Can Quartararo take advantage of Marquez' absence, Bagnaia's poor form?

Can Fabio Quartararo take advantage of Marc Marquez’ absence, Francesco Bagnaia’s poor form, and what are the chances KTM back-up their early season results with another MotoGP podium? - key talking points ahead of the Argentina MotoGP discussed…
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha MotoGP
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha MotoGP
© Gold and Goose

Quartararo will make just his second Argentina MotoGP start this weekend, while three-time winner Marquez won’t be racing due to his ongoing battle with diplopia. 

Following medical checks earlier in the week, the eight-time world champion was once again ruled out of a MotoGP race for the third consecutive season. 

And while the Termas De Rio Hondo Circuit hasn’t been as successful a venue as Sachsenring, Texas or Aragon for example, it’s a grand prix Marquez has tended to dominate when finishing. 

This means an already closer-than-ever 2022 rider line-up has an even better chance of contending for victory, but who should we expect to do so? 

Atop this list is reigning world champion Quartararo. 

After claiming his first pole of the year in Mandalika, the Yamaha rider then went on to claim a podium in what was arguably the best wet-weather performance of his career to date. 

Although it’s Enea Bastianini who currently leads the world championship, Quartararo is still seen by many as one of three ’main’ title favourites, albeit that depends on Marquez’s availability going forward. Rounding out that list is Ducati’s Bagnaia. 

But with Marquez missing from one of his better tracks statistically, and Bagnaia struggling for form - has scored just one point out of a possible 50 - chances are Quartararo will continue to build a buffer before the Italian gels with his hybrid 2021-22 Desmosedici machine. 

Francesco Bagnaia, Indonesian MotoGP, 18 March 2022
Francesco Bagnaia, Indonesian MotoGP, 18 March 2022
© Gold and Goose

Given the form Bagnaia showed towards the latter part of 2021, building up a lead could be in Quartararo’s best interest. 

And while the Argentine circuit could possess a few more top speed issues compared to Mandalika, sectors one and four should highlight the M1’s strength. 

Speaking ahead of the weekend, Quartararo added: “It‘s nice to be back at the Termas track. None of us have ridden here since 2019, so that means that we are all pretty much starting from the same point. 

“This is not my personal best track, but I think we can do a good job here. In Indonesia I was feeling a lot better with the bike. 

“We tried something new, and that paid off. I‘m very curious to see if that will also be the case here.”

For Quartararo to achieve a similar result as two weeks ago, qualifying well is going to go a long way as Qatar highlighted the difficulties his factory Yamaha has when attempting to overtake. 

For Bagnaia, returning to podium contention has to be the aim following two disastrous races.

However, the former Moto2 world champion is not the only Ducati rider who’s struggled after having lofty expectations placed upon them.

That’s also the case for Jorge Martin who unlike Bagnaia, is yet to even score a point. While 19 races remain, Martin is already 30 points behind his 2021 rookie of the year rival, Bastianini. 

Will KTM continue to show championship winning material? 

Brad Binder, Indonesian MotoGP, 19 March 2022
Brad Binder, Indonesian MotoGP, 19 March 2022
© Gold and Goose

KTM has without doubt been the most improved team from last season to this, after Brad Binder took a brilliant podium in Qatar - KTM’s first-ever at that track in the premier class - while Miguel Oliveira backed that up by claiming victory in Indonesia. 

Looking for a repeat of their early season success, should Binder or Oliveira claim victory or a podium, then it will require them to match the exploits of Qatar, as the Austrian manufacturer has never finished in the top three of an Argentine Grand Prix. 

With the 2022 RC16 undertaking major traction, corner speed and braking improvements thus far, Binder and Oliveira are not only two riders to keep an eye on, but perhaps clear race favourites.

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