2022 MotoGP Round 3 Argentina GP is a two-day schedule
from April 1st (Friday) to April 3rd (Sunday), and is located about 1,200km northwest of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.・ It will be held at Termas de Rio Ondo. The tournament has been canceled due to the corona wreck for the past two years, and this year will be the seventh time for the first time in three years.
Termas de Rio Ondo is known as a hot spring resort, located about 65 km from Santiago del Estero, the capital of the state of Santiago del Estero. You can also enjoy a magnificent view of the Andes from this circuit.
The Autodromo Termas de Rio Ondo was completed in 2008. After that, a major renovation was carried out in 2013, and in August of the same year, the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), which was the first world championship, was held, and in 2014, the road race world championship was held for the first time at this circuit. ..
Termas de Rio Ondo is a small town with a population of 25,000, but the Argentine Grand Prix has been packed with fans and has grown into one of the country’s biggest events, contributing to local economic development. The capacity of the circuit stand is about 60,000. It has grown into a tournament that attracts more than 160,000 people in total for three days, and it has become a tournament where full fans always fill the stand throughout Race Week. This year, the first time in three years, advance sales are also strong, and it is expected that fans will gather to surpass the 19th tournament.
The start of the Argentine Grand Prix was first held in 1961 at Outdromo Oscar Galves, a suburb of Buenos Aires, and was held intermittently 10 times until 1999. This is the 7th time this year since the stage was moved to Termas de Rio Ondo in 2014, and the Argentine Grand Prix will be held for the 17th time in total.
The Autodromo Termas de Rio Ondo is a 4.806km course built on almost flat land. The main straight is as long as 1.076km, and it has a simple layout with medium and high speed corners. At the same circuit, Honda have won 4 wins in the past 6 tournaments. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) won the championship in 2014, 16 and 19 and Cal Crutchlow (then LCR Honda CASTROL) won in 2018. In addition, Cal Crutchlow (both 3rd) was on the podium in 2015 and 2017 when Honda could not win the championship, and Honda has achieved excellent results on the same circuit.
This year, the first tournament in three years, Marc Marquez, who has won the past three wins, will unfortunately miss this tournament due to a fall during the morning warm-up run of the previous Indonesian GP. Marc Marquez missed two races at the end of last season due to a fall during off-road training due to a visual impairment, and tried to treat him during the off-season. This year, he finished 5th in the opening round of the Qatar GP. He was expected to win the second round of the Indonesian GP for the first time this season, but he couldn’t get the best out of his tires and suffered a fall during the morning warm-up. I decided. Test rider Stefan Bradl will take the place.
Bradl has done important work in many competitions as a substitute for Marc Marquez during the 20-21 season. In addition, he finished 7th in the Portuguese Grand Prix in 20 years and 8th in the French Grand Prix, which is a wonderful result that I can not think of as a test rider. Termas de Rio Ondo, which will be held for the first time in three years, will be held for the first time since 2016, but in 2014 when it was held for the first time, it participated in the LCR Honda MotoGP and finished 5th and 7th in 2016. I’m leaving. This tournament is also expected to do a great job as a substitute for Marc Marquez.
The Repsol Honda Team, which will be the first Argentine Grand Prix after transferring to Honda, is aiming for the second podium and first victory of the season. In the Argentine Grand Prix, he has participated in the past 6 tournaments and has definitely achieved points in 6th place in 2016.
This year, he has been doing well since the winter test, winning the podium in 3rd place in the opening round of the Qatar GP and finishing 12th in the rain race in the 2nd round of the Indonesian GP. The Indonesian GP struggled because it was unable to bring out the performance of the tires in the free practice and qualifying, which were in dry conditions. He was in wet conditions in the final and was forced into a tough fight from the tough grid of 15th (16th in qualifying). Termas de Rio Ondo is a circuit that goes well with Honda. The previous Indonesian GP could not reflect the good results of the winter test in the final, but this tournament is expected to win the long-awaited first victory.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU), who has been competing in the MotoGP class since 2018, will celebrate his third tournament at Termas de Rio Ondo. In 2018, when he made his debut, he was 13th, but in 19 he finished in 7th, which was his best result so far. I haven’t been able to run due to the corona for the past two years, but I am aiming for the long-awaited first podium at the tournament in the same area where I commented that I liked the course. This season, he finished 10th in the opening round of the Qatar GP. The second round Indonesian GP struggled with the wet race and finished in 19th place, but I expect it to come back to this tournament.
Alex Marquez (LCR Honda CASTROL), who is celebrating his third season in the MotoGP class, will be the first to run the circuit on the RC213V. In 2014, when it was held for the first time, he won the podium in 2nd place in the Moto3 class. In the Moto2 class, he was on the podium in 3rd place in 19 when he won the championship. Alex Marquez finished in 13th place in the opening round of the Qatar GP with a fall retirement and the rainy second round of the Indonesian GP. In the first two races, the good run of the winter test could not be linked to the result, but Termas de Rio Ondo aims for the first podium and the first victory of the season only in one of the circuits that he is good at.
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Round 3 Argentine GP started on April 1st (Friday) at Termas de Rio Ondo, but two cargo flights equipped with equipment from the previous round Indonesia GP were on schedule due to aircraft failure. I couldn’t arrive at the site and the free run on the first day was cancelled.
Dorna Sports, which manages the Grand Prix, has made every effort to catch up with the delay. Initially, the cargo flight, which was delayed due to an aircraft failure, was scheduled to arrive on Thursday, March 31, the day before the opening, but finally at midnight on April 1, Tucuman Airport near Termas de Rio Ondo. All free runs scheduled for the 1st were canceled.
Both the Repsol Honda Team and the LCR Honda team arrived on schedule, but the machines and parts have not arrived. Waiting for the team to finish preparations, this tournament will be a two-day system on Saturday and Sunday. rice field.
On Saturday, April 2nd, two free practice sessions and qualifying Q1 and Q2 will be held in the MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 classes. On Sunday, April 3rd, warm-ups and final races will be held as usual.
In addition, Takaaki Nakagami of LCR Honda IDEMITSU, who was positive in the PCR test for the new coronavirus before the tournament and was announced to be absent from this tournament, confirmed negative in the retest on March 31st. She will enter the field on April 1st (Friday) and will participate in this tournament.
Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team)
“We look forward to the end of the difficult weekend in Indonesia and our season is back in the right direction. Indonesia is already a thing of the past, so we are looking to the future. Close to the top of the championship. So the goal is to organize the weekend as well as Qatar. Argentina has had stable results in the past. We know the power of Honda this year. We will continue to work and reach our potential. It’s time to do it. “
Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team)
“I hope Marc recovers quickly. Until then, I’ll do my best for the Honda HRC and Repsol Honda Team to replace him. I’ve already tested several times this year, so the new Honda I’m used to the RC213V, but the situation is different for MotoGP Race Week. I have good memories in Argentina. I was 5th in 2014 and 7th in 2016 when I last raced. Team and Race Week I want to make a plan. I think it will be a busy weekend. “
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda IDEMITSU)
“I’m very happy to be in Argentina for the first time in three years, and I’m very excited. 2018 and 2019 were pretty fast and I was able to get good results. Honda’s car I’ve had a very strong race at Termas de Rio Ondo so far, but I think this year’s car has even more potential than before. I’ll do my best as usual and spend a lifetime with the team for three days. We will work hard and push. I hope we can have a good race in Argentina. “
Alex Marquez (LCR Honda CASTROL)
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