Quartararo wins as Bagnaia crashes out | MotoGP German Grand Prix Results

MotoGP is in the Sachsenring this weekend for round 10 of the 2022 World Championship. This page will be updated throughout the weekend with the results from Germany.

Race

It was Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia who started from pole position for the 10th round of the MotoGP World Championship: the German Grand Prix.

Conditions had become increasingly hot throughout the weekend, which by Sunday meant that managing tyre temperature at both the front and the rear would be crucial to picking up a good result. 

Additionally, overtaking at the Sachsenring is notoriously difficult, thanks to the amount of time spent on the side of the tyre through the continuous left-handers from turn four to turn 10. This year, that track-specific difficulty in overtaking is paired with that created by the current MotoGP bikes, with the ride height devices and front aerodynamics combining to make braking forces harder, and braking zones shorter, which in turn makes the front tyre temperature and pressure more critical.

As a result of the high temperatures, and the circuit layout’s additional contribution to the existing overtaking problems in 2022 MotoGP, even more emphasis was placed on the start, and the first few-hundred metres of the race down towards turn one. A holeshot would allow a rider to manage their tyre pressures and temperatures better, while being dumped back in the pack would leave a rider with a risky race ahead, as they looked to make overtakes while the condition of their tyres drifted outside their ideal parameters. 

Crucially, it was Quartararo who made the holeshot. The Frenchman had chosen the medium rear tyre, whereas his main rivals had chosen the hard. Therefore, Quartararo had to get to the front to make the most of his tyre’s quicker warm-up and superior early-race grip. 

A turn one, lap two overtake from Bagnaia showed his intent, but Quartararo’s retaliation was essentially the end of the race. Fastest lap after fastest lap followed from the #20, and the pressure soon told for Bagnaia, who crashed at turn one on lap four, the hard rear tyre giving up as the Italian tried to chase the race leader. 

That let Quartararo completely off the hook, both in the race and the championship, and he went unchallenged in the remaining 27 laps to take his third win of the season, and second in succession. 

Behind Quartararo was his compatriot, Johann Zarco, who did not look to have enough pace to go with Quartararo or Bagnaia in free practice from mid-race, and that told in the race itself. 

Jack Miller had been forced to take a long lap penalty after crashing under yellow flags in FP4 on Saturday. The Australian had caught the two Aprilias of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales who were fighting for third, some five seconds adrift of Johann Zarco, when Vinales’ rear ride height device failed on the RS-GP. It would not disengage, and Vinales could no longer turn. It was a shame for the Spaniard, who was having his best race with Aprilia until the failure. 

For Miller, though, it was a gift, as it gave him a straight shot at third-placed Espargaro. Miller tried to pass twice at turn one, but ran wide both times, and, with Luca Marini closing in behind, time was of the essence for the Australian.

Fortunately for the Ducati rider, Espargaro ran wide himself on the penultimate lap at turn one, allowing Miller through. The Australian had pace the Aprilia rider could not match, and so, from the moment he made the mistake, Espargaro waved goodbye to the podium. It was also major damage for his championship, as he now slips to 34 points behind Quartararo.

Another race dominated by Quartararo plays two missed podiums in succession for Espargaro, and two DNFs for Bagnaia, who has lost 50 points to the Frenchman in the two races since his win in Mugello. With Enea Bastianini finishing down in 10th, Quartararo is in absolute control of the championship, with one race remaining before the summer break. 

Completing the podium behind Quartararo were the aforementioned Zarco and Miller, while Espargaro held off Marini for fourth. Marini’s fifth place matched his career best result in MotoGP, and for a rider who traditionally struggles with rear tyre wear, finishing so well in this race in particular must be of some relief. 

Sixth place went to Jorge Martin in his first race post-carpal tunnel surgery, while Brad Binder was the top KTM in seventh. Fabio Di Giannantonio was the top 2021 Ducati in eighth, ahead of Miguel Oliveira, and the aforementioned Bastianini, who completed the top 10. 

Full MotoGP race results from the Sachsenring are below.

2022 German Grand Prix | Sachsenring | Race Results

Qualifying

Francesco Bagnaia came into qualifying for the 2022 German Grand Prix as the fastest rider both of the weekend and of the history of MotoGP in Sachsenring, with a 1:19.765 in FP3 putting him at the top of the combined times. 

The whole qualifying hour was delayed by 25 minutes or so due to intermittent power outages in the paddock that started at the end of Moto3 Q2. When qualifying finally did get underway, the delay had made little difference to the conditions, with the cloudless skies that had dominated the weekend so far remaining for Saturday afternoon, and the sun cooking the asphalt. 

Additionally, after FP3 it was confirmed that Alex Rins will not continue through the German Grand Prix weekend, with the Spaniard deciding the pain in his left wrist after his lap one crash with Takaaki Nakagami and Francesco Bagnaia last week in Barcelona would not allow him to complete the race.

Q1 was a disaster for Enea Bastianini, who could only manage 17th. But for his teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio, it was great, as he topped the session and moved through to Q2 with Marco Bezzecchi. 

When Q2 finally rolled around, it was dominated by Francesco Bagnaia, who set a pole position record with a 1:19.931 on the second lap of his second tyre, and the Italian was the only rider to go inside 1:20 in the scorching heat of the afternoon.

Fabio Quartararo had not looked too spectacular all weekend, but he was able to qualify second on his second run of Q2. This was important for the Frenchman, who has the inside line on Bagnaia for tomorrow, and the run to turn one from the grid is not long enough for the Ducati’s horsepower advantage to make a difference. 

Johann Zarco’s strong run of form continued in German qualifying, as he completes the front row for tomorrow’s race. He was ahead of Aleix Espargaro, whose final lap was ruined by yellow flags at turn one for Takaaki Nakagami, the Japanese rider’s second crash at the first turn on Saturday alone. 

Completing row two behind Espargaro was the Ducati pairing of the impressive Di Giannantonio, and out-going factory rider Jack Miller; while Luca Marini was seventh and will start from row three alongside Jorge Martin and Maverick Vinales. 

The aforementioned Nakagami’s crash in one way helped the Japanese rider keep hold of 10th place on the grid. He will start from row four alongside Marco Bezzecchi and Joan Mir, who was the slowest of the 12 riders in Q2.

Full MotoGP qualifying results are below.

2022 German Grand Prix | Sachsenring | Qualifying Results

Free Practice 3

Saturday morning greeted the riders once more with intense sunshine, and that meant the final 15 minutes of the session were crucial for Q2 qualification. 

The conditions were such that, for the first time, 1:19s were possible for MotoGP in Sachsenring. First, it was Francesco Bagnaia, and immediately after Jorge Martin followed him into sub-1:20 territory. Bagnaia’s second lap of his first time attack tyre saw him improve again to a 1:20.765, as the factory Ducati rider further asserted his grip on the German Grand Prix weekend. 

On the second time attack run, Jack Miller went sub-1:20 for the first time, and Quartararo was pushing on as well, only to be blighted by a broken visor.

Yellow flags for the crashes of Alex Marquez and then Takaaki Nakagami meant improvements late on were pretty much non-existent. 

In the end, it was Bagnaia on top, ahead of Aleix Espargaro and Jack Miller, who completed the top three; while Johann Zarco was fourth, ahead of his Pramac Ducati teammate, Jorge Martin, and Fabio Quartararo who rounded out the top six, the fastest rider outside of the 1:19s.

Joan Mir was seventh on the first Suzuki - injured teammate Alex Rins struggled to 17th - ahead of Luca Marini, Takaaki Nakagami and Maverick Vinales, who was the final rider to go straight to Q2.

The only Ducati riders to miss out on Q2 directly were the GP21 riders: Marco Bezzecchi (12th), Fabio Di Giannantonio (13th) and Enea Bastianini (18th), indicating the step forward in turning the Bologna brand has made since last year.

Full MotoGP combined free practice results are below.

2022 German Grand Prix | Sachsenring | Qualifying Results | Round 10 / 21

FP1 & FP2

Jack Miller topped the opening practice of the weekend, 0.015 seconds ahead of his factory Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia, while Fabio Quartararo completed the top three, 0.078 seconds off Miller’s time. 

Aleix Espargaro was only sixth in FP1, although it must be said that the word ‘only’ in that confirms the progress Aprilia and Espargaro has made recently. Aprilia was trialling its new “big belly” fairing at a race weekend for the first time, after it debuted the new bodywork at the post-race test in Barcelona. Early in FP2, Espargaro topped the session, and he stayed there until the time attacks started with five or so minutes to go. 

Jack Miller was the early pace setter of the final five minutes, but he was soon beaten out by his teammate, Bagnaia, who set an all-time lap record with the Desmosedici GP22, before improving again to a 1:20.018. That would prove enough to top the combined standings at the end of the day by over a tenth of a second, which is an impressive margin around such a small circuit. 

Luca Marini finished the day in second place, while Jack Miller made it an all-Ducati top three. Aleix Espargaro was fourth, ahead of the two Pramac Ducatis, with Johann Zarco ahead of Jorge Martin, meaning Italian bikes monopolise the top six overnight in Germany. Fabio Quartararo was the top non-Italian bike, and the top inline-four, in seventh, ahead of Maverick Vinales, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Joan Mir, who completed the top 10. 

Full German Grand Prix FP1 & FP2 combined times below.

2022 German Grand Prix | Sachsenring | FP1 + FP2 Results