With five Australians competing across the MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 World Championship classes in San Marino, it was the biggest representation our country has had at a Grand Prix in recent years. For this Three Things feature, CycleOnline takes a closer look at how each fared during the 14th round of the 2022 world championship at Misano.

Image: Supplied.

MotoGP

In the premier class, outbound Ducati Lenovo Team rider Jack Miller showed great pace all weekend, finishing each of the opening three Free Practice sessions inside the top three. He then went on to qualify on pole position in an intense Q2 session that saw many riders start on wet weather tyres. It was Miller’s first pole since Argentina 2018 and his second in MotoGP. Unfortunately, Miller’s hopes of victory ended on lap two when he lost the front at turn four, but he remounted and completed the San Marino GP P18. The number 43 is sixth in points standings and has six races remaining with Ducati in the premier class before switching to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing from 2023.

Fighting for his future, MotoGP rookie Remy Gardner (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) endured a tough round at Misano. From P24 on the grid, the number 87 was up to 15th by lap five, but lost ground and served a long lap penalty throughout the outing. He completed the 27-lap bout 19th and looks to make the most of the remaining races this season, with an option to stay in MotoGP increasingly unlikely for 2023.

Moto2

17-year-old Senna Agius made his Moto2 World Championship debut with the Elf Marc VDS Racing team, two and a half weeks ago in Austria as a fill-in for the injured Sam Lowes. The opportunity extended to Misano, with Agius hungry to continue his progress from Spielberg. Starting round 14 1.951s from the top of the timesheets in FP1, Agius reduced that deficit to 1.5s in qualifying to line up P25 on the grid for Sunday’s race. A promising warm-up saw him just 1.0s from the lead, and the Australian made swift progress in the opening laps of the race to move inside the top 20. On lap four, he made a mistake while trying to pass another rider which ultimately ended his race. While Lowes intends on returning at Aragon, Agius gained valuable insight from his two world championship outings which will place him in good stead for the remaining rounds of the European Moto2 series with Promo Racing.

Image: Supplied.

Moto3

Starting from 30th on the grid at Misano, CIP Green Power’s Joel Kelso charged to a points-scoring position and added two more to his 2022 Moto3 World Championship campaign with P14 in San Marino. During Saturday afternoon’s qualifying, Kelso suffered a brake malfunction at a crucial point in the Q1 session, preventing him from reaching Q2 and limiting his grid spot. The Australian wasted no time moving forward in Sunday’s 23-lap bout and was inside the top 20 by lap three. From there, Kelso clawed his way towards the battle for points-scoring positions, ultimately crossing the line 16.9s from race winner Dennis Foggia. Despite being sidelined from multiple races this year due to injury, Kelso is 22nd in the 2022 Moto3 World Championship standings.

SIC 58 Squadra Corse’s Harrison Voight made his Moto3 World Championship debut with a wildcard in San Marino, progressing throughout the weekend to ultimately take the chequered flag 23rd on Sunday. It was a well-deserved opportunity for the 16-year-old, who has overcome multiple injuries and setbacks in his career to reach this point. Voight will now turn his attention to the next round of the Red Bull Rookies Cup at Aragon on 17-18 September.

Jacob Roulstone (Aspar Junior Team) was also on track in Misano, competing in the FIM JuniorGP series and finished P19 after qualifying 24th.