The MotoGP series returned for a second race at Misano this year. The race was quite eventful, for several reasons. Unexpectedly, it resulted in the crowning of Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) as the 2021 World MotoGP champion.
After a disastrous qualifying, Quartararo had to start the race at 15th on the grid (his worst grid position all year). His title rival Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) started from pole position … looking to extend the championship battle into the next round. Essentially, Quartararo needed to finish the race in front of Bagnaia to seal his claim to the championship with two rounds remaining.
Bagnaia took off like a bullet from the start and Marc Marquez settled in behind him as the only rider who could match his pace. While Bagnaia and Marquez distanced themselves from third place, Quartararo passed one rider after another to gain positions.
With just a few laps remaining, Bagnaia spectacularly crashed out of the lead (unhurt), and Marquez was left to cruise home to the win. The DNF by Bagnaia handed the crown to Quartararo, who eventually finished in fourth position. The podium was filled out by Pol Espargaro (Honda) in second and Enea Bastianini (Ducati) in third (from 16th on the grid).
For full results of today’s race, take a look here. You can find additional details on the MotoGP site.
RIP Paul Smart.
Died Wednesday October 27 at 78 years of age in a traffic crash. He was riding a motorcycle at the time.
Damn, what a shame. Be careful out there everyone.
Read something interesting about Marquez to think about for next year …..
He isn’t fully fit, yet he’s outscored everyone in the last four races (Marquez 83, Bagnaia 66, Quatararo 61).
2022 is going to be sumpthin special!
Not sure I buy it when Marquez says he isn’t fully fit. He isn’t fading at the end of races … even at brutal COTA this year. Even so, the younger riders haven’t reached their potential and will continue to get faster, as well. Let’s assume the youngsters are still at 80% of their potential- particularly Bastianini and Martin who are rookies (Martin also suffering serious injuries in his rookie year). Maybe Pecco and Fabio are at 90%. These guys are still learning and getting faster each year. Marquez will have his hands full in 2022 IMO.
He isn’t fully fit because :
1) he said so.
2) he can’t make the saves like he use to.
3) If look at his last “ healthy” year (2019) he dominated . His worst finish was 2nd with 1 dnf.
4) He still finished 6th this year, so far with 6 races with no points and only second to Fabio in wins.
5) still wins on on a bike no one else can ride or win on. Sure Pol got second 1 race but he probably won’t match his kTM standings.
Next year looks to be great Fabio is consistent, Bagnia is coming on strong with arguably the best bike , Franco could be a force . Maybe Mir. If Suzuki has something . The “young” racers coming up are going to need more time.
I am going Márquez 1st , Fabio 2nd , Franco 3rd on a limb and Bagnia 4th. I think bike development will play a key factor with the exception of Marquez.
Fa-Que didn’t HAVE to beat mm93 the last four races…
what, so he didn’t try?
no, why would he? mm is over ONE HUNDRED points behind.
because true Champions try to win?
He also had fewer points than Bagnaia who was in contention for the Championship.
“no, why would he? mm is over ONE HUNDRED points behind.”
indeed!!! very well put and an astute observation Sir/Madam.
that’s what we all want to see when watching racing!!!
we are thrilled beyond imagination to watch a season of the smart rider nurse an early title lead to the finish.
very exciting!!!
FQ’s (and his team) 2021 accomplishments have most definitely attracted more fans to the sport and surely will sell much more overpriced motorcycles at the dealerships.
imagine, all the added sales markup Yamaha will be able to add on their toys 4 sale thanks to FQ’s glorious and astonishing title win.
Guess young Quatro doesn’t even have to roll the Yammie out for the next couple of races since he has the title in hand. Maybe he’ll make a few parade laps each race since he doesn’t have to actually beat anybody.
Heaven forbid he actually tries to show why he’s the Champion eh?
Smart riders know that a World Championship means more that passing one more rider, or even a race win.
Marc lost the Championship in 2014 because of a “win it or bin it” mentality. He learned to ride smarter, and won even more races and Championships.
Fabio is a fast rider, a good racer, and now is a World Champion.
We should have 2 great races to finish off the season, because the Championship is off the table. Paul & Mickey seem to forget that Fabio went from 15th to 3rd in the last race.
I do believe he got 4th last race and had Miller and Bagnaia not crashed out ahead of him he would have only gotten 6th at best.
If he doesnt win next year I can hear the excuses from his fans now that Yamaha didnt give him a bike that he could win with,(lets start calling it “the Vinales excuse”) not that another rider was faster and won more.
He did finish 4th, but did go from 15th to 3rd, as stated.
Let me know when they start handing out points to racers who crash out of the race. I don’t recall having seen that happen very often.
The old adage “To finish first, you must first finish.” applies here. Both Miller and Bagnaia crashed out unassisted. There is a bit of validity in “what if?” arguments when riders get taken out by other riders.
A less-than 100% Marc appears to be the best rider right now, but the current performance differences between Marc, Fabio, and Pecco are quite small. Expect the next 2 races to be great.
Mir is a decent rider, but last year’s Title was a fluke.
“Fabio is a fast rider, a good racer”
i’d say the most folks, myself included, are in 100% agreement with that above quote.
i’d say it should be a no brainer to then figure out that; since we all know FQ has ‘what it takes’, some us of expect for FQ to show it. hence, when FQ chooses not give his best, we then choose not to be all gushy fan-boys/girls over him.
Of greater concern is whether Marquez has the maturity to last. He has a history of using poor judgment. Excusable as a young racer, but it will shorten his career if he doesn’t figure out he does not bounce as well any more. Ricky Carmichael once said riders win championships on their worst outings, by salvaging fourth- or fifth-places, rather than crashing out. There is a lot of wisdom in this.
“Ricky Carmichael once said riders win championships on their worst outings, by salvaging fourth- or fifth-places, rather than crashing out. There is a lot of wisdom in this.”
Ricky never raced less than he could and is one of my favorite MX riders of all time. I wished Ryan Villapota stayed in the game longer.
anyhoo…when RC states ‘salvage’ 5th or 6th…he means after already suffering a crash at the lead and then picking himself up and going for points instead of crashing ‘again’, in the same race, trying to get another lead/podium position/going for glory.
RC is not recommending riders cruise in 5th or 6th to try and win a championship on safe points.
“Of greater concern is whether Marquez has the maturity to last.”
Let’s see, 8 total MotoGP Championships, 6 in the premier class at 28 years old and you are wondering whether he has the maturity to last.
Wouldn’t you say the facts speak for themselves? Man you have high standards!
He’s also been injured a lot, often while crashing out of a podium position.
And with all that going against him he still has put up the stats I mentioned. Moto racing is not a sport for the faint of heart, crashing and injuries are part of it. Some careers are ended by it, others not. I guess Mick Dohan wasn’t mature either because of all the crashes and injuries. Usually when 15 seconds ahead of the field.
He also has a history of winning a few championships, too. I suspect he’ll get things figured out and be a contender once again, though perhaps not as dominant as before
I sure hope so. Now he’s got a concussion to contend with.
Good race. Nice to see Marc back to his A game. Well, probably his A- game, but he’s getting there. Should be a good wrap-up to the season in the remaining two races.
The grid is full of talented riders, but there are still only a few who are able to run consistently at all the tracks under all conditions.
I would expect 2022 to be a contest between Marc, Fabio, and Pecco. Bastianini has shown a real turn of speed under race conditions, and will likely be a real threat if/when things come together. It was good to see Pol on the podium, but it remains to be seen whether this is a bit of a fluke, or if he has turned the corner.
Oh, contgrats to Fabio. The kid was impressive in M3 before his injuries, and it’s great to see him coming good.
Congrats to Fabio! Very deserving and should have won it last year. Great to see him mature into a champion this year.
Fabrizio: “Look at how mean and dangerous MM93 was to all those people during his win.”
Aleix Espargo: “But I’m a top 3 rider in the world. How is this happening?”
Marc is going to make 2022 an exciting year as he tries to regain crown surrounded by the incredible current and upcoming talent. Can we please fast forward to next season? Can’t wait!!!
Congrats to Quatararo on the well deserved Championship. Got to say Bagnaia has been really impressive the especially the latter part of the season.
Congrats as well to Marquez for his win today. Can’t wait to see Quatro, Marquez and Bagnaia battling again next year.
Wonder what happened to Zarco the last part of this season? Also Morbidelli?
Also wonder how the mood is in Vinales side of the Aprilia box. Can’t be good.
Miller has become a plow, but he’s really fast when he’s on top of the machine.
The new young talent is going to make next year interesting for sure.
Morbidelli had a knee injury operated on mid-season.
Arm pump issues/surgery for Zarco. Knee injury/surgery for Frankie.
ahh yes, thanks for the reminders guys. I really do think my memory is beginning to slip some. Comes with age I suppose.
Quartararo deserves the title this year but next year he may have to fight for it with Marquez. Its clear that Marquez is getting back to his previous form.
You’re right on both accounts. Next year should be interesting. Some new motors coming too. Hopefully good competition all around.
As he adapts to non-previous body/muscle fitness/structure. It’s damn impressive.
the fight for 2022 looks to be between MM and Pecco…if they run each other off often enough, and hard enough, then FQ (and others) has a chance.
i’d wager MM is ready to enjoy retirement but wants and will work hard for Championship win to retire on. i’d say MM want’s one last Championship sooner than later.
You’d put FQ among “the others”? He mopped the floor with them all (including Bagnaia) this season. He had his now customary late season fade but had Bagnaia had one more misstep earlier in the season, FQ would’ve wrapped up the title with 3 full races left.
If MM can fully return to pre-broken arm form and all the bikes stay roughly the same, the it’ll be back to status quo (with him running away with it). If not, he’ll have his hands full chasing FQ.
Pecco has been really good lately but it’s far too early to put a crown on his head.
How many wins did 2020 champion have?
How many wins did 2021 champion have?
How many wins did the champion from 8 previous years have per season?
Nobody has mopped the floor in 2020 or 2021.
Also,
who predicted 2020 champion would repeat in 2021?
where did (will) 2020 champion finish in 2021?
I feel 2021 champion will finish better in 2022 than previous champion finished in 2021 but I do not predict a repeat in 2022 unless MM and pecco make it possible.
FQ won 5 times this year (so far), 2x more wins than MM achieved. A more important thing to look at is FQ had NO DNF’s, MM had 4 and nobody between them in the standings has had less than 2.
Fabio has only failed to podium 3x times this year, Bagnaia has failed to podium 9 of the 16 races. FQ looking a lot more like MM than MM is at this point, Bagnaia doesn’t yet compare to either in my opinion.
i’m surprised you referenced 2021 race wins of a still injured MM vs a fit FQ. FQ earned the 2021 championship from work put in the first half of the season when MM was still very injured and there was no other ‘consistent’ contender to challenge. in the second half of the season is when Pecco and MM showed great improvement, and beyond, with the consistency coming from MM and pecco.
the important thing to remember is whom is going into the winter break with the most momentum. that would be pecco and then MM.
as of late pecco currently owns both MM and FQ. MM is not even 100% yet and he now owns FQ. even agreeing that a still injured MM is a title contender for next year speaks volumes for MM. FQ is not going to get many DNFs if he coasts around he track riding ‘smart’ for an easy gift championship like Mir did last year. how many wins(podiums) did Mir have in 2021? Mir was quoted as saying there was no pressure for defending the championship for 2021. what the H? i will give FQ more credit for 2022 than Mir for his 2021 performance.
when was FQ’s last win? i guess we’ll see how the last two (no pressure) 2021 races go for FQ.
“there was no other ‘consistent’ contender to challenge.”
There were more consistent challengers, until they weren’t consistent anymore (Zarco, Miller, etc.). Pecco has been great but three of his 4 worst results have come in the 2nd half of the season. He doesn’t “own” anybody yet.
Marquez’ improvement has been only the last 4 races, prior to this, he was pretty bad with one victory and a bunch of DNF’s and also-ran results.
Malign Mir if you want but he is 3rd overall in the championship right now.
Nobody goes into the winter with more momentum than the guy with the title.
when was MM’s last 3 race wins and when was FQ’s last 3 race wins.
2021 had many many “different” race winners (same as 2020) with no one rider amongst any able to consistently win.
therefor…
2020 and 2021 was the same year…the same strategy prevailed because the real champion was out and/or injured…the championship was gifted to the smart and safe rider.
smart safe riders are not normally DNF-ing a lot.
*people don’t care much about the accomplishments of the smart safe riders.
there are two races left.
how many times did MM clinch a title with races remaining and how many of those remaining races did MM win?
*************S0***************
FQ has the 2021 title.
there is no more “pressure” on FQ to ride smart for the title win.
how much are you prepared to wager that FQ, the rider who mopped the floor with everybody, wins both remaining races?
and i mean to say that FQ wins the real way and not because he’s 12 seconds back in third place when Pecco and MM crash each other out and gift the win to the third place guy.
it appears 2022 will be a true to form championship. unless things change (and they do, often,) it will be between MM and pecco.
i do consider FQ a very top rider (aside from wet races). i consider this year a fail for FQ because he chose to “dial it back” in order to take an easy title victory.
when/who was the last champion who to do so?
-Mir is 3rd overall in the championship right now.-
exactly my point!!!
how does a guy with no race wins and no podiums hold 3rd place in the 2021 championship?
answer- there were no real contenders in 2021 (for most of 2021 at the least but MM and pecco are now legit at the end of the season and will be at the start of 2022). same as 2020. the 2021 and 2020 Championships are gifted not earned.
“Nobody goes into the winter with more momentum than the guy with the title.”
i would normally agree with this outside of the 2020 and the same 2021 Championship winners.
“*people don’t care much about the accomplishments of the smart safe riders.”
Which people, fans? Everyone invested in the success of a team cares about the accomplishments in smart, safe riders. This is what wins championships. FQ is the *only* rider with no DNF’s this year. Mir is the only one with no finishes in 10th or worse.
Marquez’ 1st race win this year was in Germany. FQ won twice since then and if you look at the result since that 1st win, you’ll see that FQ out-pointed MM by a significant margin through this last race.
Nobody denies that MM is the best of the generation but it is naive to ignore the challenge FQ brings to him. I would bet on him over Pecco without hesitation. He is unquestionably the better rider. He’s won more and his bad days haven’t been as bad. Just look at the score board.
If you consider any rider who brings home a year long championship a “failure” you simply have an unrealistic worldview.
i consider anybody whom performs less than they can a failure. if you like to talk up and support under-achievers good on you i guess.
Kenny Robert’s ‘other’ son Kurtis (AMA racing) stated on camera that his team’s instructions were to win/podium or crash trying.
““*people don’t care much about the accomplishments of the smart safe riders.”
Which people, fans?”
apparently.
all the fans predicting 2022’s winner not being FQ says something no?
i would’t be surprised to learn FQ’s team, and Yamaha head office, advised the ride smart strategy, once a sizable lead was accrued (due to no competition) so they could take the title at minimal cost and risk.
again, i consider FQ a very top rider. i wouldn’t be surprised to learn that FQ would have preferred to ride at his best, go for the glory in every race, for the entire season.
in any case it’s piss poor as far as i am concerned.
“FQ is the *only* rider with no DNF’s this year.”
FQ was not pushing his limit. Period.
Gotta agree with you on this one Dave. Still some great racing left for 2021 but dang I can’t wait for next year too.
my apologies.
i errored in saying Mir has no 2021 podiums. I know Mir has 1 second place finish and 3 or 4 third place finishes. no wins though.
Pecco owns who????? Surely you can’t believe that Pecco is a better rider than Fabio. Fabio is on a good handling but slow bike and makes it work week in week out. Anyone disparaging his title this year simply isn’t paying attention. Hell, Pecco would have had one less win if Miller didn’t block Fabio for half a race. Consistency wins championships, period. Quoting Kurtis Roberts is laughable. What the hell did he ever win? If all the riders decided to throw caution to the wind and win it or bin it, then Rossi would be the 2021 world champion. Why?? Because racing is a thinking man’s game and Rossi was a master tactician. You win championships on the days you don’t have your A-game. The smartest racer I ever saw was Mat Mladin. I didn’t like him but he would know when to hold and when to fold, hence his many AMA championships.
Consistency wins championship. True indeed. Consistently performing at your best.
Or, sometimes were able to to succeed by consistently not performing at our best when the other top performers are not present to challenge us and demand our best.
agree with your Matt Mladen assessment. I imagine he nearly fainted with glory upon learning Spies was going overseas.
I think I’m not following you. Are you saying the 2020 and 2021 MotoGP champions performed at less than their best and are failures and under-achievers? FQks not crashing means he isn’t pushing the limits? He’s racing for the MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! It is the single most important achievement in motorcycle racing. “Win it or bin it”? That’s silly talk. Nonsense that has no place in high stakes professional well, anything.
I’m not following you I guess.
Are you saying FQ never dialed it back this season?
Every racer dials it back at points in every race they ride. There is no way to interpret a DNF as success.
“Every racer dials it back at points in every race they ride.”
absolutely true.
some less than others though in any particular race and some less than others in any particular season.
I prefer any sportsman whom can do better to do better.
I’m not a big fan of a rider’s (Dovi) consistent desperate strategy of following the lead rider for the entire race and then attacking at the last corner or winning from a draft pass. If the two lead riders are dicing for numerous laps and use the final corner attack and/or draft pass then that is different. Strategies win points sure but not much respect in some cases.
“There is no way to interpret a DNF as success.”
absolutely true again.
DNFs come from pushing one’s limits too far (crashing oneself out and/or taking another out as well) or from an equipment malfunction.
BTW- I do believe Mir gave it his best in 2020.
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BTW you haven’t answered yet… what are your win predictions for the two remaining races?
i’d be interested in hearing your predictions on whom claims Pole position(s) and fastest free practice times too.
Kevin2…
“Pecco would have had one less win if Miller didn’t block Fabio for half a race.”
Miller who?
I find it hard to believe FQ does not have the talent, speed, and experience required to pass Jack Miller in less than half a race (unless you are referencing a wet race then indeed Miller was not blocking FQ at all).
I couldn’t guess who will win the next races, that’s why I’m so interested to watch.
Paul, did you even watch the first Misano race?? Miller blocked Fabio til the midway point. If Fabio was phoning it in, why did he chase down Pecco like a rabid dog trying to win?? He admitted himself after the race that he had lost the front several times while chasing Pecco and that probably wasn’t that smart given the points situation. If you think there is any rider out there (save Vinales) who isn’t trying their best then I got nothing for you. Your argument that some riders only perform as well as they have to would seem like an insult to someone like…oh… Valentino Rossi who routinely practiced and qualified way slower than he raced. I would like to watch a race with you and let you point out to me who is trying and who is not. What exact amount of deviation in a lap time would you use for evidence of “dialing it back”???
I did not talk to to FQ about Misano so I can only guess what he was thinking and doing.
racers do not always follow team orders.
He rode behind Miller for a good long while then his natural competitiveness over came his team orders and he made an honest go of it?
You being a Rossi fan speaks volumes.
Im a Ross fan. Rossi belongs to a small group of racers whom levelled up the entire game. I don’t even give MM the same credit as being a game changer. I give MM credit for his success as sheer tenacity, iq, hard work, learning what made others champions and implementing every possible thing of good use…but above all…performing at his best. Rossi should have retired years ago (when he could no longer consistently podium). Save your ‘breath’ trying to educate us as to the relevance of Rossi to this day.
We all know his purpose. We all see the yellow shirted fans filling the stadiums whom Rossi and his inflated ego circulates the track for. I’d wager you own and display a piece or two of Rossi paraphernalia?
I’d wager MM retires long before his best ‘on track’ accomplishments fade as much as Rossi’s did.
“ I would like to watch a race with you and let you point out to me who is trying and who is not. What exact amount of deviation in a lap time would you use for evidence of “dialing it back”???”
I wouldn’t.
I know full well that racers take breathing/rest breaks when they can during races. It’s long been shown and proven many times that racers lap times and positions change during races.
Your attempt of claiming high ground or victory of this silly argument by inference that I don’t understand racing is the same as your attempt of claiming the same victory because I guessed the wrong color of FQs underpants.
I find it odd and funny that others refuse to accept a less than glorious fact of racing being that riders (they like) change strategy from giving their best to gain a lead to ride smart and nurse the lead whether it be a race lead or title lead.
Racers work for us…the fans. Race on Sunday sell on Monday. We buy the motorcycles and those sales profits keep their employers in business so they can hire and pay their rider’s salaries.
Yes…it is very fortunate for those star racers that endorsements have likely outpaced actual salaries for those star riders. Nonetheless, their bosses, the manufacturers are dependant on our, the fans, business and support.
fred’s predictions for the last 2 races of 2021:
Poles: Each will be won by either Marc, Fabio, or Pecco.
Wins: One of the same three for each win.
Practice times? Don’t care.
FQ is the champ and has mopped the floor with all other competitors.
I don’t understand your predictions.
Who is Marc and pecco?
Why are they listed amongst your choices?
There is only FQ.
So FQ was dialed back behind Miller and all of a sudden he got a wild hair to pass him and track down Pecco? You are contradicting yourself. Was he or was he not dialed back in this race???
WRONG! Not a Rossi fan at all. Just using him as an easy example to prove my point. He has been great for the sport and its expansion but I think he has in general been treated with kid gloves by Dorna. I also think he happens to be somewhat of a poor sport.
I don’t understand your MM rant at all. Other than to say he got hurt riding the way that you say all riders should ride at all times. And he’s the other Dorna darling that has gotten away with crap other riders wouldn’t.
I never said riders don’t ride smart or nurse leads or settle for second. I used Matt Mladin as an example of someone who knew exactly how to do this and win championships. Did you read any of my posts???
Yes ultimately, the fans are the bosses of any entertainment. So what?? If you think MotoGP is a group of overpaid hacks that don’t ride as hard as you think they should, then vote with your wallet and watch something else.
“So FQ was dialed back behind Miller and all of a sudden he got a wild hair to pass him and track down Pecco? You are contradicting yourself. Was he or was he not dialed back in this race???”
Pretty sure I already said that FQ was laying back drafting Miller and having a nice relaxing ride and then decided to have some fun and start racing gain for a while. if you do not believe me then ask FQ. go ahead and let us know.
BTW-MM is out of this weekend’s race so there you go FQ you just increased your chances for a podium. great riding champ.
“Marc Marquez ruled out of this weekend’s Algarve MotoGP due to suffering a concussion in a training accident”
Marquez = out.