MotoGP™: emotional maiden MotoGPTM success for Bastianini in Qatar

Gresini Racing MotoGP’s Enea Bastianini converted his trust in his MICHELIN Power Slicks into a resounding victory at Round 1 of the 2022 MotoGPTM World Championship in Qatar. The Italian dedicated his first win at this level to his team’s late founder Fausto Gresini. Brad Brinder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) made it three different bikemakers on the podium to provide early evidence of the versatility of Michelin’s 2022 range.  

After securing second on the grid to notch up his strongest MotoGPTM qualifying performance to date, Bastianini produced a perfectly-paced run to claim the win after changing his tire choice at the last moment.

His late switch to a combination of soft and medium slicks front and rear clearly paid off and also saw the Gresini youngster post the fastest race lap (1m54.338s) on the 17th of the afternoon’s 22 laps, just before taking command by nudging Espargaro off top spot.

He went on to become the 58th grand prix winner on Michelin rubber.

Fully confident in the grip and consistency of his tires, he even shaved more than 10 seconds off the previous shortest race-duration record set by outgoing champion Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) this time last season.

Binder took advantage of an excellent start from seventh on the grid to pocket second spot, chased by Espargaro who led for 17 laps. The latter’s brother Aleix (Aprilia Racing) came fourth to make it four different bike manufacturers in the top four places.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) celebrated his comeback by rounding out the day’s top five, ahead of Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s Joan Mir and Alex Rins. Frenchmen Johan Zarco (Pramac Racing) and Quartararo took the flag in eighth and ninth places.

Pole-winner Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) was sidelined after a tangle with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).

The entire MICHELIN Power Slick range was used during the Qatar weekend but cool conditions (track: 27°C/air: 25°C) prompted the riders to favor the soft and medium options for the grand prix itself, with the podium-finishers all sporting different pairings.

Nest round: Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia (March 18-20).