The 2022 Gran Premio Gryfyn di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini will be remembered for an epic victory battle between Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™). The two Italians went head-to-head in the closing stages and were eventually split by just 0.034s on the line as Bagnaia becomes the first Ducati rider to win four races in a row – a phenomenal accolade. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) faded late on but held on to claim another hard-earned podium.

From pole, Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) got away fantastically and so did teammate Francesco Bagnaia, as the Italian pounced straight up to third. We then saw Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) and Michele Pirro (Aruba.it Racing) crash out of contention at Turn 1, thankfully all three were uninjured. 

It soon became a dramatic race of attrition as a couple of early frontrunners then crashed on Lap 2 – including race leader Miller. The Australian slipped out at Turn 4 and a few corners later at Turn 10, Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was on the floor. Both riders were unhurt, both remounted. New race leader Bastianini then had a hairy moment at Turn 14 as the hottest weather of the weekend was making life tricky for the premier class.

On Lap 3, Bagnaia led for the first time and quickly following him through on Bastianini was Viñales. Further back, the top two in the World Championship – Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – were locked together in P5 and P6. They were 0.8s off the leading quartet that consisted of Bagnaia, Viñales, Bastianini and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team).

After passing Espargaro, Quartararo set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 7 of 27 and immediately started hunting down the leaders. The Frenchman gapped Espargaro by 0.7s but it was then the Aprilia star who set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 9, with the top six – down to the number 41 – split by 2.2s. However, a poor lap from Espargaro on Lap 12 saw the Spaniard slip to three seconds off the lead and 1.6s away from Quartararo.

As we clocked through half-race distance, the top four remained locked together. Bagnaia led from Viñales, Bastianini and Marini, with Quartararo 0.7s away from the intense victory fight. One thing to note and to keep an eye on was a couple of track limits warnings for Viñales and Quartararo – caution for the pair was needed with 12 laps to go.

On Lap 16 of 27, Bastianini was wide at Turn 10 to allow Marini an easy pass up the inside. The Beast was straight back past though on the run into the rapid Turn 11 right-hander as Bagnaia and Viñales started to turn up the wick. Meanwhile, Quartararo was losing ground in P5 and Espargaro was now two seconds in arrears of the Yamaha man.

After that mistake, Bastianini slammed in a 1:31.895 to reel in Bagnaia and Viñales. Was that famous late race pace starting to surface? With eight to go, after a couple of scruffy corners from Viñales, Bastianini carved his way up to P2 at Turn 1. The gap to Pecco was 0.6s. Then it was 0.4s. Then it was 0.2s. Six laps to go, Bagnaia had been caught by Bastianini but the latter had received a track limits warning. Viñales was losing touch now and it looked like it was Ducati vs Ducati, Italy vs Italy, 2023 factory Ducati rider vs 2023 factory Ducati rider.

With four to go, the tension was palpable. With three to go it was still advantage Bagnaia, but Bastianini was marginally faster. Two to go, it was as you were. Bastianini swarming, Bagnaia holding strong. And it all came down to the last lap.

Searching for a passing manoeuvre, Bastianini was late on the brakes at Turn 4 and he was out of shape, narrowly avoiding contact. Was that race over? Not yet. Bastianini regrouped and by the time Turn 10 came around, the gap was back to nothing. No pass came into Turn 14 and neither into the final corner, but Bastianini hooked his GP21 up on the exit and threatened to snatch victory away from Pecco’s grasp at the chequered flag. It wasn’t to be though as Bagnaia won by 0.034s – a stunningly close finish between two phenomenal riders. 

Viñales eventually finished 4.2s away from victory after looking incredibly strong for much of the race, with Marini holding into P4 to equal his best MotoGP™ result – that’s back-to-back P4s for the Italian. Quartararo was unable to challenge for the podium places as a P8 in qualifying proved costly, with P5 the best he could do in Misano. El Diablo’s gap is cut to 30 points in the overall standings, however it’s now Pecco acting as his closest challenger after Aleix Espargaro finished P6 in Misano – 4.4s away from Quartararo.

Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was a lonely finisher in P7 as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) clawed his way up to P8, the South African led Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) home in the top 10.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crossed the line in P11 ahead of the retiring home hero, Andrea Dovizioso (WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP™ Team). The Italian bows out of MotoGP™ with a P12 finish after a wonderful career, as everyone comes together to say #GrazieDovi – he will be sorely missed in the paddock. Raul Fernandez (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing), Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) rounded out the points.

Four wins in a row; the first Ducati rider to ever do that in MotoGP™. Bagnaia has closed the gap to 30 points to Quartararo with six races to go, as the top three in the Championship are covered by 32 points heading to Aragon – a track Pecco won at last season.  

Top 10:
1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – 27 laps
2. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 0.034
3. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) + 4.212
4. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 5.283
5. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 5.771
6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 10.230
7. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 12.496
8. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 14.661
9. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) + 17.732
10. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) + 21.986

Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) has won the final race of the 2022 FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup after he and Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) swapped the lead three times on the final lap at the Gran Premio Gryfyn di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. Rounding out the podium in Race 2 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli was Eric Granado (LCR E-Team), while the rider who had sealed the World Cup title 24 hours earlier, Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™), finished fourth.

When the lights went out, Casadei got the jump and took a clear lead to the first corner, ahead of pole-sitter Aegerter, Granado, and Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40). Ferrari lost three positions relative to where he qualified but had recovered two of them to be running fifth by the time he exited Rio (Turn 4). The top two moved a second clear of the rest on Lap 2 while Ferrari was up to fourth when he overtook Torres through the fast Curvone (Turn 11) right-hander on Lap 3.

Otherwise, though, it was an unusually calm contest for the opening half of the eight-lap race – but this is MotoE™, and that was never going to last too long. On Lap 5, Aegerter moved into the lead when he went down the inside of Casadei at Carro (Turn 14), only for Casadei to reclaim first position on the run to Quercia (Turn 8) on the next lap, and by then, Granado was lurking.

When Aegerter had a moment at Carro a few corners later, Granado was right behind them, and Ferrari had made it a lead group of four. Ferrari was into a podium place when he overtook Granado on Lap 7 at Carro, before Aegerter nearly wiped out Casadei at Turn 2 on the final lap. The Swiss rider gathered it up, but not before he had lost position to both Ferrari and Granado.

All told, it meant that the 2019 World Cup winner had what had seemed not too long ago to be an unlikely shot at victory, and take his shot he did. Ferrari passed Casadei at Turn 13, but the Pons Racing rider was not giving up. He sent his Ego Corsa down the inside at the Misano corner (Turn 16), only for Ferrari to pull off the cutback and win the race by 0.195 seconds. It was also a pass which would decide who finished third in the World Cup for 2022, behind Aegerter and Granado.

On the day, however, Granado took the chequered flag in third, ahead of Aegerter and Torres. The rest of the top 10 was Niccolo Canepa (WithU GRT RNF MotoE™ Team), Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team), Alex Escrig (Tech3 E-Racing), Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE™), and Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse). Maria Herrera (Zinia Aspar Team) was the sole DNF of the race, limping away from a crash on Lap 6.

That brings to an end the Energica Ego Corsa era after four fantastic years. Following Ferrari’s triumph in the inaugural FIM Enel MotoE World Cup in 2019, Torres collected the title in 2020 and 2021, before Aegerter wrote himself into the record books this year. Now we look forward to the next evolution with Ducati, and more sensational electric action, in 2023!

MotoE™ Race 2 Top 10:

1. Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE)
2. Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) + 0.195
3. Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) + 0.673
4. Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) + 1.092
5. Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) + 1.304
6. Niccolo Canepa (Withu GRT RNF MotoE Team) + 2.876
7. Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) + 4.249
8. Alex Escrig (Tech 3 E-Racing) + 5.762
9. Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) + 6.434
10. Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) + 6.920

Alonso Lopez has become a Grand Prix winner with victory in the Moto2™ race at the Gran Premio Gryfyn di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. The now 20-year-old Spaniard lost his Moto3™ seat at the end of 2020 before a mid-season call-up to replace Romano Fenati at +Ego Speed Up this year. He has now repaid the faith with a superb ride at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, winning by 1.253 seconds after 25 laps. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) finished second and Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) reclaimed the World Championship lead with a third place.

Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) is now second in the standings at four points back after finishing fifth in Round 14 of the season but Celestino Vietti’s title hopes took a big blow when he crashed while in contention for the podium, and he would ultimately retire for a fifth time this year. The Mooney VR46 Racing Team rider once led the Championship but has now dropped to fourth, 42 points off top spot and one behind Canet.

Lopez launched well enough from third on the grid and while he went deep into Turn 1, he emerged with the lead, ahead of Albert Arenas (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) and pole-sitter Vietti. Despite attacks from behind, that was where Vietti finished the standing lap, ahead of Canet, Ogura, Fermin Aldeguer (+Ego Speed Up), and Fernandez.

Fernandez put a move on Aldeguer through the quick Turn 15 on Lap 2 and set about trying to catch up to the top five, before Canet passed Vietti at his second attempt and was into third spot at Rio (Turn 4) on Lap 6. He soon got ahead of Arenas too, but only briefly on Lap 7, and their battle allowed Lopez to skip several tenths of a second clear. It was soon a full second, as Vietti re-passed Canet at Tramonto (Turn 10) on Lap 8 and then Canet returned the favour at Rio on Lap 9.

Vietti could forget about trying to catch up to Lopez when he lost the front of his VR46-entered Kalex and crashed out of fourth position just a lap later at the Rio corner. That meant Fernandez’s overtake on Ogura at Rio on Lap 11 was for fourth position – and the live World Championship lead. Meanwhile, in what had been a race of attrition, Aldeguer had already crashed out of seventh on Lap 7 with a Long Lap Penalty hanging over his head for a shortcut anyway, and then wildcard Mattia Pasini (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) went down at Rio while running sixth on Lap 13.

Up the front, Lopez was putting the hammer down, going fastest to the third sector on Lap 13 and ultimately setting a new personal best lap time as he moved his advantage over second-placed Arenas to 1.2 seconds. Perhaps sensing the race win was slipping away, Canet forced his way past Arenas through Turn 5 on Lap 14, but the man up the road on the Boscoscuro chassis continued to extend his lead.

There was hope when an apparent error from the leader let Canet catch half a second back up on Lap 17, and then Lopez got a track limits warning, but he responded in style. With 20 laps down and five to go, his margin over Canet was back to almost 1.6 seconds, with Arenas third from Fernandez and a distant Ogura. Fernandez then squeezed past Arenas at Turn 6 but the Aspar rider responded before Lap 21 was out and moved back into a podium position. Two laps later, the KTM Ajo pilot pulled off the same pass and this time he held the position for good.

In the final handful of laps, Canet chipped away at Lopez’s lead again, but #21 was never seriously threatened. His victory was a first for Boscoscuro since a certain Fabio Quartararo prevailed at Catalunya in 2018, and broke a 46-race streak for Kalex. Behind Canet, Fernandez finished strongly but ran out of time to gain any more positions, although his podium is certainly valuable Championship points. Arenas got home just over a second further back in fourth, from Ogura, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team), Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team), and Jeremy Alcoba (Liqui Moly Intact GP) in 10th.

Of 31 starters, only 17 finished, with the rest of the points scorers in the top 15 being Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) from Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team), Barry Baltus (RW Racing GP), Cameron Beaubier (American Racing), and Alessandro Zaccone (Gresini Racing Moto2™). Vietti pitted after his crash then, possibly in a bid to capitalise on all of the other falls, went back out but would eventually relent. Another notable DNF was Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team), who highsided at the second corner of the race.

We got a brand-new winner and a new Championship leader at Misano. Find out what is in store for Round 15 when the Gran Premio Animoca Brands de Aragon unfolds at MotorLand Aragon, on September 16-18.

Moto2™ Race Top 10:

1. Alonso Lopez (+Ego Speed Up)
2. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) + 1.253
3. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 3.305
4. Albert Arenas (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 4.615
5. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 9.166
6. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 10.339
7. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) + 10.434
8. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 12.377
9. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) + 18.242
10. Jeremy Alcoba (Liqui Moly Intact GP) + 19.560

Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) is a history maker in Moto3™! The Italian becomes the first rider to win three races at a single track after coming out on top of a pulsating Gran Premio Gryfyn di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini that saw Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) claim podiums in P2 and P3, while Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) suffers a Sunday to forget after a crash and a black flag.

It was a dramatic start to the lightweight class encounter as World Championship leader Garcia was forced off the track at Turn 1 along with Adrian Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Tech3). Then, Austria hero Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) was down at Turn 4 after being wiped out by Nicola Carraro (QJMotor Avintia Racing Team).

At the front, it didn’t take long for Guevara to hit the front, with Foggia making a quick start too. The Italian was up to third behind second place Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI), Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) who were fighting inside the top five, as Garcia then tagged the back of Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech3) at Turn 14 – luckily, neither went down.

However, a few corners later on Lap 5, Garcia did slide down the road unhurt. Huge news in the title race, especially with Guevara leading – and looking strong. Garcia would rejoin but the number 11 later received a black flag for irresponsible riding, compounding a tough day at the office for one side of the GASGAS Aspar box. Meanwhile, with 15 laps to go, Guevara, Foggia, Holgado and Masia had stretched a 0.9s gap to the fifth place fight led by Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing). A lap later, Foggia pounced down at Turn 8 to lead the race for the first time.

With 10 laps to go it was as you were at the front, but injured Öncü and Suzuki were bridging the gap to the leading quartet. On Lap 17 of 23, things started to get busy. Guevara took the lead at Turn 8 before Masia grabbed a two-for-one deal at Turn 10. Foggia got the power down on the exit though and grabbed the lead straight back, with the squabbling bringing Öncü and Suzuki right into contention.

With three to go, the victory fight was now between Foggia, Guevara, Masia and Öncü. Foggia needed to be careful because he’d been handed a track limits warning and just after that, Guevara made a move stick for the lead. But Foggia snapped straight back and in just a couple of corners Guevara went from P1 to P4.

At the start of the final lap, Foggia, Masia, Öncü and Guevara were split by nothing. Öncü slung his KTM up the inside of Masia at Turn 8 and it gave Foggia crucial bike lengths out front. Guevara and Masia responded to quickly demote Öncü to P4 but a 0.3s gap was enough to enable Foggia to have a relatively simple latter half to the final lap to win for a record third time in Misano in the Moto3™ class. Masia held off Guevara for P2, the latter claimed P3 and with it the title lead, as Öncü had to settle for an incredible P4 while nursing a shoulder injury.

Holgado and Suzuki finished in a lonely P5 and P6 after losing touch with the leaders, as Moreira won the battle for P7. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team), John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) and Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) completed the top 10 with Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Muñoz and Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) also finishing in that big group, but the trio had to settle for P11, P12 and P13 respectively. Joel Kelso (CIP Green Power) from 30^th and Elia Bartolini (QJMotor Avintia Racing Team) were the final points scorers.

After a dramatic Sunday, Guevara is the new Moto3™ World Championship leader. Garcia now trails his teammate by 11 points as Foggia brings himself back into contention – 35 is the Italian’s deficit. Aragon is up next, what will unfold at MotorLand? 

Top 10:
1. Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing)
2. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.289
3. Izan Guevara (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.334
4. Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) + 0.453
5. Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 4.955
6. Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) + 5.926
7. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) + 11.002
8. Ivan Ortola (Angeluss MTA Team) + 11.188
9. John McPhee (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max) + 11.383
10. Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) + 11.494