2022 Australian GP: Bagnaia leads championship standings as Quartararo crashes out

As with the 2022 Thai GP held a fortnight ago, MotoGP returned to the land down under for the first time in three years. The Australian GP was an eventful race, to say the least, and saw factory Ducati rider, Francesco Bagnaia, lead the rider’s world championship standings for the first time this year. Suzuki’s Alex Rins charged to a memorable, if bittersweet, win for the soon-to-retire Hamamatsu factory, starting from 10th on the grid.

• Bagnaia leads rider’s standings by 14 points from Quartararo

• Rins clinches victory on final lap after starting 10th

• Marc Marquez clinches 100th MotoGP podium

Six Ducatis in top 10

Francesco Bagnaia clinched the final spot on the podium after leading for much of the race, and coupled with Fabio Quartararo crashing out, it meant that the Italian rider now leads the rider’s standings by 14 points. Jack Miller, who was making a promising charge through the field, was taken out of contention in his home race after LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez lost control and rammed the Aussie off the track, ironically at the corner named after him!

Jorge Martin, who started the race from pole position, ultimately crossed the chequered flag in seventh place, just ahead of Pramac Racing teammate Johann Zarco. Marco Bezzecchi, who was crowned Rookie of the Year after the race, finished fourth, just 0.5sec from third-placed Bagnaia. 

Victory for Suzuki; M. Marquez’s 100th podium

Alex Rins rode the Suzuki GSX-RR to a hard-fought victory for the last time at the Phillip Island circuit, after starting 10th on the grid. This marked the first win for the Spaniard since the 2020 Aragon GP. While Suzuki is set to retire from MotoGP at the end of this season, Rins’ victory has ensured that it doesn’t go quietly into the night. 

Another Japanese factory that made a comeback to its podium-finishing ways is the Repsol Honda team. Marc Marquez, who finished second, stepped onto the premier-class podium for the 100th time. The Spaniard was the only rider in the top three with the soft rear tyre, and to his credit he managed to make the tyre last the race distance.

2022 MotoGP championship standings

Another disastrous weekend for the Monster Energy Yamaha rider, Fabio Quartararo, saw him relinquish his lead to Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia. With just two rounds left and the Italian’s 14-point lead, the 2021 MotoGP World Champion has his work cut out for him. Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro has been seeing his own hopes of a surprise MotoGP rider’s title for the Noale-based factory slip through his fingers as well, after his ninth-place finish saw his gap to the new leader stretch to 27 points.

For its penultimate round this season, MotoGP will head to the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia, set to be held on October 23. 

2022 Australian MotoGP results