Misano MotoGP Ratings: Which title contender was given the worst grade?

Crash.net journalist Robert Jones runs through the field’s rider ratings following an enthralling Misano MotoGP that saw Francesco Bagnaia pip future team-mate Enea Bastianini in a photo-finish.

Robert Jones

04 Sep 2022

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha MotoGP Misano, Italy 2022

Francesco Bagnaia - 10

(Qualified 2nd, started 5th, finished 1st)

Perfect for the fourth race in succession, Bagnaia made history as the first Ducati rider to win four MotoGP races in a row. A superb start from the Italian saw him move up from fifth to third by turn one before going from strength to strength as the race went on. Bagnaia wasn’t the fastest rider come the end of the race, however, the factory Ducati rider was peerless under pressure from Enea Bastianini, something that was not the case earlier in the season at Le Mans.

Enea Bastianini - 9

(Qualified 3rd, started 2nd, finished 2nd)

After leading the way following Jack Miller’s mistake, Bastianini was pushed down to third in the space of one lap by Bagnaia and Maverick Vinales. However, incredible late race pace from Bastianini saw the Italian mount a challenge for the win which came +0.034s away from being successful. Brilliant drive out of the final corner saw Bastianini begin to get alongside Bagnaia but it wasn’t enough for him to overtake his 2023 team-mate.

Maverick Vinales - 9

(Qualified 5th, started 4th, finished 3rd)

After a blip in Austria, Vinales was back to his best for most of the Misano MotoGP as he hounded Bagnaia for the lead. The Spaniard’s attempts at taking a first Aprilia win were stopped when Bastianini got ahead of him with eight laps to go, which then began a series of laps where Vinales was slower than the top two.

Luca Marini - 9

Luca Marini, MotoGP race, San Marino MotoGP, 4 September

(Qualified 7th, finished 4th)

Marini matches his best result in MotoGP after securing back-to-back fourth place finishes. Marini spent a considerable amount of time challenging for the podium before losing pace relative to Bagnaia, Bastianini and Vinales late on, however, he crucially stayed ahead of Fabio Quartararo for Ducati.

Fabio Quartararo - 8

(Qualified 8th, finished 5th)

After suffering his worst qualifying result of the season, reigning MotoGP champion Quartararo managed to limit the damage by securing yet another top five. Quartararo lost out in the middle part of the race which cost him a shot at the podium despite late race pace being stronger than Marini and Vinales.

Aleix Espargaro - 6

(Qualified 9th, finished 6th)

Like Quartararo, Espargaro had a qualifying session to forget in Misano after failing to match several Ducatis and team-mate Vinales. But after making a good start and getting ahead of Quartararo it appeared as though a strong race was on the cards. However, the Aprilia rider lacked pace throughout the Grand Prix compared to Quartararo and the podium finishers.

Alex Rins - 8

Alex Rins, MotoGP race, San Marino MotoGP, 4 September

(Qualified 12th, finished 7th)

Another strong start which has been a recent theme for Rins and Suzuki helped set up the Spaniard for another strong result. After an early battle with Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin, Rins began to pull clear before taking a comfortable P7 finish.

Brad Binder - 8

(Qualified 15th, finished 8th)

After playing an unfortunate role in the turn one accident involving Johann Zarco, Michele Pirro and Pol Espargaro - Binder clipped Zarco on the entry to turn one which sent the Pramac rider into those on the outside - the KTM rider showed exceptional pace to pick off several riders in front of him.

Jorge Martin - 7

(Qualified 13th, finished 9th)

A great start saw Martin challenging the likes of Espargaro and Quartararo early on, but as the race developed the Spaniard struggled to maintain that level as Binder got through with a few laps remaining.

Alex Marquez - 7

(Qualified 16th, finished 10th)

Just his third top ten finish of the 2022 season, Marquez produced a good performance to get the better of Miguel Oliveira.

Miguel Oliveira - 6

(Qualified 10th, finished 11th)

While most of the riders around him went forward in the race, Oliveira slipped back down the order to eventually finish 11th.

Andrea Dovizioso - 7

Andrea Dovizioso, MotoGP race, San Marino MotoGP, 4 September

(Qualified 18th, finished 12th)

Competing in the final MotoGP race of his career, Dovizioso managed to put together one of his better performances of the season as consistency proved to be his biggest strength in the race.

Raul Fernandez - 8

(Qualified 25th, finished 13th)

By far his best race of the 2022 MotoGP season, Fernandez made a sensational start to find his way into 12th. The Tech 3 KTM rider remained in the points throughout before coming home in P13.

Stefan Bradl - 7

(Qualified 20th, finished 14th)

Potentially in his last stand-in ride for Marc Marquez, Bradl claimed his best result of the season which was also his first points scoring finish.

Takaaki Nakagami - 7

(Qualified 22nd, finished 15th)

While others faulted ahead of him, Nakagami was one of several riders that managed to carve his way up the other to finish in the points.

Darryn Binder - 6

(Qualified 21st, finished 16th)

Binder was the first rider to miss out on a points finish after finishing 11 seconds behind Nakagami.

Marco Bezzecchi - 3

(Qualified 4th, started 3rd, finished 17th)

Despite a poor start, Bezzecchi looked set for a promising home race before crashing at turn ten on lap two.

Jack Miller - 2

(Qualified 1st, finished 18th)

A first MotoGP pole in four years set Miller up for a great chance of taking victory, and after a brilliant start which saw him comfortably retain the lead, the Australian saw his hopes washed away after making a mistake at turn four. Miller suffered a front-end crash in what was an unforced error from the future KTM rider.

Ramy Gardner - 5

(Qualified 24th, finished 19th)

Another tough round for Gardner as team-mate Fernandez had better pace throughout.

Kazuki Watanabe - 6

(Qualified 23rd, finished 20th)

Last of the runners who finished the race, Watanabe did a solid job in his stand-in performance for Joan Mir.

Johann Zarco - 4

(Qualified 6th, DNF)

Zarco crashed following a poor start that saw him pushed back into the pack and contact with Binder that led to a three-rider accident.

Franco Morbidelli - 2

(Qualified 11th, DNF)

A much better weekend in terms of performance in practice and qualifying for Morbidelli ended in disaster when he crashed out on lap four.