Episode 262 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one sees us getting into the nitty gritty of the 2022 MotoGP Championship season, with bikes finally on the track at the Sepang test in Malaysia.
To discuss the return of on-track action, we have the usual crew of Steve English, David Emmett, Neil Morrison, and Adam Wheeler, as they trade insights on our first glimpse of the teams’ 2022 efforts.
With the bikes all crated up and shipped to Indonesia, and the entire paddock flown to Mandalika on the island of Lombok (bar those stuck in quarantine in Malaysia after testing positive for COVID-19), there is time to look back at the Sepang MotoGP test.
Because this year is so different to previous years in a number of ways, I am breaking it down into two parts.
First, some general points that apply to the test itself and across several or all manufacturers, and later in the week, a breakdown manufacturer by manufacturer.
Shall we declare Aprilia 2022 MotoGP champions, now that Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales ended the first day of the Sepang MotoGP test in the top two positions? Obviously not.
The Aprilias have already had extra time around Sepang, Maverick Viñales spending two days on track during the shakedown test, Aleix Espargaro one day extra. So they were already up to speed and used to riding a MotoGP bike again.
That doesn’t mean that Aprilia’s speed isn’t real. The 2022 bike is a step forward, in part a result of Aprilia changing course after a disappointing Jerez test back in November.
Usually when a MotoGP team launches its racing effort for the coming season, our focus is on the bike.
The machines launched at these debuts may not be the 2022-spec bikes we will see at the opening round in Qatar, but they offer some sizable two-wheeled pornography for us nonetheless.
And when it comes to the ECSTAR Suzuki Team, the Suzuki GSX-RR is one of our favorites each year, as the Japanese brand has managed to adapt the four-cylinder bike to be not only one of the most balanced on the grid, but also the most attractive.
Pit lane is finally open, if only for some teams – notably Yamaha and Suzuki – to show off their new liveries, and we are starting to get a first look at the new parts some of the factories have to test.
The new Yamaha livery is almost indistinguishable from last year’s, Yamaha following the “if it ain’t broke” philosophy.
Suzuki’s is updated, and to my mind improved by having a dash of black to set off the other colors on the bike. The black panel around the race numbers something of a throwback, though historically, white numbers on a black background were used in the 125cc class.
But with the test due to start properly on Saturday, there were bikes being rolled out into pit lane, which meant we had a chance to see one or two updates being tried.
It is dangerous to draw too many lessons from the results of the Sepang test.
In the ten years between 2011 and 2020, the rider who set the fastest time at Sepang has only gone on to win the MotoGP title twice: Casey Stoner in 2011, and Marc Marquez in 2014.
That stat is complicated by the fact that between 2011 and 2015, there used to be two Sepang tests – I’ve taken the fastest time from both tests in those years.
The cancellation of the MotoGP test at Sepang – a result of the state of emergency imposed by the Malaysian government in response to rising numbers of cases of COVID-19 in the country – threw a spanner in the works for the MotoGP teams preparing for the start of the 2021 season.
Losing days of testing meant less time for the MotoGP rookies to acclimatize to the new class, and less track time to gather data for the coming season.
To address this issue, Dorna and IRTA announced that there will be an additional test in Qatar at the beginning of March. In addition to the original test scheduled for March 10th – 12th, there will be three more days of testing a five days earlier.
The MotoGP Test at Sepang, due to be held from 19th – 21st of February, has been canceled, Dorna announced today.
The King of Malaysia, at the request of the Malaysian government, has declared a state of emergency in Malaysia, which is due to last until August 1st.
The state of emergency has been declared in an attempt to stem the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to spread around the world.
Episode 130 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one gives us all the happenings at the official MotoGP test in Sepang.
For this show, David Emmett is joined on the mics by a special guest, respected racing journalist Manuel Pecino. The pair walks us through the various headlines and highlights that happened in Malaysia, as we get ready for the start of the MotoGP season.
Though the show is less than an hour long in duration, David and Manuel cover in-depth a number of key topics, including what’s happening at each of the six MotoGP factory teams.
It is becoming a familiar pattern. Whenever MotoGP bikes gather for a timed session, Fabio Quartararo usually finds a way to get his name to the top of the list.
Usually by using the cunning strategy of riding his motorcycle that little bit faster than anyone else. It happened with increasing frequency during the 2019 season.
It happened again on the first day of the Sepang test in 2020. And it was no different on the second day.
The first day back after the winter break is always tricky. Bodies are sore after riding a MotoGP bike for the first time. That uses muscles which are impossible to train, and so soreness quickly sets in. Then there are the unforeseen hiccups which always arise when prototype machinery first hits the track.
Parts don’t quite work as expected, they don’t fit as easily and as quickly as hoped, and there is always a nasty surprise lurking somewhere. But then again, that’s why you go testing, to iron out the details before racing starts in earnest.
Andrea Dovizioso was just one of many riders hindered by such hiccups. “The first day you have to try a few things and a few things can happen which make you lose time,” the Italian said. “You can’t follow exactly the plan. That’s what happened today. It didn’t work a lot but we had to fix a few small problems – nothing bad.”
Or it can rain. As it did for an hour in the afternoon, and then again shortly before the end of the test. With the track taking time to dry, that meant the riders lost probably two and a half hours of track time on Friday. But all of these things are just a part of testing, and something everyone has to deal with.