2022 Qatar Moto3 Race Result: Duel In The Desert

The lightweight class provided the first shot of adrenaline of the season as more or less naughty youngsters lined up on the start grid at Lusail, with the poleman of 24 hours prior sent to the back of the grid for irresponsible riding. Luck seemed to go Ayumu Sasaki’s way as he inherited the prime spot on the grid and looked like a sure winner for much of the race but bad luck was right around the corner – turn 6 to be precise – and it set the scene for a tough fight for victory. Andrea Migno was placed under serious pressure all the way to the finish line but the class veteran took a long awaited victory by only three hundredths of a second. That was how close Sergio Garcia got to the win but the Spaniard did well to stay in contention after serving a long lap penalty early in the race. Kaito Toba also had to fight all the way to the flag, where he earned his place on the first podium of the season.

Having a Japanese flag on the podium looked like a certainty from the very beginning of the race, when Sasaki kept the lead from pole from Jaume Masia and Migno and immediately extended a half second gap over the duo. Garcia, Deniz Öncü, Carlos Tatay, Ryusei Yamanaka and Toba were joined by rookies Ivan Ortola and Diogo Moreira in the leading group, but Tatay did not get to finish the opening lap as he crashed out at turn 7 following a nudge from Garcia. Meanwhile, Izan Guevara, Tatsuki Suzuki and Dennis Foggia were making their way through the pack after being punished to the back of the grid due to irresponsible riding in qualifying. By lap 2, Guevara had progressed to 14th position, Suzuki to 18th and Foggia was 20th, but the trio still had long lap penalties to serve.

Back at the front, the early advantage kept Sasaki safe from the slipstream bonanza and he continued to increase the gap to one full second by lap 4, while Migno, Masia and Garcia battled to lead the sizeable pursuit. Garcia’s hopes for victory soon looked to be in danger as the Spaniard got a long lap penalty for nudging Tatay off on the opening lap and the sanction dropped him to 11th position on lap 5, a second behind the leading group and another second ahead of teammate Guevara, who had served his own long lap penalty a couple laps prior. The battle for second did not lack contenders though, with Migno and Masia challenged by Öncü and Toba and with Moreira, Ortola, McPhee, Yamanaka and Artigas still in the mix. Meanwhile, Foggia had served his two long lap penalties and fought to rejoin the top 20.

Somewhat unusually for a Moto3 plotline, Sasaki continued to extend his advantage to well over two seconds by lap 8 but much more predictable was his rivals’ inability to cooperate to reel him in. Compatriot Toba led the chasers at that stage, with Migno, Masia and Öncü as his main challengers but with Moreira, McPhee, Yamanaka, Ortola and Garcia also biding their time right behind. While Garcia steadily made his way through the group, teammate Guevara was stuck in a lonely 12th position, 2.5 seconds behind the large group of podium contenders, with Foggia joining the top 15 by lap 9.

Sasaki continued completely untroubled at the front, leading the way by three seconds at the halfway point of proceedings and the chasing group soon lost a serious contender when Masia crashed out at turn 12. Once Migno picked up the pursuit, Sasaki’s lead seemed to fade and the Italian was suddenly a mere second behind the leader. It soon became clear that Sasaki had saved a highside at turn 6 but loosened his fairing in the process and it left him defenceless as the pursuit caught up and swallowed him before he was forced to retire.

The battle for victory was back on with 6 laps to go, Migno inheriting the lead ahead of Öncü and Garcia, but the feisty trio was unable to shake off the rest of the contenders just yet, with Toba, McPhee and rookie Moreira still within touch of the podium battle. Only 7 tenths back, Yamanaka, Ortola, Artigas, Foggia and Guevara were fighting for 7th position but perhaps still hoping for more.

Back at the front, Migno had Garcia glued to his rear tyre with 3 laps to go but the Spaniard failed to make a move and got punished by Öncü next time around on the straight. Garcia retaliated soon after and finally tried a move on Migno, but the Italian stayed in control and started the final lap in the lead. Although under severe pressure from his rivals, Migno defended beautifully and only Garcia was able to keep up with him all the way to the line, where the Italian took the chequered three hundredths of a second ahead of the Spaniard. Toba and Öncü dropped half a second behind on the final lap and the Japanese rider climbed on the final step of the podium with only two hundredths of a second advantage over Öncü. McPhee lost touch with the leaders over the last couple of laps and settled for a top five, while sixth place was an admirable result for top rookie Moreira. Foggia’s title bid starts with a solid seventh place despite the multiple penalties he served, one step ahead of Guevara and with Yamanaka and Artigas completing the top 10.

Results.