MotoGP 2022 – Round Three
Argentina – Quotes
Aleix Espargaro – P1
“I’m very proud of this milestone we’ve reached. We tackled a long path to get here, but we’ve finally done it! It was a fantastic weekend, but it wasn’t a simple race. In practice I was extremely fast, as well as in the warm-up session, but in the race I struggled a bit with a lack of grip. I didn’t lose heart. I tried changing the electronic settings several times to overcome these problems and, in the end, I managed to improve. I was faster than Martín by a few tenths, but it wasn’t at all easy to overtake him, partly because it was a new situation for me. I had never been in the position to battle for a win in MotoGP. It was truly exciting, especially the last lap. I am extremely happy for Aprilia, for me, and for my family. We deserve it. I would like to thank again all the team, who is working hard in Noale and the Piaggio Group for the support. Now we’re leading in the championship, but we’ll just try to take advantage of this positive moment, continuing to have fun and keeping our feet planted firmly on the ground.”
Jorge Martin – P2
“P2 babyyyy! We start building from here! Thanks Pramac Racing. Congrats to my friend, brother and inspiration Aleix Espargaro. I love you.”
Alex Rins – P3
“I’m so happy to get third and be back on the podium, especially here in Argentina. This is a great result, but I need to qualify better to give myself more chances. It wasn’t an easy race, because the level of all the riders is so high and you have to stay calm and make clean passes. In the end I was close to the top two riders, but it wasn’t quite possible. But third feels great and I’m excited to go to Austin with a clear mind and try to repeat my performance – it’s another track I like!”
Joan Mir – P4
“My start was good, but on the first couple of laps I couldn’t manage to do many overtakes. I started more or less in the middle of the grid, which isn’t the best place to be; because if you’re on either side you have a few more opportunities to overtake on the first corners. But anyway, the race has been good, I was able to be consistent, and I could show nice pace. On the last laps I had the impression that I was strong, my feelings were great, and this is the most important thing. We move to Austin now, and we’ll try to make another step with the bike and setup, even if that track doesn’t suit my style very well I will try to be competitive and keep building before we get to Europe.”
Pecco Bagnaia – P5
“Starting so far back, the goal today was to finish in the top five, and we did it, so I’m pretty satisfied. This morning we had a 40-minute warm-up during which we made a change that helped me in the race, and I was able to find the same feeling I had last year with the bike, which makes me happy. Hopefully, I can finally turn my season around and keep up with the momentum next race weekend in Texas.”
Brad Binder – P6
“It was a weekend where I expected more but we have to keep in mind that we started in 11th position and managed 6th, so it was a decent comeback. I wanted more and I expected more but I didn’t have the pace today. Hats-off to the team because it was not an easy GP and we all did a great job considering we only had Saturday to prepare. We have some good points in the bag and brought the bike home again. There is an opportunity now to apply what I learned from this race and go even better at COTA.”
Maverick Vinales – P7
“Today’s result was a great one for all of us. I’m extremely happy for the entire team and for Aleix. We worked hard over the winter and we deserve it. I knew that Aleix could win because in practice he had demonstrated something more than all the rest. We were all hoping hard because this win is extremely important and it’s a great confidence booster for everyone. As for my race, I found myself battling with a lot of rivals, losing time with passes and counter-passes, and that also had an impact on the tyres. But I can’t complain. It’s great to be back in the top ten, especially because I think I could have finished even better. Plus, my pace in the race improved a lot and I found a good base feeling with the bike. In this race, we were seeking confirmation after the changes to the settings that we tried in the warm-up session in Indonesia, and we got it, so now I’m convinced that we’ll be able to improve even more from here on out.”
Fabio Quartararo – P8
“The big issue was rear grip and top speed. We already knew about the top speed, but the lack of rear grip was surprising. The first few laps were a nightmare – I was losing positions. As soon as there was more rubber on the track, it was better. But overtaking was really difficult. I did my best, but I used my rear tyre more than expected, and I finished in eighth position. It’s frustrating because I didn’t make any big mistakes. I was just losing out because of the lack of grip. Let’s see if we can find more grip in Austin.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P9
“I’m happy, I didn’t expect such a race! A pity for the first corner, I went wide and lost a lot. Then I managed the tire well, I did several overtakings and I was strong and consistent, the key of the weekend. Thanks to the whole Team, they really gave everything in these days and then to Valentino and to the Academy.”
Enea Bastianini – P10
“We’re not satisfied with how today went. We were not comfortable with the bike, and we lost the good feeling we had in the warm up this morning. We really didn’t understand this race well. I did have a decent pace, but I was too often at the limit. Maybe with a more ‘traditional’ weekend we may have had a few more options, but the goal was vey different. We had too many issues with the rear-end of the bike. We scored a few points, so let’s think positive and look forward to Texas.”
Luca Marini – P11
“I had a good start: from the first laps I had no rear grip, something I could already see in the data from yesterday and even today in the warm up in the pace. I gave my all to stay with the group, I was very strong at the beginning in braking, then with the drop in the tire I struggled more. We were really strong in braking in the entry of the corner, we took care of this detail a lot while I was not 100 per cent in the middle and in exit. I also lose a lot in acceleration, which is something to work on in Austin. Overall a positive weekend, we brought home the best possible result.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P12
“During the race I dropped positions and I couldn’t recover them. It was difficult as I couldn’t keep my pace, but I gave my best and P12 is what we finished – it’s not the best, but we’ll keep pushing and I’m looking forward to the America GP.”
Miguel Oliveira – P13
“Obviously the position is not the one we envisioned but it was a tough race to manage. We had very low grip levels and clearly I did not feel as fast as I did in the practice but I was still able to score some points to the team. I think we can do a bit better in Texas. We will keep working on the bike, working on our weak points and make the most out of the package and myself.”
Jack Miller – P14
“It was definitely a frustrating race because I couldn’t make a single overtake, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the right feeling to attack today. It was an unusual weekend: this morning, we made a change that took us in the wrong direction, and I struggled a lot in the race. We know what we need to work on to improve, so now we’ll try to learn from this and come back stronger for the next race in America.”
Álex Márquez – P15
“It was a difficult weekend for us – we started quite good but we struggled in the race and especially in qualifying. I did my best and tried to make a good start, then suddenly in the first corner I got touched by another rider, which lost me some places. In the race I didn’t feel confident or good, so I struggled. We need to improve and we need to keep going. This was not the weekend we expected or hoped for, so I will try to be much better in Austin and give all the information to HRC. The team is working really good – I’m sure we will take some profit from this in the next few races.”
Raul Fernandez – P16
“Today I had an amazing start to the race, especially a great first curve. Then when I saw Miguel (Oliveira), I told myself that I had to stay with him in order to learn from him and our bikes. The first part of the race, I did some mistakes that cost me a loss of time, and towards laps 6-7, I took a deep breathe and tried to remain calm, focus, and continue with the pace I had, and give it my all. Today, I learned how to do a MotoGP race, I did a clever race, and I am very happy about it, and with the work that the team did. Thank you to them. We must not forget that it is also only my second race here in Argentina, so if you weight everything together, I am very happy.”
Remy Gardner – P17
“I did enjoy the first part of the race, I stayed close to the group and had some nice battles with a couple of riders. I struggled more during the second half unfortunately. I am feeling my progress, but everyone is improving too, so I have to stay positive and continue to work for myself and learn the bike. I take each race one by one and don’t look too far. I enjoy a lot Termas de Rio Hondo, I have always had good results, so I thought today might have been the turning point for me, but it was not unfortunately so it is a bit tough to accept. I stay positive, and results will come.”
Darryn Binder – P18
“I was really happy with how things went this morning. I felt like I made a good step in Warm Up, but unfortunately in the race, I wasn’t able to keep the same feeling. It was a really difficult race for me. I tried everything to keep a good rhythm and stay with the guys, but at the end of the race I was really struggling to keep the same pace as the other guys. I felt like the conditions were really different compared to this morning and the bike behaved a bit different. Anyway, it was a good learning experience, I take the positives and move on to America.”
Stefan Bradl – P19
“I had a good start to the race but made a mistake into Turn One, I was a bit too aggressive and then made another mistake a few laps later. Small mistakes which in the end cost us some positions and stopped me staying in the group ahead to fight for something more, closer to Alex probably. This is all part of the process when you jump back into MotoGP, and it was especially tough this weekend with the schedule and one less day.”
Andrea Dovizioso – P22
“I’m very disappointed, this never happened to me. I did a mistake and forgot to unlock the front start device. I locked it, but didn’t move the lever, I need to move to unload on the first corner. I didn’t think about that and though everything was blocked, but when I stopped in the pit-lane, I realised, that this was my fault. I’m really sorry to the team, because this is something, that doesn’t need to happen, but it happens when you are not relaxed. I’m not comfortable, I’m not riding in a smooth way, not using the best potential of the bike and this is the tension. You want to do everything at the maximum from the start and I did this mistake. At least, my pace was pretty good in the end, but in any case, I can’t be happy about this weekend. I hope we can be closer in Austin.”
Pol Espargaro – DNF
“The race started quite well, I had a good launch and I was in the front group. I was feeling good but a mistake allowed Rins to get through on me, then I recovered and was pushing to catch him and leading two. We had an up and down weekend, but we made a good step in Qualifying and then we were putting together a good race, it’s a race that I should have finished because even fourth was quite good points. Then a few laps later I fell at Turn 2, I was pushing very hard to improve and it’s a shame that we crashed. Our potential this year is really high and to take only four points in two races is not what we are here to do. Fortunately we can go again in a week.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio – DNF
“It wasn’t a positive weekend. We had very little track-time and unfortunately, I ended up crashing out of the race with a few kms left to ride. It was a difficult moment, in a very fast corner. Fortunately, I got away with a few scratches and a hit in the abdominal area – without major consequences. Obviously, we were aiming at a different result and a more normal weekend, but we need to keep our heads down and keep working.”
Franco Morbidelli – DNF
“I had a tyre puncture and needed to stop. That’s unfortunate… We were not in a great position, but we were catching up. I felt that this morning I made a good step with the bike, so I would have been able to catch up, but then I had a puncture and had to stop.”
Team Managers
Livio Suppo – Suzuki Team Manager
“It’s been a very positive weekend. Our riders and our bike confirmed their high level of performance. I’m super happy to see Alex on the podium, the first of the season and Joan also did a great job – really close to the podium as well. We’ll aim to keep this momentum and go to Austin with confidence where we’ll continue fighting. I feel very proud that we’re leading the Teams’ Championship, it’s a good start for now.”
Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager
“It’s been a strange weekend; very busy for everybody due to the cancellation of Friday and a very busy Saturday. We were able to manage it well and achieve third and fourth, our riders were strong and fast and we’re happy about this. After today’s race we have moved into the lead of the Teams’ Championship and this is another nice boost for us as we continue our work. We have Texas next week and then the European part of the season starts, so we need to keep our concentration. I’d like to pass on my congratulations to Aleix and Aprilia for their victory today.”
Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Team Manager
“A pretty good day. We knew starting from the fourth and six rows that it would be a tough race but we recovered positions and Brad was very consistent to regain ground. His condition was very good, especially because he was in close company for a long time. We missed the good lap-times on Saturday: the positions might have been better. Miguel had problems with rear grip but still took some points for his championship tally. We’ll still go confident to USA expecting to be competitive again.”
Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager
“We were finally able to race here in Argentina and I have to admit that it was a great show. It is only our third race with Raul and Remy in the MotoGP class. We have a 25-second gap with the winner, which is basically 1 second per lap, and it is clearly the smallest gap we have had since the start of the season.
“They were both able to have good battles with much more experienced riders. We obviously did not have good grid positions, so we were not expecting for Top 10 positions, but we were dreaming to score a point at least. Raul finished in P16, which is so close to the goal, but anyway I am happy with the race.
“Both riders did a great job, they pushed all weekend long because it was a tough one with the change of schedule. Now it is time to head to Austin in Texas for the last of the four races overseas, and take even more race experience. Raul and Remy will arrive in Europe with four difficult races under their belts, so I am sure that the season will really start in Portimao for us.
“Thank you to the riders, and a special thank you to the entire crew. With the delay of the freight, they did not get much sleep, did not eat at lot, and worked all night from Friday to Saturday to make sure that the show was able to go on. Without them, this race would not have been possible, so I want to thank them all. Let’s go to Texas!”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“It was a difficult race. It was definitely not what we expected and in some way we also had bad luck with Franco getting a tyre puncture, ending his race early. With Fabio we suffered from the fact that the track conditions were less grippy than before. This was especially noticeable at the beginning of the race, which cost Fabio a lot of positions. After that it was very difficult for him to manage the race. Overtaking in this kind of situation is complicated, but Fabio still salvaged some important points. Now we go to COTA, which is a completely different track that suits our bike better.”
Razlan Razali – Team Principal WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team
“Today’s race was definitely not an easy one for both our riders. Andrea continued to face some technical difficulties. This time it’s more to rider error with his front start device. He had to come in to get it fixed, so his race was basically over. But I’m sure he gave valuable data just to finish the race. While Darryn had some grip issues, but it was a great experience for him to be fighting with the other rookies again. The reduction of one day over the weekend definitely didn’t help our rookie this weekend, missing one day of practice, which is crucial for him to understand the bike better. For us the only way is to learn from this weekend and understand how the race went for both riders, to learn and do better for Austin next week.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team
“It was a very challenging day. Andrea started and actually forgot to pull his front start device handle back to the position that it should be, because then you can unlock the front, so he couldn’t do that and it stayed completely down. In the pit-lane, we can’t make that force to unlock it easily, as it needs speed and forces, so we struggled to unlock it. But he directly realised that he forgot to flip the lever. So, that was his race.
Of course, we had our hopes as well for Darryn doing a good race, because he did well in the morning. He was actually doing a good job, but he was disappointed, because he said the grip level in the race was much lower than during the Warm Up. Of course, the track temperature was much higher and he struggled to ride the bike like he did in the morning. I think, he did quite a good job, of course he expected a bit more, as he was feeling so well in the Warm Up. P18 for a rookie is not bad, although he was hoping for one point. Anyway, he brought the bike back home, fought with many riders and even passed Remy (Gardner) two or three times again in the last lap. Now we are packing up, looking forward to Austin.”
Piero Taramasso – Michelin Two-Wheel Motorsport Manager
“This was an interesting weekend for a number of reasons, not least because of the challenge for our team of setting up our equipment overnight on Friday and fitting all of the tyres normally used over a two-day period, in just one day. I’m very pleased to say that our guys were up to the challenge and their commitment and professionalism was clearly demonstrated, and they were no doubt further motivated by the fact that this was the Michelin Grand Prix of Argentina.
“Despite having not raced here in Argentina since 2019, the performance of our tyre allocation was very good on this low-grip Termas track surface. In addition to the race result, in FP1 less than a second covered the top 19 riders, and in FP2 the top 17 riders were separated by the same time, with six different constructors in the top six places in FP1, and five in the top six places in FP2. This meant the fans were treated to a great two days of closely fought action on track, and I think they were certainly not disappointed. Finally, I would just like to say congratulations to Aprilia and Aleix for this emotional result at the Michelin Grand Prix.”
Argentina MotoGP Race Results
| Pos | Rider | Nation | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | APRILIA | 41m36.198 |
| 2 | Jorge MARTIN | SPA | DUCATI | +0.807 |
| 3 | Alex RINS | SPA | SUZUKI | +1.330 |
| 4 | Joan MIR | SPA | SUZUKI | +1.831 |
| 5 | Francesco BAGNAIA | ITA | DUCATI | +5.840 |
| 6 | Brad BINDER | RSA | KTM | +6.192 |
| 7 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | APRILIA | +6.540 |
| 8 | Fabio QUARTARARO | FRA | YAMAHA | +10.215 |
| 9 | Marco BEZZECCHI | ITA | DUCATI | +12.622 |
| 10 | Enea BASTIANINI | ITA | DUCATI | +12.987 |
| 11 | Luca MARINI | ITA | DUCATI | +13.962 |
| 12 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | HONDA | +14.002 |
| 13 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | POR | KTM | +14.456 |
| 14 | Jack MILLER | AUS | DUCATI | +14.898 |
| 15 | Alex MARQUEZ | SPA | HONDA | +23.472 |
| 16 | Raul FERNANDEZ | SPA | KTM | +25.862 |
| 17 | Remy GARDNER | AUS | KTM | +28.711 |
| 18 | Darryn BINDER | RSA | YAMAHA | +28.784 |
| 19 | Stefan BRADL | GER | HONDA | +31.943 |
| 20 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | YAMAHA | +3 laps |
| Not Classified | ||||
| DNF | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO ITA | ITA | DUCATI | 3 laps |
| DNF | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | HONDA | 11 laps |
| DNF | Franco MORBIDELLI | ITA | YAMAHA | 18 laps |
| DNF | Johann ZARCO | FRA | DUCATI | 20 laps |
MotoGP Championship Points Standings
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Points |
| 1 | ESPARGARO Aleix | SPA | 45 |
| 2 | BINDER Brad | RSA | 38 |
| 3 | BASTIANINI Enea | ITA | 36 |
| 4 | RINS Alex | SPA | 36 |
| 5 | QUARTARARO Fabio | FRA | 35 |
| 6 | MIR Joan | SPA | 33 |
| 7 | OLIVEIRA Miguel | POR | 28 |
| 8 | ZARCO Johann | FRA | 24 |
| 9 | MARTIN Jorge | SPA | 20 |
| 10 | ESPARGARO Pol | SPA | 20 |
| 11 | MILLER Jack | AUS | 15 |
| 12 | MORBIDELLI Franco | ITA | 14 |
| 13 | VIÑALES Maverick | SPA | 13 |
| 14 | BAGNAIA Francesco | ITA | 12 |
| 15 | MARQUEZ Marc | SPA | 11 |
| 16 | NAKAGAMI Takaaki | JPN | 10 |
| 17 | MARINI Luca | ITA | 10 |
| 18 | BEZZECCHI Marco | ITA | 7 |
| 19 | BINDER Darryn | RSA | 6 |
| 20 | MARQUEZ Alex | SPA | 4 |
| 21 | DOVIZIOSO Andrea | ITA | 2 |
| 22 | GARDNER Remy | AUS | 1 |
