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Don’t let the absence of the legend Valentino Rossi deter you – the return of MotoGP in 2022 is heralding in one of the most exciting seasons in recent years.
After a period of complete Marquez dominance, when the Spaniard had taken six titles in seven years, we’ve been treated to two new World Champions in as many seasons.
Fabio Quartararo and Joan Mir stepped up to the plate during pandemic-affected seasons notable for the lack of Marquez through injury. It resulted in nine different winners in 2020, and eight in 2021 – a totally unpredictable field producing tantalising racing week-in week-out.
And 2022 is set to take competitiveness to the next level. Manufacturers have been hard at work making improvements to their machines for the forthcoming year. Ducati – manufacturer’s champions with the electrifying Desmosedici GP21 – have already promised to unleash a new beast as their rivals look to catch up.
With returning faces and talented rookies lining up on the gird in 2022, get up to speed on the riders tussling for the title in the season to come.
Full list of MotoGP riders in 2022
Ducati Lenovo Team
Jack Miller
Seasons in MotoGP: 7
Race wins: 3
Finish in 2021: 4th
MotoGP’s Aussie rider has become a bit of a fan favourite since his move up to MotoGP in 2015. He started his premier class career with LCR Honda, and scored a surprise maiden victory at Assen in 2016. Having started 18th, he took advantage of the treacherous wet conditions and held on for a shock win. He then went two full seasons without a podium, but they started to come regularly from 2019. He took his other two wins back-to-back in 2021, a season that included a brutally aggressive battle in Doha with Joan Mir. With the power of the superfast Ducati underneath him, he’s warned that the bike is set to get even faster in ’22.
Francesco Bagnaia
Seasons in MotoGP: 3
Race wins: 4
Finish in 2021: 2nd
“Pecco” Bagnaia ended the 2021 season in immense form. Winning four of the final six races, the Italian looked like a completely different rider to the one who was racing for Pramac in the preceding two seasons. With the move to the factory Ducati team, the up-and-coming rider mounted somewhat of a title charge, and looked to be one of the favourites, but a podium-less blip midseason proved to derail those chances. With an even faster Ducati expected to arrive on the grid this season, Bagnaia will be a seriously hot bet for the title.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
Fabio Quartararo
Seasons in MotoGP: 3
Race wins: 8
Finish in 2021: 1st
France’s first premier class World Champion, it all came together for Fabio Quartararo in 2021. It was announced way back in January 2020 that the Frenchman would burden the responsibility of replacing Valentino Rossi at the factory Yamaha team in 2021, and he responded in the best possible way. He took three wins in 2020, but an unassailable five victories in 2021 saw him storm to the title he will be looking to retain in ’22.
Franco Morbidelli
Seasons in MotoGP: 4
Race wins: 3
Finish in 2021: 17th
Finishing 2nd in the 2020 championship placed Franco Morbidelli firmly in the pool of contenders for 2021, but he was unable to keep up replicate his form before his season was eventually ruined by a knee injury. When he returned, he stepped up to the factory Yamaha team from the satellite outfit. With the knowledge of what can be won with the Yamaha machine beneath him in the hands of his teammate, he’ll need no further encouragement to get up to winning ways in 2022.
Suzuki Ecstar
Joan Mir
Seasons in MotoGP: 3
Race wins: 1
Finish in 2021: 3rd
Joan Mir is somewhat of the silent champion in MotoGP. He took the title in 2019 before he’d even won a race, and took third in the championship with a handful of podiums, but no wins in 2021. Mir has the talent to be a multi-championship winner, but will be hoping to use the 2022 season as a springboard to become a serial race winner.
Alex Rins
Seasons in MotoGP: 5
Race wins: 3
Finish in 2021: 13th
Rins went into 2021 with high hopes having progressed well through his first few seasons in MotoGP. Four podiums and a victory in 2020, but struggled in the following year. The Spaniard took only one podium, and his season was characterised by crashes at key moments. This year, he will be targeting a season akin to his teammates, which could push Suzuki to dizzying heights.
Pramac Racing
Johann Zarco
Seasons in MotoGP: 5
Race wins: 0
Finish in 2021: 5th
With two Moto2 championships and 16 class victories, Johann Zarco is already one of France’s most successful riders. Having raced on Yamaha, KTM, Honda and Ducati bikes throughout his career, he’s usually found himself at the higher end of the championship. After two tumultuous seasons in 2019 and 2020, he returned to form in 2021 with four podiums, a pole position and a 5th place finish in the championship.
Jorge Martin
Seasons in MotoGP: 1
Race wins: 1
Finish in 2021: 9th
There wouldn’t have been a happier rookie in 2021 than Jorge Martin. He made headlines in August when he won the Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. Not only was this the first victory for the Spaniard rider, but he took Pramac’s first-ever race win as a team. With teammate Zarco, the team shot to 4th in the teams’ championship, and will be pushing on with extra speed in their Ducati’s this season.
Respol Honda Team
Pol Espargaro
Seasons in MotoGP: 8
Race wins: 0
Finish in 2021: 12th
Last season, Pol Espargaro makes the move to Honda’s factory team, having spent time with Yamaha’s Tech3 team and the KTM Factory team. With teammate Marc Marquez dropping out of the season owing to injury, it was up to Espargaro to lead the team. But this didn’t materialise, and the Spaniard finished a lowly 12th despite taking pole in Silverstone and a podium in Misano. Honda’s new ’22 machine will aim to reverse the team’s fortunes, and push them back into the championship conversation.
Marc Marquez
Seasons in MotoGP: 9
Race wins: 59
Finish in 2021: 7th
It’s been a funny few years for the Ant of Cervera. When he flew off his bike chasing the lead of the first race of the season in 2020, no one thought he would miss the beginning of the following season, let alone the entirety of 2020. But after surgeries and recuperation, he returned to the bike in April 2021, and it didn’t take him long to get back up to speed. He took a win in Germany, and two more in America and Misano before opting to focus on rehabilitation rather than race the final two rounds. Only time will tell whether that will pay off, as the Spaniard looks to come back stronger hunting for his seventh MotoGP World Championship.
Red Bull KTM
Brad Binder
Seasons in MotoGP: 2
Race wins: 2
Finish in 2021: 6th
To say Brad Binder hit the ground running when he debuted in MotoGP n 2020 would be an understatement. He became the first South African to win a race, the first rider to win with KTM, and the first rookie to take a victory since Marc Marquez in 2013 when he won the 2020 Czech GP. He fought his way to 6th place in 2021, in which his sole podium was a home victory for KTM in Austria. The team is maintaining its rider line-up in 2022, hoping its consistency will be rewarded with a climb up the championship.
Miguel Oliveira
Seasons in MotoGP: 3
Race wins: 3
Finish in 2021: 14th
The teammate in question is fellow race winner Miguel Oliveira. The Portuguese was seriously impressed during his time with the KTM Tech3 team, when he took its first-ever win in Austria, and doubled-down with a lights-to-flag victory in Portimao. He stepped up to the Factory team in 2021, and had success when the team introduced an improved chassis leading to a second-place and a win. But it’s a far cry from the team’s ambitions, which will be as high as ever for 2022.
LCR Honda Idemitsu
Takaaki Nakagami
Seasons in MotoGP: 4
Race wins: 0
Finish in 2021: 15th
Nakagami has raced with LCR Honda since 2018, but is rarely present within the top 10. The Japanese rider did enjoy a decent 2020, where he did finish in the top 10 in every race he finished, highlighted with two 4th places in Jerez and Valencia. But the rider was unable to build upon this positive momentum in 2021, and will be looking for some renewed fortunes in the new season.
Alex Marquez
Seasons in MotoGP: 2
Race wins: 0
Finish in 2021: 16th
The younger brother of six-time champion Marc, Alex Marquez made the step up in the 2020 season. And his rise through the ranks proved is made of the same championship material in equal measure of his bro. Taking the Moto3 championship in 2014, and the Moto2 title in 2019, he was set to compete with Marc during his debut season, before Alex sustained a season-ending injury. In 2021, he moved to LCR Honda where he will stay for the ’22 season, hoping a new machine will help him realise his riding potential.
Mooney VR46 Racing Team
Luca Marini
Seasons in MotoGP: 1
Race wins: 0
Finish in 2021: 19th
A debutant in 2022, it took the Italian rider a little time to get up to speed in the premier class. But with a front-row start in Misano followed an impressive top 5 ride at the Red Bull Ring. Riding with the new VR46 team in ’22, Marini will be hoping to carry this confidence into the new year.
Marco Bezzecchi
Seasons in MotoGP: 0
Race wins: n/a
Finish in 2021: 3rd in Moto2
Marini will be flanked by a rookie Bezzecchi, who was born just a stone’s throw from the Misano circuit in Rimini. A strong third-place finish in Moto2, in which he won the Styrian Grand Prix, has earned him a promotion to the VR46 team’s first season in MotoGP.
Gresini Racing
Enea Bastianini
Seasons in MotoGP: 1
Race wins: 0
Finish in 2021: 11th
The 2020 Moto2 champion made the jump across to the premier class in 2021, and made a huge impression in his rookie season. Riding Ducati’s GP19 – which first debuted in the sport in 2019 – Bastianini had a strong showing scoring 102 points throughout the season. Towards the end of the year, he recorded his first podiums with two impressive rides at Misano. Jumping on Bagnaia’s 2021 machine for the forthcoming season, there could be a lot more to come from this talented 24-year-old.
Fabio di Giannantonio
Seasons in MotoGP: 0
Race wins: 0
Finish in 2021: 7th in Moto2
Despite winning his first Moto2 race during a semi-decent season, Di Giannantonio will be making the step up to MotoGP in 2022. Three more podiums helped him on his way to a seat at the Gresini team, where he’ll be jumping on the quick Ducati’s and will be looking to make a splash.
WithU Yamaha RNF
Andrea Dovizioso
Seasons in MotoGP: 14
Race wins: 15
Finish in 2021: 24th
One of the sport’s most experienced pairs of hands, Dovi took a year out in 2021 to prepare for the forthcoming season. Having finished runner-up in the shadow of Marc Marquez for three years (2017 – 2019), but unable to take advantage of the Spaniard’s absence in 2020, the Italian rider placed his full focus on ’22. He partnered Valentino Rossi for his final five races in 2021, and joins the rebranded SRT team hoping to climb the standings with renewed vigour.
Darryn Binder
Seasons in MotoGP: 0
Race wins: n/a
Finish in 2021: 7th in Moto3
Brother of the KTM rider Brad, the South African will be taking the leap from Moto3 to the premier class in 2022. The one-time Moto3 race winner ended the season at the centre of controversy in the Algarve, when he carelessly took out title contender Foggia on the final lap. A rider who has demonstrated his heated temperament in the past, Binder will need to keep a cool head as he moves into the highest level.
Tech3 KTM
Raul Fernandez
Seasons in MotoGP: 0
Race wins: n/a
Finish in 2021: 2nd in Moto2
The youngest rider on the grid in 2022 is also one of the least experienced. With eight wins in Moto2 and finishing 2nd in the title race, Fernandez is one of only two rider to be promoted to the premier class after just one year in Moto2. One of those riders is World Champion Joan Mir who took the title in his second season. It’s a huge leap of faith from the Tech3 team, but they will be hoping Fernandez gets up to speed as quickly as possible.
Remy Gardner
Seasons in MotoGP: 0
Race wins: n/a
Finish in 2021: 1st in Moto2
Remy Gardner completes the youthful line-up at Tech3 for 2022. The reigning Moto2 championship has won fewer races in the series than his new teammate, but consistent strong performances and 12 podiums are what’s earned him the shot at MotoGP. The Australian rider has championship pedigree – he’s the son of 1987 500cc champion Wayne Gardner – but will Garnder Jnr be able to replicate his father’s success on the big stage?