The Spanish start strong in Losail

The Spanish riders had a brilliant start on the first day of the 2022 Motorcycle World Championship. In Moto3 Izan Guevara set a fantastic time, more than four tenths faster than second-placed British rider John McPhee. Another Balearic, Augusto Fernández, commanded the Moto2 classification, just ahead of the debutant Pedro Acosta, the new champion of the small displacement in the last year. And MotoGP closed the powerful day with four Spaniards in the top four positions and with another two, the Aleix brothers and Pol Espargaró, also in the group of the top ten.

A very relevant fact since, due to the peculiar conditions of the Losail circuit, it is very complicated that in the third free practice this Saturday the records of Friday afternoon can be lowered. And starting with six drivers in the fight for pole position can be considered a very good sign. “It is only the first day, but the truth is that we have done a great job, not only today but throughout the preseason. We have worked very well with Suzuki, which has brought interesting things, and this is the result of this work”, analyzed the fastest of the day in MotoGP, Álex Rins, who confirmed on the opening day what he had pointed out during the winter. Rins finished first and his teammate, Joan Mir, third, with a bike that has gone from the bottom of the top speed list to the top.

“On Saturdays, trying to make it through the Q2 cutoff first, and then fighting to be in the second row, always created a lot of anxiety for me. We had to do wonders to get it. And now it seems that we are doing better. We have a rhythm to win the race and the normal thing would be for us to also have it to do the pole”, pointed out the Spaniard, one of the favorites in the fight for the 2022 title. “Suzuki has done a great job, because the engine in the corners it does not behave differently, which is complicated when they bring a new engine. Little by little we are improving. When they bring something new that goes faster, you always have to adjust the handling and the way you accelerate, but honestly, we haven’t lost the essence of the Suzuki when it comes to doing the fast corners. The bike turns well, “said Rins.

Marquez, optimistic

Marc Márquez was placed between the two blue bikes, another one who continues to confirm a clear improvement, both in the physical part and in the part that he can control less, that of the bike. And this in a circuit a priori not very favorable for his driving style. «Today I have ridden without pain, and it is a good sign, because I already came here very optimistic, because I felt good at home. I haven’t noticed any pain and I can’t say ‘no, not today…’. I have ridden well, normal, and I have done the most with what I had and with what I could. Now the unknown is what will happen during the other days, which is normally where I suffered the most last year, but today I have ridden better than all of last year together in terms of sensations”, added Márquez within the optimistic line in which he is moving in the current year. «It is true that last year I won races, obviously, and now the question here is to know if I am well, why not win on Sunday? At the level of my sensations I am improving and this makes me happy since I feel that I am going up”, added the Repsol Honda rider.

The quartet of Spaniards was closed by Jorge Martín, who was already able to get on the podium in Losail in his debut year in the category, in a session that gave Ducati some breathing room, which has started the season with more doubts than expected. In fact, Martín and his partner Johann Zarco are going to face the season with what the Italian brand has prepared for 2022, while the two officers, Pecco Bagnaia and Jack Miller, have chosen to take a step back and not use the latest news. prepared by their engineers. “We were actually using the best package possible and the decision came after the Mandalika test,” explained Bagnaia. “Allow me a note: nobody talks about the choice of engine of the opponents, but everyone cares about what Ducati does. I don’t want to create controversy. I must say that I choose the option that I prefer, and I think it is better than what we had at the end of 2021 », he tried to settle the doubts about his bike.