After a 2021 still conditioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, MotoGP will try to recover some normalcy in 2022. Dorna removes the freezing of the engines and we will see completely new bikes for the first time in two years. There will be no Valentino Rossi, the great personality of the world championship of recent decades, but two new teams and five rookie riders will join.
Of the six manufacturers who will participate, only Aprilia will keep the concessions in a world championship that is expected to be more balanced than ever. The 2022 MotoGP season will be the longest in history with 21 races, including two new circuits and a return to tracks not gone since 2019 due to travel restrictions.
Line-up of MotoGP riders and teams in 2022
In 2022 the number of riders in MotoGP will increase. After the separation between Gresini Racing and Aprilia and the entry of Valentino Rossi’s VR46, the bike will go from 22 to 24 bikes.
Six teams remain unchanged: Repsol Honda (Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro), Ducati (Pecco Bagnaia and Jack Miller), Suzuki (Joan Mir and Alex Rins), Red Bull KTM (Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira), Pramac (Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin) and LCR Honda (Alex Marquez and Takaaki Nakagami).
Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli, who had already concluded 2021 together, will return to be teammates in the Monster Yamaha team. The same goes for Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales in Aprilia.
There will be five rookies divided between the various teams. The Tech 3 team will have two rookies, Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez. Darryn Binder will be Andrea Dovizioso’s teammate in the WithU Yamaha RNF team, who takes the place of Petronas SRT. Marco Bezzecchi will meet Luca Marini in the VR46 team, and Fabio Di Giannantonio will also be back with Enea Bastianini in the Gresini Racing team.
Dates of motorcycle presentations 2022
At the moment, only two teams have announced their presentation date. The riders will have to travel to Malaysia for winter testing at the end of January, so it’s normal that the first introductions will take place before that time, as Ducati has done in recent years.
However, it is also customary for some manufacturers to present their bikes during the tests taking advantage of the Asian public. Others, on the other hand, are waiting for the three weeks that will take place between the end of the pre-season tests and the first race scheduled for March 6th.
2022 calendar: dates and circuits
In 2022, MotoGP will have the longest calendar in its history. The season anticipates the start compared to the last few years and the first Grand Prix will be held in the spotlight of Qatar on 6 March. From that moment until July, the league will not remarry for more than two consecutive weeks.
The second stop will be in Indonesia on March 20 for the debut of the Mandalika Circuit, which drivers and teams will have already seen in the tests. After two years out of the pandemic, Argentina will return, which will be the third race of the year and will complete a double with Austin in early April.
From there, the world championship will return to Europe starting from Portimao on April 24th. This will be followed by Jerez, Le Mans, Mugello, Barcelona, Sachsenring, Assen and the Finnish Grand Prix, which returns to the calendar on 10 July. However, the KymiRing track is still awaiting approval.
After a one-month hiatus, the action will resume from Silverstone on 7 August. The Red Bull Ring, Misano and Motorland Aragon will close the first part of the European season before flying to Asia. The Asian hat-trick is back, pandemic permitting.
The Motorland appointment will form the only hat-trick of the season together with Motegi and Thailand. This will be followed by a brace made up of Phillip Island and Sepang, before returning to Europe for the traditional closing round of the season, in Valencia on 6 November after 21 races.
Date |
Grand Prix |
Circuit |
March 6 |
Qatar |
Losail |
March 20 |
Indonesia* |
Mandalika |
3rd April |
Argentina |
Termas |
April 10 |
Americas |
COTA |
April 24 |
Portugal |
Algarve |
May 1 |
Spain |
Jerez |
May 15 |
France |
Le Mans |
May 29 |
Italy |
Mugello |
June 5th |
Catalunya |
Barcelona |
June 19 |
Germany |
Sachsenring |
June 26 |
Holland |
Assen |
10th of July |
Finland* |
KymiRing |
August 7 |
Great Britain |
Silverstone |
August 21 |
Austria |
Red Bull Ring |
September 4th |
San Marino |
Misano |
September 18 |
Aragon |
Motorland |
September 25th |
Japan |
Motegi |
2nd October |
Thailand |
Chang |
October 16 |
Australia |
Phillip Island |
October 23 |
Malaysia |
Sepang |
November 6 |
Valencian Community |
Cheste |
When will the MotoGP winter tests be in 2022?
The 2022 MotoGP season began as soon as the 2021 championship ended, with the first official tests. Even if the usual Valencia tests have not been carried out, the riders started making contact with their new teams and bikes as early as 18 and 19 November in Jerez.
Between December and January it is not allowed to ride with prototypes, so we will have to wait until the first official tests to get back to seeing the MotoGPs on the track. From January 31 to February 2, Sepang will host the traditional shakedown for rookies, testers and builders with concessions.
Three days later the first official test of 2022 will begin on that same track, while from 11 to 13 February, the MotoGP will move to Indonesia, where it will lap for the first time on the Mandalika track.
Date |
Circuit |
|
Shakedown |
January 31-February 2 |
Sepang (Malaysia) |
Official test |
February 5-6 |
Sepang (Malaysia) |
Official test |
11-13 February |
Mandalika (Indonesia) |
MotoGP test dates and circuits in 2022
Although the test season is limited for manufacturers without concessions, there will be several official test days. The first will be after the Spanish Grand Prix, when the riders will stay an extra day in Jerez on 2 May, the same thing will happen on 6 June after the Catalunya GP. Even after the San Marino Grand Prix there will be a two-day official test, on 6 and 7 September at the Misano Circuit.
Manufacturers can also organize private tests with their own testers in a number of chosen circuits. Aprilia, which is the only team that still benefits from the concessions, will have extra days of testing allowed.
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