A dramatic day at the Thai GP yielded more points for the Repsol Honda Team as Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro dodged puddles and chased improvements.

What had looked set to be a straightforward race day in Thailand was interrupted by a torrential downpour during the Moto2 race, leaving the Chang International Circuit soaking wet. Subsequent on and off showers saw the premier class race delayed by almost a full hour as race organizers waited for a clear window of weather.

All eyes were on Marc Marquez when the racing did get underway as he shot off the line, disappearing behind a wall of spray as the field charged into Turn 1. Emerging from the wall of water, Marquez found himself firmly inside the top five and settled in for the long 25-lap race. Steady at the start, the eight-time World Champion picked up the pace as the race went on as he used his incredible riding ability and mixed-weather skills to guide his Honda RC213V around the Thai circuit. In the closing laps, Marquez smelled a potential podium and launched his attack on Francesco Bagnaia but was unable to make a move stick.

Ultimately settling for a fighting fifth place, Marquez moves up two positions in the overall MotoGP World Championship to 13th.

On the other side of the Repsol Honda Team garage, Pol Espargaro put together a strong recovery ride from 19th on the grid. Cautious in the early laps as his tyres got up to temperature, Espargaro found his speed towards the end of the race and steadily picked off the competition as the laps went on. Crossing the line in 14th, the #44 adds a further two points to his haul but remains disappointed with his overall Thai GP.

The MotoGP World Championship now enjoy a one-week break before the Australian Grand Prix and the final three races of the year begin.

Marc Marquez

Fifth

“I am happy with the race overall; I was again able to do a solid race – avoiding mistakes and staying calm at the start. Wet races are always very long so you need to be careful. Then I was feeling better, and I gained time on the group ahead, but it was impossible to overtake Bagnaia. The acceleration of the Ducati is very strong. We keep on working and trying to improve everything, it has been a good weekend where we were competitive in the wet and the dry. Now we have a week off to recover a bit and keep on training to be strong for the final three races of the year.”

Pol Espargaro

14th

“It was a long and tricky race in the wet. It’s clear the Honda has more potential in it because you can see what Marc is doing. He’s maybe riding in a different way but I am still struggling a lot with edge grip. We were able to make up some places in the wet and score some more points, but this is not what I am aiming for and we need to improve for the final races.”

MotoGP 2022
Race Round 17   Thailand

Thai Grand Prix - Race Results

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 41'44.503
2 Miller Jack 43 AUS 20 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.730
3 Bagnaia Francesco 62 ITA 16 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 1.968
4 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 13 Pramac Racing Ducati 2.490
5 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 11 Repsol Honda Team Honda 2.958
6 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA 10 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 13.257
7 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA 9 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 14.566
8 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 8 LCR Honda Honda 14.861
9 Martin Jorge 89 SPA 7 Pramac Racing Ducati 15.365
10 Binder Brad 33 RSA 6 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 18.097
11 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA 5 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 19.041
12 Rins Alex 42 SPA 4 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 19.659
13 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 3 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 22.439
14 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA 2 Repsol Honda Team Honda 23.646
15 Fernandez Raul SPA 1 30.483
16 Bezzecchi Marco 73 ITA 0 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 33.466
17 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA 0 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 34.072
18 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA 0 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 36.203
19 Crutchlow Cal 35 GBR 0 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 36.532
20 Petrucci Danilo 9 ITA 0 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 42.508
21 Binder Darryn 40 RSA 0 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 49.992
22 Nagashima Tetsuta 45 JPN 0 LCR Honda Honda 51.346
23 Marini Luca 10 ITA 0 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati +2 Laps
24 Gardner Remy AUS DNF DNF
MotoGP 2022

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA 219 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
2 Bagnaia Francesco 62 ITA 217 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
3 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA 199 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
4 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA 180 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
5 Miller Jack 43 AUS 179 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
6 Binder Brad 33 RSA 154 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
7 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 151 Pramac Racing Ducati
8 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR 131 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
9 Martin Jorge 89 SPA 127 Pramac Racing Ducati
10 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA 122 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
11 Rins Alex 42 SPA 112 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
12 Marini Luca 10 ITA 101 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
13 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 84 Repsol Honda Team Honda
14 Bezzecchi Marco 73 ITA 80 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
15 Mir Joan 36 SPA 77 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
16 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 50 LCR Honda Honda
17 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA 49 Repsol Honda Team Honda
18 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN 46 LCR Honda Honda
19 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 31 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
20 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA 23 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
21 Dovizioso Andrea 4 ITA 15 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha
22 Binder Darryn 40 RSA 10 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha
23 Gardner Remy AUS 9
24 Fernandez Raul SPA 9
25 Crutchlow Cal 35 GBR 3 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha
26 Bradl Stefan 6 GER 2 HRC Test Team Honda
27 Pirro Michele ITA 0
28 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA 0 Aprilia Racing Test Team Aprilia
29 Petrucci Danilo 9 ITA 0 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
30 Watanabe Kazuki 92 JPN 0 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
31 Nagashima Tetsuta 45 JPN 0 LCR Honda Honda
32 Tsuda Takuya JPN 0
Location Information

Designed by German architect Herman Tilke, the Buriram International Circuit opened in 2014 and will see MotoGP™ making its debut this season. Located around 410km northeast from the country’s capital of Bangkok, the town of Buriram in the Buriram province literally translates into “city of happiness”, and its typically hot… read more.

Length 4.6 km / 2.83 miles
Width 12 metres / 39.37 ft.
Left corners 5
Right corners 7
Longest straight 1 km / 3280.84 ft.
Constructed 2014
Modified /

444 Moo 15 Buriram Chang Wat Buri Ram 31000, Thailand - View in Google Maps

bric.co.th

Records

Track Best lap 1m29.287s (183.6 Km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2023)
Pole Position 1m29.287s (183.6 Km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2023)
Race Lap 1m30.178s (181.8 Km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2023)
2023 Sprint Winner Jorge Martin (Ducati)
2023 Winner Jorge Martin (Ducati)