage will sure add to the feeling of underperformance.
Álex Rins (Suzuki) 7.25
Qualified: 11th Finished: 7th
There was a stage, soon after Zarco fell from the lead, that it looked like Rins could be on course to replicate his memorable glory at Silverstone from 2019 when the 3-time MotoGP winner hit the front, aided by a rapid start where he had shot up to fifth by the end of the opening lap. However, it never quite came as he faded back again in the closing laps for an altogether rather lacklustre final result.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) 9.25
Qualified: 2nd Finished: 2nd
Since transitioning onto the Aprilia after the fallout from the end of his time at Yamaha, Viñales has been on a learning curve ever since, as he experienced something other than an inline-four MotoGP bike for the first time. Sunday showed that that hard work is just a small step away from paying off, with Viñales just 0.426 seconds away from a maiden win for the Noale marque. Once he learns how he needs to attack and overtake a super-strong Ducati-mounted rival, that win is without a shadow of a doubt coming.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) 7.5
Qualified: 13th Finished: 7th
On a day when his team-mate Brad Binder unexpectedly found himself struggling to make up places, it definitely counts as a good result for Oliveria that he was able to launch himself through the pack into a really decent finishing position. Given that he’s the more sensitive of KTM’s two factory riders, it hints that perhaps the summer break was good news for the manufacturer, although it’s going to take a few more races before we know that for certain. A good test of this awaits at the manufacturer's home round next time out.
Jorge Martín (Pramac Ducati) 7.25
Qualified: 9th Finished: 5th
On any other day, making up four positions would been seen as a positive result for the sophomore Spaniard. But the fact that he was unable to keep his rival for the factory Ducati seat next year behind him on a damaged bike leaves a slight touch of disappointment for Martín. None the less so the overall feeling for 'The Martinator' leaving Great Britain will be one of frustration with his performance, in spite of a good haul of points.
Joan Mir (Suzuki) 1.25
Qualified: 12th Finished: DNF
Five crashes in eight races from a racer who won the 2020 championship based on consistency alone very much counts as a full-blown crisis. It’s hard to tell just how much impact Suzuki’s bombshell withdrawal is having on Mir and the team’s psyche, but it’s obvious that something isn’t right. It’s less certain if it’s something that can be fixed before the end of the season, before an expected change of scenery to the Repsol Honda factory squad.
Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati) 5.25
Qualified: 7th Finished: 10th
All in all a rather average race for Bezzecchi - a bit of a bump back to reality after his brilliant Assen podium. He looked really fast on race pace in FP4 before the lights went out, but wasn’t quite able to deliver it on Sunday. Still, at least he was able to make the chequered flag and it’s more points in the bag as he consolidates his status as top rookie.
Luca Marini (VR46 Ducati) 4.25
Qualified: 10th Finished: 12th
Given his form of late, Marini would undoubtedly have been hoping for more at Silverstone, especially on a day that seemed particularly Ducati-friendly. Yet, with contact off the line compromising his whole race, even strong pace in the final laps wasn’t enough to make up for getting shunted backwards. Marini will be for sure hoping that this was simply just an off-day, and not the catalyst for a start of a string of negative results.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) 6.75
Qualified: 21st Finished: 13th
Not the worst day imaginable for Nakagami, whose result meant that he was the top Honda even at the culmination of a tough weekend for the Japanese brand. Whether that means his result is exceptional depends on just how bad the Marc Márquez-less RC213V really is, but the reality of the case is that even if it is truly awful, two points is nothing to really cheer about for a manufacturer that was used to winning every week not so long ago.
Pol Espargaró (Repsol Honda) 4.25
Qualified: 19th Finished: 14th
Sure, Sunday was hard for Honda, but here’s the thing: when you’re the one in factory colours, the expectation upon your shoulders is higher, and it’s not good for Espargaró to end up beaten by satellite racer Nakagami. Maybe it’s a consequence of his likely decision to head back to the KTM brand for 2023, but it seems like perhaps Espargaró has lost some of his fire of late. Something that a factory rider should arguably never do.
Álex Márquez (LCR Honda) 4.0
Qualified: 17th Finished: 17th
Not a great result by any measure for the younger of the Márquez brothers, it’s nonetheless maybe not an unexpected one given the oft-repeated difficulties of the Honda. But he still came home as the last of their full-time riders, which is never a place you want to find yourself. He was though, according to his Twitter, hampered by an electronics issue during the race. It will for sure be a relief for him to escape the brand for a Gresini Ducati entry next year.
Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha) 5.25
Qualified: 20th Finished: 15th
The consolation prizes for Morbidelli are perhaps that he scored a single point and that he was quite close to team-mate Quartararo. But as Morbidelli’s Yamaha annus horribilis continues, it’s hard to see any light at all at the end of the tunnel for him, something he admitted at the end of the race. It would not be a surprise if Morbidelli is riding with a reoccurrence of the knee problem that saw him sidelined for a number of races during the middle part of last season.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Ducati) 2.75
Qualified: 15th Finished: 22nd
One benefit of being a MotoGP rookie is that occasionally you can take a gamble, which is exactly what Di Giannantonio did on Sunday with Michelin’s hard rear tyre. But it was very much one that failed for him, and while that might not be a disaster most days, it’s not ideal on a day when the majority of the brand’s bikes enjoyed a particularly good Sunday. Probably the worst race from the Italian in which he has finished this season.
Darryn Binder (RNF Yamaha) 4.75
Qualified: 23rd Finished: 20th
Given the pain that every Yamaha seemed to find themselves in on Sunday, a top 20 wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to the younger Binder. This wasn’t on par with some of his rookie performances - ie. Indonesia - but, seemingly as usual, he was not too far away from fellow Yamaha riders Morbidelli and Dovizioso - so he was understandably not too upset afterwards about where he ended up.
Andrea Dovizioso (RNF Yamaha) 5.0
Qualified: 24th Finished: 16th
Honestly the best part of Dovizioso’s weekend may well have come on Thursday when he confirmed that the pain will end soon, in two races’ time at the San Marino Grand Prix, with his retirement. Still echoing the same complaints from round one of the championship, he’s no closer to finding success with the Yamaha and the only positive is that he was within touching distance of factory rider Franco Morbidelli, fighting his own demons. Dovi though was still able to make up 8 places from where he started, more so though through wrong tyre choices and misfortune for others.
Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM) 6.5
Qualified: 16th Finished: 18th
An 18th-place finish after dropping two places from where he started might not seem like the best result ever for Gardner, but that belies what was actually a strong weekend at Silverstone where he again closed down the gap to both his fellow KTM riders and the frontrunners. This was his closest-ever finish to first place and he was head and shoulders clear of his team-mate Raúl Fernández. It’s obvious that his hard work is starting to slowly pay off just as the team seems to be on the verge of announcing he will remain in place for 2023, alongside Pol Espargaró.
Raúl Fernández (Tech3 KTM) 2.25
Qualified: 22nd Finished: 21st
For the best part of this season, it’s looked like Fernández (essentially strong-armed into a KTM MotoGP seat) has been going through the motions of riding for his team - and even the summer break hasn’t given him a chance to rectify that after yet another lacklustre performance making up the numbers at the back of the grid. It’s hard to pin the blame on the bike any more, now that finally fully fit team-mate Gardner is finding a way to make it work. A likely move to the RNF Aprilia squad probably can't come soon enough.
Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda) 1.5
Qualified: 18th Finished: 19th
Getting penalised once in a race is bad, twice is worse, and three times is a complete disaster. Knocked back on the grid for touring, Bradl then had a long lap penalty for shortcutting Turn 4 - and then somehow also managed to overtake Dovizioso under a yellow flag after Johann Zarco crashed out, ending any hopes he had of even trying to be competitive.
