MotoGP 2022
Focus on Honda
The 2022 MotoGP season was contested over a record-setting 20 rounds and Honda fielded four 2022 model RC213Vs. The Repsol Honda Team had no changes to its riders since the previous season. Marc Marquez, recovering from injury, aimed to make a major comeback. His team-mate was Pol Espargaro. The lone Japanese MotoGP rider Takaaki Nakagami rode for LCR Honda IDEMITSU, and Alex Marquez represented LCR Honda CASTROL.
Honda riders had shown good form in pre-season tests, with Espargaro setting the fastest time. In the opening round of the season, the Qatar GP, Marc Marquez qualified third and Espargaro sixth. In the race, Espargaro got a good start and took the lead, which he kept until midway. He lost pace towards the end and gave up the lead, but was able to finish on the podium in third place. Marc Marquez finished fifth, and it looked as if the Repsol Honda Team was off to a good start and would continue to improve on their poor showing from last year.
The second round, the Indonesian GP was held at the Mandalika Circuit, the first time the track hosted a MotoGP event. Although Honda riders performed well at the test held at the circuit in February, they struggled in the race due to unstable weather conditions, with Espargaro finishing 12th. Marc Marquez suffered four crashes in free practice and Qualifying, and missed the race. He also missed the following round in Argentina, where test rider Stefan Bradl stood in.
Marc Marquez returned for Round 4, the Americas GP, a race he had won seven out of eight times before. He had trouble at the start of the race and dropped to last place, but from there, a stunning performance took him up to sixth place by the checkered flag. His performance, a display of peak Marquez magic, thrilled the American fans.
In Round 6, Spain, Marc Marquez finished fourth in a close battle for the podium. Nakagami had been out of the top 10 since the season opener, but he finished seventh in both the Spanish GP and the following round, the French GP.
Marc Marquez had been conscious of the condition of his right humerus, which he broke in 2020, but on May 28 at the Italian GP, he announced that he would be undergoing a fourth surgery and withdrew from the race. From Round 9 in Catalunya, Bradl would take his place.
With the departure of Marc Marquez, Honda’s difficulties became more apparent. In Round 10, Germany, injuries from crashes and heat problems with the bikes led to a string of retirements, and Bradl was the only one to finish the race, in 16th place.
Honda continued to struggle, but in Round 15, Aragon, Marc Marquez made his comeback. He started well in the race, moving up from 13th to around sixth position, but on the first lap he collided with Fabio Cuartararo (Yahama) and Nakagami in succession, causing all three riders to retire from the race, and Nakagami injured his right hand.
The Japanese GP was held at Honda’s home track, Mobility Resort Motegi, for the first time in three years. HRC test rider Tetsuta Nagashima made his MotoGP class debut in this event as a wild card entry.
In the wet qualifying session, Marc Marquez, in only his second race back, surprised Japanese fans by taking his first pole position in three years. In the dry qualifying session, he had more stress on his right arm, but still managed to finish fourth.
Nakagami, in his home Grand Prix, finished in 20th place despite enduring pain in his right hand from his crash in the Aragon GP. His injury worsened and he was forced to sit out the 17th round in Thailand onwards, while Nagashima, who started 19th on the grid, finished his debut race DNF.
Marc Marquez finished 5th in the Thai GP. In the 18th round in Australia, he qualified 2nd in dry conditions and battled with the lead group during the race to finish second. This was his 100th podium finish in the premier class, a result that gave hope to Honda, which had been struggling all season.
Nakagami returned to the track for the 20th and final round in Valencia. In Qualifying, Marc Marquez was second fastest, his third consecutive front row start, but in the race he crashed and retired, while Espargaro and Alex Marquez, in their last race with Honda, also crashed, leaving only Nakagami in 14th place to score points. The bitter end to the race seemingly symbolised the whole disappointing season for Honda.
In the end, Marc Marquez finished the season 13th overall with one pole and one podium, despite missing seven races. Espargaro, while on the podium in the opening round, continued to struggle, finishing 16th overall.
Alex Marquez finished the season 17th overall and Nakagami 18th. Nagashima, who was a wild-card entry for the Japan GP and a substitute for the three races that Nakagami missed, did not score any points, but he brought back a lot of data to the team as a test rider.
After strong pre-season tests and season opener results, Honda had a difficult season and did not win a race in 2022.
Next season, Honda aims to rebuild its MotoGP force with Repsol Honda Team welcoming 2020 champion Joan Mir, and Alex Rins joining LCR Honda CASTROL.
