zecchi. Really, there has only
been one true rookie champion:
Kenny Roberts came in stone
cold in 1978 from the USA to de-
feat Barry Sheene by 10 points,
on tracks he'd never seen
before. Marquez had already run
five GP seasons and won cham-
pionships in 125 and Moto2.
Surprises can still happen, es-
pecially after significant changes
this year.
The most important is new
engines in new bikes. For two
years, development has been
frozen. This meant no chance to
fix problems, which afflicted all
except Aprilia, whose "conces-
sion-team" status left them free.
Yamaha and Suzuki riders
were left begging for more pow-
er, but Honda was hit hardest.
As well as Marc Marquez's
injury, HRC was doubly ham-
pered. The remaining riders (and
on his return, also Marc) com-
plained of difficulty entering and
leaving corners, largely because
of engine character, both off and
then back on throttle. Changes
to crankshaft mass and gas-flow
were needed. But not allowed.
The limited fiddling allowed to
electronics was not enough, nor
R
ight now is the best time
of the racing year. Be-
cause with nobody having
turned a wheel in anger, any-
thing is possible.
Well, almost anything.
It's unlikely that the 2022
MotoGP title will go to Andrea
Dovizioso, who, at 36, takes
over from Rossi as MotoGP's
oldest inhabitant. The oldest
premier-class champion was
decorated WW2 bomber pilot
Les Graham, 1949's inaugural
champion at 37; the oldest
race winner 44-year-old Fergus
Anderson.
Nor should you bet on a
repeat of Marquez's 2013 class-
rookie feat by one of the new
boys–Darryn Binder, Fabio Di
Giannantonio and Marco Bez-
P132
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
In fact, Ducati's
only weakness
last year was
having too many
good riders,
taking points off
one another.
MOTOGP
2022
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY
GO WRONG?
