The 2022 MotoGP Round 3 Argentine Grand Prix was a tough result for the Honda team. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), who challenged the final from 4th place in qualifying, was expected to win the podium for the second time this season, following the opening round of the Qatar GP.
In order to meet that expectation, he ran 3rd in the first half from a good start. He was overtaken by Alex Rins (Suzuki) in the middle of the game and dropped to 4th place, but he continued to fight for the podium. However, he suffered a fall at the second corner on lap 15, and was retired.
Although I couldn’t get the podium, I collected a lot of data at this tournament as well. In the next round, the Americas GP, following the opening round of the Qatar GP, he will challenge the podium for the second time this season and Pol Espargaro’s first victory.
Stefan Bradl, who took the place of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who missed this tournament due to a fall during the warm-up on the final day of the previous race in Indonesia, was 19th. Due to the delay in the arrival of the freighter from Indonesia, all the runs on Friday were canceled, and it was a strict condition to challenge the final on Saturday and Sunday. However, there is no doubt that the experience of participating in the actual battle will greatly contribute to machine development, and it was an opportunity to collect valuable data for future machine development.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU), who moved up from 10th in qualifying to 6th in the opening lap, dropped to 11th in the early melee. After that, he formed a group of 10th place fighters with Enea Bastianini (Ducati), Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), Miguel Oliveira (KTM), Jack Miller (Ducati), etc. I couldn’t keep it, so I dropped my position in the group fighting for 10th place and finally finished in 13th place.
Alex Marquez (LCR Honda CASTROL), who challenged the final from 19th place in the qualifying, came into contact with another car in the first corner immediately after the start and dropped the position to 21st place, but then caught up in a fierce line and finished in 15th place. We haven’t been able to race as we expected after finishing three races this year, but we are expected to demonstrate our original performance in the fourth race of the Americas GP.
Marc Marquez, who missed this tournament, has demonstrated overwhelming strength in the fourth round of the Americas GP, which will be a series of battles. It is currently undergoing regular checks by the medical team, and participation in the Americas GP will be decided within a few days.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU)
“I couldn’t catch up after dropping my position during the race. It was a difficult race because I couldn’t keep my pace. But I did my best and finished in 12th place. It’s not a very good result, but I continue to push. I’m looking forward to the Americas GP. “
Alex Marquez (LCR Honda CASTROL)
“It was a difficult weekend. It was a good start, but then suddenly another rider came in contact with me in the first corner and lowered my position. In addition, I didn’t feel good and I couldn’t run with confidence. I had a hard time. It wasn’t the weekend I expected, but I’ll do my best to run better in Austin. The team is doing a very good job. The good point this time is for future races. I want to connect. “
Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team)
“I got off to a good start, but I made a mistake in the first corner. I was a little too aggressive. I made another mistake a few laps later. Those small mistakes affected my position and I couldn’t fight in the previous group. If I hadn’t made a mistake I might have approached Alex (Marquez). This is one of the processes when I suddenly returned to MotoGP, especially this weekend when the schedule changed. It was a tough race because it was one day less. “
Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team)
“I got off to a very good start and got into the top group. I had a good feeling, but I made a mistake and was passed by Rinse. Then I pushed to catch up with him. It was a down weekend, but I was able to move forward in qualifying and I was able to put it together well in the race. Today was a race where I had to finish in 4th place and score points. I fell in the second corner after the lap. I was pushing hard. The potential of this year’s car is very high, but it is not the result I expected to have only 4 points in 2 races. There will be another race soon because it is a series of battles. ”
Category: Category: F1 / MotoGP