Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1456050
controversial) GP22. Yamaha appears to have stood still from its victorious campaign last year, yet no one was as consistent as reigning champion Fabio Quar- tararo on both tracks. Even KTM's factory men—15th and 18th fastest at Sepang, 10th and 15th at Man- dalika—were sure they had found substantial improvements over the five days of running. Aside from the competition, 2021 will be the longest season on record, the global situation permit- ting. From March to November, 21 rounds are penned in with Indo- nesia's and Finland's long-awaited KymiRing new venues. Here we assess the chances of each fac- tory ahead of the season opener in Qatar on March 6. As was surprise. Preseason suggested there could well be a host of new names stepping up in the 21 races ahead. Enea Bastianini, the fastest man of all at Sepang on his year-old Gresini Ducati, is one of them. As is Repsol Hon- da's Pol Espargaro, the Indone- sian pacesetter, looking right at home on the much-improved, all-new '22 Honda RC213V. But there is also a feeling that the series could well revert to type after two of the wildest years on record. A certain Marc Marquez has returned from yet another career-threatening injury and got through testing unscathed. Yes, there were still signs his right shoulder—injured in 2019 and '20—was a limitation. But the 29-year old's comments in Indonesia suggest he fancies his chances to reclaim his world crown. Seeing Marquez front up to reigning champion Fabio Quartararo and 2021 runner-up Francesco Bagnaia, as well as Joan Mir, showing signs of that sparkle that carried him to such unexpected success in 2020, should be box-office viewing. And Marquez isn't the only name feeling optimistic. All six manufacturers have reason to believe this could be a year in which they challenge for race wins at the very least. One of the shortest preseasons in the mod- ern era underlined how Honda, Suzuki and Aprilia have all taken a substantial step forward with their new machines. Ducati is still dialing in its all-new (and slightly FEATURE I 2022 FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP P88 HONDA There's no getting away from it; last year's bike was a pig, all its riders bemoaning a chronic lack of rear grip on corner entry and exit. A com- pletely new bike first appeared at a test at Misano last October. A new frame, fairing, set unit, exhaust and engine were all refined from that point, giving the '22 RC213V a differ- ent character from its predecessor. Extracting the most of the added grip offered by Michelin's rear tire that was first introduced in 2020 was the priority of Honda's new machine. "We took a really long time to understand [how to take] the maximum grip and performance out of it," explained Technical Manager Takeo Yokoyama. "From the concept of the 2022 bike we have decided to Pol Espargaro has been flying on the new Honda, which has been fast in the hands of Marc Marquez, Taka Nakagami and Alex Marquez.