MotoGP™: Quartararo and Michelin deliver devilish display in Catalonia

Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) produced a masterclass performance to claim an assertive win at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, Round 9 of 2022 MotoGPTM World Championship. Aided by the grip generated by his MICHELIN Power tires in spite of the hot weather that prevailed in the Barcelona region, the defending champion finished more than six seconds clear of Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco.  

Racing on medium MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear, Quartararo got away perfectly from third on the grid to lead after the first of the afternoon’s 24 laps. He then took advantage of his tires’ fast warm-up performance to pull out a seemingly-unassailable gap of more than three seconds at the halfway stage. After that, their consistency and longevity helped him to keep pushing all the way to the flag and collect his second victory of the season by a handsome margin.

Martin and pole-winner Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) entertained spectators with a fine scrap for runner-up honors… That was until the latter eased up with one lap remaining in the belief that the race was over!

Martin and Zarco benefited from the Spaniard’s misdemeanor to move up a position, as did Joan Mir (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) whose outstanding fightback from 17th at the start was rewarded with fourth. Espargaro had to settle for fifth spot.

The day’s top 10 was rounded out by Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), one of only two riders to opt for the soft rear MICHELIN Power Soft, Red Bull KTM Factory’s Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira, and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda).

The heat and notoriously low grip provided by the Spanish venue complicated tire choices, but that didn’t prevent the track-record from being bettered a first time by Espargaro during FP3, then in qualifying by Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), and again by the Aprilia rider, also during the shootout for pole.

The front soft was the only tire spec not to be fitted for the race and two different pairings ultimately featured on the podium, with Martin imitating Quartararo’s pick of mediums all-round, and Zarco going for the hard rear.

The result has taken Quartararo further clear at the top of the provisional Riders’ standings on 147 points, 22 and 53 units clear of Espargaro and Bastianini respectively.

Next round: Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, Sachsenring, Germany June 17-19).