Theoretically, six titles could be awarded early on the Australian weekend of the 2022 World Motorcycle Championship – Here are the respective starting positions
This coming weekend (14-16 October), the Motorcycle World Championship with its MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 classes will hold its first Australian Grand Prix in three years. At the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday, six world championship decisions can be made early. The riders’ title in the premier class MotoGP, however, is not one of them.
While the battle for the MotoGP riders’ title is tight – with five riders within 40 points of each other with three races to go – the MotoGP teams’ title can be decided at Phillip Island. The Ducati factory team enters the race with a 75-point lead over the Aprilia factory team. Because in the team classification (unlike in the manufacturers’ classification) the results of both riders of a team are counted together, there are still 90 points to be awarded after the Australian weekend.
This means that if the two Ducati riders Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller together score so many points on Sunday at Phillip Island that they distance the Aprilia riders Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales by a further 16 or more points, the Ducati squad will also be assured of the team title. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, where only the best individual result at each race counts, Ducati has already wrapped up the title in mid-September at MotorLand Aragon.
Another title that can be awarded early in the premier class on the Australian weekend is that of the best MotoGP rookie of the year in terms of points. Marco Bezzecchi (VR46-Ducati), the leader of the rookie classification, is on the verge of winning the title. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini-Ducati) is already 57 points behind. This means that even if “Diggia” scores six more points than “Bez” on Sunday, Bezzecchi is already assured of the rookie title two races before the end of the season.
And two more titles can already be awarded in the MotoGP field in Australia. These are the rider with the most points in a satellite team and the satellite team with the most points. In the rider standings of the MotoGP satellite teams, Enea Bastianini (Gresini-Ducati) has a 29-point lead over Johann Zarco (Pramac-Ducati). However, the fact that the decision will already be made on Sunday would only be possible if Bastianini pulls away from Zarco by another 21 or more points. That means Bastianini would have to win the race.
Things are a little closer in the team classification of the MotoGP satellite teams. Here the signs are reversed. Pramac-Ducati has a 75-point lead over Gresini-Ducati. If the two Pramac riders Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin put another 16 or more points between themselves and the two Gresini riders Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio on Sunday, then the Pramac team will already be set as the best satellite team of the year in terms of points in Australia.
Aside from the four title scenarios in the MotoGP class, there are two title scenarios in the Moto3 class that can be decided on the Australian weekend. These are the Moto3 riders’ title and the Moto3 team title.
In the Moto3 riders’ standings, Izan Guevara (Aspar-GasGas) has a 49-point lead over Dennis Foggia (Leopard-Honda). This means that Guevara is only two points short of the World Championship title. If the Spaniard scores two or more points more than his Italian rival at Phillip Island, he is already assured of the title. This also means that if Guevara wins the race on Sunday, he will be world champion ahead of time.
In the Moto3 team standings, the Aspar squad with Izan Guevara and Sergio Garcia has a whopping 130-point lead over the Leopard squad with Dennis Foggia and Tatsuki Suzuki. The chances are good that Aspar will be able to celebrate winning the team classification as early as Sunday. Because to prevent that, the Leopard duo would have to score more than 41 points more than the Aspar duo in the race.
