Image: Supplied.

Gresini Racing Ducati’s Enea Bastianini has claimed a sensational maiden victory at the opening round of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship in Qatar, as Celestino Vietti and Andrea Migno were atop the Moto2 and Moto3 podiums respectively.

Bastianini dropped to fourth on the opening lap – interestingly all Ducatis seemed to suffer off the line at Lusail – as Respol Honda duo Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez made their way to the front.

Marquez tried multiple times to pass his teammate, unsuccessful to make a move stick before KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder made his way past the number 93 on lap six. Lap seven saw Marquez lose another position, this time to Bastianini as the Italian continued his charge towards the front, passing Binder five laps later for second.

Espargaro was able to hold the lead until lap 18 when ‘The Beast’ made the move for the lead, followed through by Binder a lap later in hot pursuit. Bastianini withstood the pressure from the RC16 rider to claim his first MotoGP victory, crossing the line 0.342s ahead of the South African.

Completing the podium was Espargaro, as brother Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) made his way past Marquez to score a solid fourth to start his 2022 campaign, the Repsol Honda rider ultimately fifth.

2020 MotoGP champion Joan Mir was sixth ahead of Team Suzuki Ecstar teammate Alex Rins in seventh – both Suzuki riders enjoyed a notable top speed increase for season 2022. Johann Zarco was eighth, ahead of defending champion Fabio Quartararo in ninth as LCR Honda Idemitsu’s Takaaki Nakagami rounded out of the top 10.

Hotly-tipped as a title favourite, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) fell in turn one during lap 12 in an attempt to make a pass on pole-setter Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing Ducati), ultimately crashing and taking both riders down and out of the race.

Australian Jack Miller, unfortunately, suffered a DNF to open this year’s account, as Remy Gardner was best in a four-rider battle for the final point-scoring position, finishing P15 in first MotoGP race with Tech3 KTM Factory Racing.

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In Moto2, Vietti stormed to a career-first victory, the Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider delivering a commanding performance to finish 6.154s ahead of the field.

In the runner-up position was Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) as Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) took the final step of the podium, finishing less than a tenth ahead of Augusto Fernandez in fourth, as Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) completed the top five.

The opening round of the Moto3 World Championship saw Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) effectively use the apparent top speed of the Honda to position himself for victory.

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Finishing behind the Italian and on the podium were GASGAS Aspar Team’s Sergio Garcia and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power), the Japanese rider enjoying a return to form a circuit where he was previously victorious.

Deniz Oncu (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and John McPhee (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) completed the top five.

Marking his first visit to the Lusail circuit, Australian Joel Kelso finished P15, the CIP Green Power rider showing flashes of speed throughout the weekend and looking to build as the season progresses.

The Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (ATC) was also competing at Qatar as a support category, Shinya Ezawa and Amon Odaki splitting the race victories. Odaki concludes the opening to races of the 2022 season with a six-point advantage in the points standings.

Three Australians competed in the ATC at Lusail, Carter Thompson not finishing the first race before finishing the second outing in P7, Cameron Swain scoring 11-16 results and Marianos Nikolis notching a DNF-10 scorecard.

Following an exciting opening season-opener, round two of the MotoGP World Championship takes place at the Mandalika Circuit on 18-20 March, marking the first time the series will compete at the venue.

Detailed results