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Only Marc Marquez was able to withstand the onslaught of the youngsters in the first qualifying of the year for the Qatar GP. And while Jorge Martin was expected to be there, after what he had shown last year, Enea Bastianini must be given credit for not having disregarded his own intention of being able to improve twice: in the morning FP3 and in the demanding Q2.
In short, Gigi Dall’Igna got it right with his youth promotion policy. Jorge and Enea are growing rapidly and since Ducati does not seem to suffer from a shortage of Desmosedicis, it will not be too difficult to slot them into place even in 2023. Indeed, if you want to know more, in our opinion the meetings have already begun and at this point it might not even be the case that it's Jack Miller who ends up being sacrificed… However, it is too early for this type of talk, just as it is too early to hazard any kind of guess after just one qualifying session.
If the Pramac and Gresini team riders are confirmed, while we wait to discover Magic Marc over the distance, let's make a brief analysis of the other contenders. Ready to be proven wrong however because, as we said, there isn’t enough data to be processed without the risk of sensationally getting things wrong.
Qatar GP: race to win and ... to confirm your place in the team
Let's start with Jack Miller, whose main goal, of course, is to confirm his seat. The Australian is fast, but not always consistent. For him, Qatar represents an opportunity to start off on the right foot, which is equivalent to finishing the race in the top five. Needless to say, if a victory arrives, all the better, but this is the goal of every rider at the start.
For the moment this second row is well-deserved, as is that of Aleix Espargarò, always fast on the flying lap but also a bit wavering. The eldest of the Espargarò brothers, however, is at the end of his career, he has said so himself several times, so the race is much more important for his brother, in front of whom he put his wheels.
In fact, Pol must earn his confirmed place in the team and even in his case he will have to prove that he is consistent. HRC won't take its decision that quickly and a lot will depend on Marquez's results. If Marc reconfirms his leadership, Alberto Puig will only need a second stable rider.
From the third row things get a bit more complicated: Brad Binder, the best KTM rider on the track, is suffering a slight delay in the development of Mattighofen's bike: the team is completely behind him. That’s something capable of giving confidence to any rider.
Something similar could also be said by Joan Mir, who with the arrival of Livio Suppo in Suzuki knows he is on the much-wanted list. In qualifying on this occasion he partially disappointed by setting only the eighth quickest time, but we all know that the former world champion is a rider capable of emerging over the distance, in the race. So, watch out, because in the Grand Prix he will be in the mix as well as Pecco Bagnaia who will start alongside him.
From Bagnaia and Quartararo Ducati and Yamaha expect better in qualifying
The Ducati man, the first of the confirmed riders this year, could have done better in qualifying, but his Ducati will probably power him to the front already at the start, thanks to the acceleration of his engine and the efficiency of the twin lowering devices. Then, of course, it will be up to him to put together a race for which the only goal, for someone aiming for the world title, is victory.
Something similar must also be in the mind of Fabio Quartararo, way down in the fourth row between Rins and Morbidelli. And the fact that his teammate is alongside him is on the one hand a reason for comfort, but on the other hand for concern because Franky is not there to be his back-up man.
The upcoming tracks will offer the opportunity to see what the real potential of the bikes is
The tracks will change, however, and speed will not be so important, so for both of them the target is a race at the top… possibly by finishing in the first 5.
The rest, from the fifth row down, is all undercard level and we are disappointed to find Johann Zarco who still does not seem to have regained the speed he had when he was in Yamaha, while rookies like Marco Bezzecchi are starting to chew away at his boots.
Down in the MotoGP Ghetto: Vinales and Dovizioso, two champions in search of themselves
And speaking of youngsters and rookies: we are not surprised to find Remy Gardner, Raul Fernandez and Darryn Binder on the last row, as well as Fabio di Giannantonio just one position ahead: it is what it is. Rather we are wondering about the riders on row 6: Nakagami, Marini and Alex Marquez. And if for Luca – he’s a diesel engine, remember - we can talk about relative (in)experience, Takaaki and Alex now have a lot of that...
Maverick Vinales and Andrea Dovizioso deserve a separate paragraph: the Aprilia rider must speed up his apprenticeship on the RS-GP if he wants to revive his career, while honestly we still can't understand the choice of the man from Forlì to return with a satellite team. If we exclude the passion that made Valentino Rossi continue racing until he was 42…
