The stars are aligning for a very interesting ninth MotoGP run at COTA. The Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas (as it’s known to paying sponsors) features a dizzying number of storylines. Without suggesting the previous eight races at COTA were boring, seven wins by Marc Márquez left some MotoGP fans longing for a changing of the guard at COTA.
Speaking of Márquez, he’s back from an awful high-side practice crash at the Indonesian Grand Prix. Lingering aftereffects include diplopia (the fancy term for double vision), which kept him out of the Argentine Grand Prix. Another concussion might jeopardize his career. Not even Rossi fans want that, for the most part.
Meanwhile, there’s plenty of contenders for the void left by Márquez’ Honda, be it in 2022 or his lackluster 2021 season. Conventional wisdom has Álex Rins on the factory Suzuki trying to repeat as the only other rider to win (2019), while the reigning MotoGP champ Fabio Quartararo will obviously bring it on the factory Yamaha.
Meanwhile, KTM and Aprilia finally joined the fray. Familiar on the track (and occasionally the podium) Aleix Espargaró notched Aprilia’s first MotoGP win in Argentina, while Miguel Oliveira brought KTM a rare victory in Indonesia. To be fair, KTM’s new chassis brought two podiums and a win at Catalunya after its introduction midway through 2021. Aprilia’s first four-stroke era victory comes in only its second year as a factory team. At long last, the Yamaha-Honda-Ducati party officially crashed. Sorry, Suzuki, didn’t see you there.
Speaking of party fouls, the factory Ducati team will continue to make the most of its soon-to-be-banned ride-height device. Similar to its rider-activated “holeshot” mechanism at the start, this new device lowers the center of gravity upon corner entry. Regardless, Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia will look to finish strong in the points, despite reverting to the 2021 engine for the rest of the season. Apparently, the 2022 mill was a bit, um, “abrupt” with power delivery.
Curious how the 2022 Ducati engine fares this season? Watch the factory-backed Pramac Racing team of Johann Zarco and Jorge Martín. Enea Bastianini took the checker at Qatar aboard the Gresini team Ducati, but they’re running a 2021 engine. Fun fact: Martín took pole at Qatar this year. COTA is a horsepower track, so why not Ducati?
Unconventional wisdom? Some chatter has surrounded “The Professor,” aka Andrea Dovizioso. Call it wishful thinking, but the likable rider (and perennial championship runner-up) caught on with the WithU Yamaha RNF team after falling out with Ducati in 2020 and a surprise call-up to the Petronas Yamaha (rebranded as WithU Yamaha RNF) team in 2021. A win or strong showing at COTA will cement the comeback, though it’s fair to wonder if “Desmo Dovi” can transition his talents to Yamaha.
Yeehaw, you heard it here first.
Source: MotorCyclistOnline.com