MotoGP Americas: The rider from Rimini, Italy passed the reigning leader Miller on the factory team Ducati and cleared off by two seconds to bounce back to the top of the standing with his first podium since the Qatar debut win.
Miller started at P2 and grabbed the holeshot on the grid at the start, while Marquez was thrown backward to the last position as his Honda pulsated off the line.
MotoGP Americas: Adrenaline filled tracks
On his 2021-spec Ducati, poleman Jorge Martin chased down Miller ahead of Francesco Bagnaia and Bastianini, with incumbent world champion Fabio Quartararo momentarily holding sixth on his Yamaha. However, due to a lack of peak speed, the Frenchman was quickly pushed back to eighth by the Ducatis and Suzuki combo of Alex Rins and Joan Mir.
Marquez recovered to 17th place on the first lap and was back in the top ten on lap seven of twenty, having passed his ailing Honda teammate Pol Espargaro.
By the fifth tour, Bastianini had fallen slightly behind the lead duo of Miller and Martin – who had switched places at the end of the first lap, with the former staying fast – but rallied when Miller began to move away.
MotoGP Americas: Bastianini’s brilliance
On lap 10, the Italian was momentarily demoted by Rins at the massive stop into the Turn 11 hairpin, but he quickly reclaimed third on the back straight into Turn 12. By this stage, Miller had established a 0.4-second lead over Martin, which would grow to nearly eight tenths when Bastianini dispatched the Pramac rider at Turn 1 on lap 12.
As the factory team, Ducati rider’s pace began to diminish, Bastianini steadily chipped away at Miller’s lead, while Rins surged into third ahead of Martin at Turn 7 on lap 12.
Bastianini made his decisive move on Miller entering Turn 12 at the end of the back straight on lap 16 of 20 and put a stop to any revenge. Bastianini then opened up a space that Miller couldn’t close, with Rins rapidly approaching his back tyre.
Bastianini had a clean run to the finish line to become MotoGP’s first repeat winner in 2022, and he now leads the championship by five points.
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MotoGP Americas: Marquez and Quartararo battle as usual
Marquez and Quartararo have been on a duel for a few years, and it reminisced even in the final race as well. Over the final few tours, the audience was reminded of the Marquez-Quartararo fight of 2019. They almost came blowing each other on the penultimate lap when Marquez had a moment at turn 6, rounding it and almost touching Quartararo.
Marquez had stolen the sixth position from the Yamaha rider on lap 14, with the Frenchman trying to fight back when they almost collided on lap 19.
MotoGP Americas: Standings
