The 2022 Thai GP, which saw MotoGP return to the Land of Smiles for the first time in three years, will go down as a pivotal race in the 2022 MotoGP World Championship. After a delay of almost an hour, due to heavy rainfall, the race finally got underway after the track cleared up enough to race. As was the case in the Indonesian GP, Miguel Oliveira dominated this race in mixed conditions and took the win. Factory Ducati duo, Miller and Bagnaia, completed the podium, with the latter reducing his deficit to the world championship leader, Fabio Quartararo, to just two points.
Oliveira charges through the field from 11th to take the win
Bagnaia third, cuts title deficit to just two points
Marquez takes another top 5 finish
Quartararo’s loss is Bagnaia’s gain
Fabio Quartararo, who started from fourth on the grid, was not able to keep up the same pace in the mixed conditions present throughout the race and ultimately crossed the finish line in 17th place, scoring no points. Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia capitalised on this, finishing third and cutting his deficit to the current world champion down to just two points.
A hard-charging Miguel Oliveira emerged victorious, after starting from 11th on the grid. Alex Marquez was the other surprise rider of the race, starting a distant 20th and crossing the chequered flag in eighth place. Jack Miller, who looked on course to take a back-to-back win, had to settle for second place after he started seventh on the grid and fought tooth and nail with Oliveira.
Aprilia Racing rider and championship contender, A. Espargaro made contact with Brad Binder, which handed him a long-lap penalty. The result was that the lead Aprilia rider in the standings crossed the finish line 11th but was still able to gain five points to the championship leader, Fabio Quartararo.
2022 MotoGP championship standings
Fabio Quartararo’s luckless and points-less 17th-place finish saw his title rivals claw back some ground, more so in the case of Bagnaia. Bagnaia’s third-place finish saw him cut his title deficit to just two points. Despite finishing a distant 11th, Aprilia Racing rider Aleix Espargaro is still very much in the title hunt, with three races and 75 points up for grabs.
For its next race, MotoGP will head to the Phillip Island Circuit in Australia, set to be held on October 17.
2022 Thai GP results
2022 Thai GP results | ||
---|---|---|
Position | Rider | Team |
1 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM |
2 | Jack Miller | Ducati Lenovo |
3 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo |
4 | Johann Zarco | Pramac Ducati |
5 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda |
6 | Enea Bastianini | Gresini Ducati |
7 | Maverick Vinales | Aprilia Racing |
8 | Alex Marquez | LCR Honda |
9 | Jorge Martin | Pramac Ducati |
10 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM |
11 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia Racing |
12 | Alex Rins | Suzuki |
13 | Franco Morbidelli | Monster Energy Yamaha |
14 | Pol Espargaro | Repsol Honda |
15 | Raul Fernandez | Tech3 KTM |
16 | Marco Bezzecchi | VR46 Ducati |
17 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Energy Yamaha |
18 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Gresini Ducati |
19 | Cal Crutchlow | WithU Yamaha |
20 | Danilo Petrucci | Suzuki |
21 | Darryn Binder | WithU Yamaha |
22 | Tetsuta Nagashima | LCR Honda |
23 | Luca Marini | VR46 Ducati |
NC | Remy Gardner | Tech3 KTM |