And Suzuki's fortunes are staying consistent with the last fortnight
-
AFLW 2024 - Round 8 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
MotoGP 2022
- Thread starter Klyntonius
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- Jan 9, 2004
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Miller the only one with a soft front in the top five. Probably the safe choice after crashes on the medium in practice but maybe at the cost of a podium.
And that's exactly why Bagnaia won't win the title
- Jan 9, 2004
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Well that was unexpected!
- Jan 9, 2004
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Dodgy has put the mockers on him!
Miller will claim second at least!
- Jan 9, 2004
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Phew. Really nice ride by Jack.
Good race, well done Jack. Finally gets a podium!!!!
I am too pissed off to post.
You know at Cotton On stores, you can buy a Carolina Panthers jumper?
Thanks for that! Geelong has Cotton On as a sponsor too!! Good stuff supporting both my teams! I do have a couple of Panthers Jersey’s!
Damn right, Klyntonius. That was the look on my face when I noticed it.
- Jan 9, 2004
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49ers, Packers, and JETS would you believe???
On another note, I came back from Phillip Island this evening. The crap news is that I forgot my phone charger.
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Fairly much what he said after the race. Sadly for Jack I think Bastianini will get the second seat on the factory bike next year. Can ride.
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Think Jack will be retained by Ducati albeit downgraded bike but still competitive? And taking calls from other teams. !
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- Jan 9, 2004
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- #270
The rider market this year is incredibly hard to get a handle on. At the moment the is all of 4 riders with contracts for next year - and not all of them may actually be safe.
Yamaha
Riders signed for 2022 - Franco Morbidelli
Seats open - three
For all the noise about negotiations nearly complete and for being the reigning champion, Quartararo still hasn't re-upped with Yamaha. It was said a couple of rounds ago that a new contract was imminent yet the last word was pretty explicit in announcing that nothing has been signed yet. I'd expect him to sign a very lucrative contract and with some significant reassurance from the tuning forks that there is some pretty major development work in the pipeline. There will be some very nervous folk in the Yamaha hierarchy after the last couple of races.
Dovi's retirement return looks like it will short lived having been completely uncompetitive this year. Perhaps a move into a test role is in store.
Darryn Binder has actually acquitted himself pretty well this year. Would be 50/50 to stay though with it well known that Yamaha are still keen on Raul Fernandez and also Toprak Razgatlioglu from WSBK.
And whilst Morbidelli has a contract for next year, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him at least demoted from the factory team after his extended run of poor results. He's just never been the same since he got injured last year.
Also muddying the waters is the future of their satellite squad with the RNF team only contracted to the end of this season and said to be considering a switch to Aprilia machinery next year. Who else might run a Yamaha satellite team is currently a mystery.
Honda
Riders signed for 2022 - Marc Marquez
Seats open - three
Honda brought out an all new bike for the 2022 season in a bid to shake their reliance on Marc, highlighted by an abysmal year of results when he was out injured. After strong pre-season testing and a Pol Espargaro podium in round 1 it looked like great success. However, it has proved to be something of a false dawn with Pol failing to reach anything like those heights again and almost certainly won't be Repsol Honda mounted next year.
Nakagami is currently in his fifth season of MotoGP and he's just never been able to convert and produce anything more than promise of his potential. It seems certain he'll be most likely replaced at LCR by Ai Ogura.
And probably the rider with more pressure on them in the paddock purely by virtue of his famous surname, Alex Marquez would appear to complete the Honda bloodletting, likely to lose his seat after a couple of lacklustre years in the LCR satellite team.
Suzuki
Riders signed for 2022 - none
Seats open - none
Obviously with the withdrawal of Suzuki from the 2023 (and foreseeable) season, Rins and Mir are unexpected free agents on the open market.
Mir has been long linked with Repsol Honda, even dating back to late last season where it was reported he was Big H's number one target. It feels like it's almost a fait accompli that he will be Marc's teammate next year.
Rins has announced that he has been in touch with Yamaha, Aprilia, Honda and KTM. I'd expect the former two to be clear front runners for his signature with Aprilia probably the easiest and most straight-forward path to signing.
Aprilia
Riders signed for 2022 - none
Seats open - two (maybe four)
Aprilia are no longer are a concession manufacturer courtesy of Aleix Espargaro's results this year. They now join the rest of the grid under the same testing and development restrictions. Yet, despite Aleix taking their first ever top class race win along with three more podiums that currently sees him top three in the championship, there is disturbingly an impasse in contract negotiations. Aprilia have had a terrible reputation in past seasons in the manner in which they treat their riders and they really need to get this sorted pronto if they ever desire to be a desirable location for top talent. I expect that a deal will surely get done reasonably soon in the best interest of both parties.
Maverick Vinales on the other hand has been a let down. Whilst not a complete disaster, he was the one expected to raise Aprilia's game and that hasn't happened. There is an option to extend his contract into next year, I think Aprilia will only take it up if he agrees to be placed in there satellite team (if that actually happens).
KTM
Riders signed for 2022 - Brad Binder
Seats open - three
Miguel Oliveira is one of MotoGP's greatest enigmas. On one hand he's been capable of dominant race wins for team orange but there was talk of discontent last year on his side of the garage and aside from a wet race win in Indonesia this year and a fighting fifth at his home race in Portugal (aided by a few retirements), he's largely struggled to be competitive. It sounds like he might be moving on and has been linked with replacing Marquez Jr at LCR.
KTM pissed Raul off last year when he was in negotiations with Yamaha and they cut him off and elevated him to MotoGP when he didn't really want to go. Given how difficult the KTM has been this year (not that most of the Yamahas have been any better), you can just about put your house on Fernandez riding a Yamaha next year.
Remy is having a tough rookie season on the difficult 2022 RC16 but he's only one year removed from winning the Moto2 championship with KTM, I'm sure they'll continue together. Beside, I doubt KTM want as much as three of their four riders to change.
Red Bull KTM Moto2 rider Augusto Fernandez could get the second Tech3 ride or maybe the likes of an Aron Canet could be an option. Perhaps they go with the experience of Pol Espargaro as a placeholder until Acosta is ready to step up. Think Pedro is a year or two away from MotoGP.
Ducati
Riders signed for 2022 - Pecco Bagnaia
Seats open - 7(!)
Yeesh, where to start! The Ducati situation is a bit of a mess but also one that's really an embarrassment of riches. It particularly comes down to three riders (maybe four) trying to claim two (maybe three) seats - the remaining factory seat and one or maybe both of the Pramac bikes.
With three race wins this year, Enea Bastianini is the hottest young property in MotoGP. He's more or less announced that he's signed to remain with Ducati, the only question is with what team. It seems unlikely he'd remain at Gresini.
A few weeks ago, the strong rumour was that Jorge Martin had a contract in his pocket to take the second factory seat alongside Bagnaia. At worst he'll remain at Pramac.
Miller has been fighting to keep his factory seat but almost seems to have conceded that he's unlikely to keep it by saying that he's content to drop back to the Pramac team and also acknowledging the sense it makes for Ducati with Enea's three wins and his being Italian. The fly in the ointment for Miller is Johann Zarco.
Zarco also has a pair of podium finishes this year and the Pramac boss has publicly declared he wants to keep him next year. I don't know how much it will come down to Ducati themselves who have said they want to hang on to Miller but Pramac have been good at digging their heels in for the rider they want in the past (ironically, Miller). If I were a betting man (I'm not), I'd say Miller is the odd man out and will be KTM mounted next year.
Marco Bezzecchi has been the most impressive rookie so far this year and I'm sure will remain with the VR46 team next year.
His teammate in Luca Marini I don't think will be there next year. Can see him replaced by current VR46 Moto2 frontrunner Celestino Vietti. Think Luca might be WSBK bound.
The other Fabio of the Di Giannantonio variety is improving week by week in his rookie season and will surely keep his seat for next year.
Who takes the second Gresini seat (assuming Bastiannini moves on) is anyone's guess. I'd expect someone from Moto2, maybe an Aron Canet. Perhaps a bit left field, Alex Marquez or Pol Espargaro might be a possibility?
So my 2022 MotoGP grid for next year, based on confirmations, rumour and just some of my own personal preferences:
Monster Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Alex Rins
Satellite Yamaha (Crescent?)
Franco Morbidelli
Raul Fernandez
Repsol Honda
Marc Marquez
Joan Mir
LCR Honda
Miguel Oliveira
Ai Ogura
Factory Aprilia
Aleix Espargaro
Maverick Vinales
RNF Aprilia
Aron Canet
Tony Arbolino
Red Bull KTM
Brad Binder
Jack Miller
Tech3 KTM
Remy Gardner
Pol Espargaro
Factory Ducati
Pecco Bagnaia
Jorge Martin
Pramac Ducati
Enea Bastianini
Johann Zarco
VR46 Ducati
Marco Bezzecchi
Celestino Vietti
Gresini Ducati
Fabio Di Giannantonio
Alex Marquez
Interested to hear your thoughts on what you think/would like to see for next year.
Yamaha
Riders signed for 2022 - Franco Morbidelli
Seats open - three
For all the noise about negotiations nearly complete and for being the reigning champion, Quartararo still hasn't re-upped with Yamaha. It was said a couple of rounds ago that a new contract was imminent yet the last word was pretty explicit in announcing that nothing has been signed yet. I'd expect him to sign a very lucrative contract and with some significant reassurance from the tuning forks that there is some pretty major development work in the pipeline. There will be some very nervous folk in the Yamaha hierarchy after the last couple of races.
Dovi's retirement return looks like it will short lived having been completely uncompetitive this year. Perhaps a move into a test role is in store.
Darryn Binder has actually acquitted himself pretty well this year. Would be 50/50 to stay though with it well known that Yamaha are still keen on Raul Fernandez and also Toprak Razgatlioglu from WSBK.
And whilst Morbidelli has a contract for next year, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him at least demoted from the factory team after his extended run of poor results. He's just never been the same since he got injured last year.
Also muddying the waters is the future of their satellite squad with the RNF team only contracted to the end of this season and said to be considering a switch to Aprilia machinery next year. Who else might run a Yamaha satellite team is currently a mystery.
Honda
Riders signed for 2022 - Marc Marquez
Seats open - three
Honda brought out an all new bike for the 2022 season in a bid to shake their reliance on Marc, highlighted by an abysmal year of results when he was out injured. After strong pre-season testing and a Pol Espargaro podium in round 1 it looked like great success. However, it has proved to be something of a false dawn with Pol failing to reach anything like those heights again and almost certainly won't be Repsol Honda mounted next year.
Nakagami is currently in his fifth season of MotoGP and he's just never been able to convert and produce anything more than promise of his potential. It seems certain he'll be most likely replaced at LCR by Ai Ogura.
And probably the rider with more pressure on them in the paddock purely by virtue of his famous surname, Alex Marquez would appear to complete the Honda bloodletting, likely to lose his seat after a couple of lacklustre years in the LCR satellite team.
Suzuki
Riders signed for 2022 - none
Seats open - none
Obviously with the withdrawal of Suzuki from the 2023 (and foreseeable) season, Rins and Mir are unexpected free agents on the open market.
Mir has been long linked with Repsol Honda, even dating back to late last season where it was reported he was Big H's number one target. It feels like it's almost a fait accompli that he will be Marc's teammate next year.
Rins has announced that he has been in touch with Yamaha, Aprilia, Honda and KTM. I'd expect the former two to be clear front runners for his signature with Aprilia probably the easiest and most straight-forward path to signing.
Aprilia
Riders signed for 2022 - none
Seats open - two (maybe four)
Aprilia are no longer are a concession manufacturer courtesy of Aleix Espargaro's results this year. They now join the rest of the grid under the same testing and development restrictions. Yet, despite Aleix taking their first ever top class race win along with three more podiums that currently sees him top three in the championship, there is disturbingly an impasse in contract negotiations. Aprilia have had a terrible reputation in past seasons in the manner in which they treat their riders and they really need to get this sorted pronto if they ever desire to be a desirable location for top talent. I expect that a deal will surely get done reasonably soon in the best interest of both parties.
Maverick Vinales on the other hand has been a let down. Whilst not a complete disaster, he was the one expected to raise Aprilia's game and that hasn't happened. There is an option to extend his contract into next year, I think Aprilia will only take it up if he agrees to be placed in there satellite team (if that actually happens).
KTM
Riders signed for 2022 - Brad Binder
Seats open - three
Miguel Oliveira is one of MotoGP's greatest enigmas. On one hand he's been capable of dominant race wins for team orange but there was talk of discontent last year on his side of the garage and aside from a wet race win in Indonesia this year and a fighting fifth at his home race in Portugal (aided by a few retirements), he's largely struggled to be competitive. It sounds like he might be moving on and has been linked with replacing Marquez Jr at LCR.
KTM pissed Raul off last year when he was in negotiations with Yamaha and they cut him off and elevated him to MotoGP when he didn't really want to go. Given how difficult the KTM has been this year (not that most of the Yamahas have been any better), you can just about put your house on Fernandez riding a Yamaha next year.
Remy is having a tough rookie season on the difficult 2022 RC16 but he's only one year removed from winning the Moto2 championship with KTM, I'm sure they'll continue together. Beside, I doubt KTM want as much as three of their four riders to change.
Red Bull KTM Moto2 rider Augusto Fernandez could get the second Tech3 ride or maybe the likes of an Aron Canet could be an option. Perhaps they go with the experience of Pol Espargaro as a placeholder until Acosta is ready to step up. Think Pedro is a year or two away from MotoGP.
Ducati
Riders signed for 2022 - Pecco Bagnaia
Seats open - 7(!)
Yeesh, where to start! The Ducati situation is a bit of a mess but also one that's really an embarrassment of riches. It particularly comes down to three riders (maybe four) trying to claim two (maybe three) seats - the remaining factory seat and one or maybe both of the Pramac bikes.
With three race wins this year, Enea Bastianini is the hottest young property in MotoGP. He's more or less announced that he's signed to remain with Ducati, the only question is with what team. It seems unlikely he'd remain at Gresini.
A few weeks ago, the strong rumour was that Jorge Martin had a contract in his pocket to take the second factory seat alongside Bagnaia. At worst he'll remain at Pramac.
Miller has been fighting to keep his factory seat but almost seems to have conceded that he's unlikely to keep it by saying that he's content to drop back to the Pramac team and also acknowledging the sense it makes for Ducati with Enea's three wins and his being Italian. The fly in the ointment for Miller is Johann Zarco.
Zarco also has a pair of podium finishes this year and the Pramac boss has publicly declared he wants to keep him next year. I don't know how much it will come down to Ducati themselves who have said they want to hang on to Miller but Pramac have been good at digging their heels in for the rider they want in the past (ironically, Miller). If I were a betting man (I'm not), I'd say Miller is the odd man out and will be KTM mounted next year.
Marco Bezzecchi has been the most impressive rookie so far this year and I'm sure will remain with the VR46 team next year.
His teammate in Luca Marini I don't think will be there next year. Can see him replaced by current VR46 Moto2 frontrunner Celestino Vietti. Think Luca might be WSBK bound.
The other Fabio of the Di Giannantonio variety is improving week by week in his rookie season and will surely keep his seat for next year.
Who takes the second Gresini seat (assuming Bastiannini moves on) is anyone's guess. I'd expect someone from Moto2, maybe an Aron Canet. Perhaps a bit left field, Alex Marquez or Pol Espargaro might be a possibility?
So my 2022 MotoGP grid for next year, based on confirmations, rumour and just some of my own personal preferences:
Monster Yamaha
Fabio Quartararo
Alex Rins
Satellite Yamaha (Crescent?)
Franco Morbidelli
Raul Fernandez
Repsol Honda
Marc Marquez
Joan Mir
LCR Honda
Miguel Oliveira
Ai Ogura
Factory Aprilia
Aleix Espargaro
Maverick Vinales
RNF Aprilia
Aron Canet
Tony Arbolino
Red Bull KTM
Brad Binder
Jack Miller
Tech3 KTM
Remy Gardner
Pol Espargaro
Factory Ducati
Pecco Bagnaia
Jorge Martin
Pramac Ducati
Enea Bastianini
Johann Zarco
VR46 Ducati
Marco Bezzecchi
Celestino Vietti
Gresini Ducati
Fabio Di Giannantonio
Alex Marquez
Interested to hear your thoughts on what you think/would like to see for next year.
- Jan 9, 2004
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Jeepers you are a machine Klynt. One of those two stroke high siding monsters from way back . Great post.
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- Apr 21, 2018
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In other news Finland gets a race again .But the track is so twisty the bikes won’t get out of third gear .! Why a track design like this .
?!
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?!On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
- Jan 9, 2004
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Mugello 
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Temperamental and hard to control?
In other news Finland gets a race again .But the track is so twisty the bikes won’t get out of third gear .! Why a track design like this .
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I reckon it's about the third time they've postponed the Finland GP. Apparently the track still hasn't passed homologation. Hopefully it actually happens one day.
