Ducati came into the 2022 MotoGP season as strong favourite and duly won the Qatar Grand Prix opener.
But that victory came with its old-spec bike, Enea Bastianini and Gresini Racing, as the factory Ducatis had an absolutely horrible time.
Host Toby Moody is joined by Simon Patterson and Matt Beer as The Race MotoGP Podcast tackles all the storylines from Lusail – as the circuit name’s now officially spelt to mirror the nearby city and stadium.
With Gresini having not won since 2006, lost its founder Fausto Gresini to COVID last year and only just returned to racing under its own identity in MotoGP after seven seasons running Aprilia’s works project, Bastianini’s win was hugely emotional. We debate whether it’s the start of something big or a romantic one-off.
As the underdogs won, plenty of big names had things to rue. We delve into Ducati’s extraordinary apology to Pecco Bagnaia, Suzuki’s failure to convert its pace into results, the ongoing misery at Yamaha and the odd sight of Marc Marquez being beaten by a team-mate.
And we celebrate more of the unexpected successes too, from Brad Binder and KTM coming close to victory to Aprilia and Aleix Espargaro looking so at home at the front.
To find the show on your favourite podcast platform, search for ‘The Race MotoGP Podcast’.
– Listen on Apple Podcasts
– Listen on Spotify
