Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana

2022-11-26 08:01
Alex Rins (Suzuki Team Ecstar) took an emotional victory in Suzuki’s final MotoGP™ race under clear blue skies at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in the Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana. Second across the finish line was Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) coming home in third place.

Francesco Bagnaia finished in ninth place, and in the process took the 2022 MotoGP World Championship title – the first riders’ title for Ducati since Casey Stoner won the championship back in 2007.

Tyre choice for the race was primarily Hard front and Medium rear MICHELIN Power Slicks, a combination which offered the best overall performance in terms of grip, stability and consistency.

In Friday’s Free Practice sessions, and without the threat of wet weather which has been a defining factor at recent rounds, the riders were able to start testing the various MICHELIN Power Slick tyres in FP1 and work on bike set-up without the usual pressure to set early fast lap times. However, towards the end of FP2 the Soft rear tyres were fitted as the riders went into time-attack mode. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) finished with the fastest lap time of the day with a 1’30.217 on Medium front and Soft rear slicks. Unusually for Valencia at this time of year the weather was warm throughout the day, without the cool morning temperatures that are common in November.

The cooler temperatures returned for Saturday morning’s FP3 session, and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) fired in the fastest lap with a time of 1’29.921 on Soft MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear. The times were close as always, with the top 12 riders separated by less than 0.5 seconds. In a tense Q2, with more rubber on the track and higher temperatures the lap times dropped into the 1’29s, and Jorge Martin took his third consecutive pole, with a lap time of 1’29.621. Joining him on the front row were Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Jack Miller.

Speaking after the race, Piero Taramasso, Michelin Two-Wheel Motorsport Manager, said: “This has been an incredibly emotional weekend, and a good weekend for us to finish off the 2022 season. The tyres performed well right from the start, with consistently fast lap times, whether the riders were doing their set-up and race distance simulations, time attack or racing. We saw throughout the weekend that the Hard front and Medium rear options worked very well for all riders and teams, and this led to them being the race choice for virtually all riders.

“It’s been a long season for everyone, and after the test on Tuesday it will be time for a well-earned break for us and the rest of the paddock. However, we will be back next season raring to go, and looking forward to another great year of premier class racing.

“Finally, I would like to congratulate Pecco Bagnaia and Ducati on their riders’ world championship title. It has been a while coming, but I have no doubt that the prosecco tasted much better because of that, and in additions it was great to see Alex Rins taking the race victory in Suzuki’s final MotoGP race.”

Source: Michelin Motorsport

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