BLEEDING RED

We all know that the FIM MotoGP World Championship has been one of the best edge-of-your-seat motorsport championships to witness thanks to an intensely close field spread, races and championships going down to the wire as well as some incredible wheel-to-wheel action.

- GAURAV DAVARE

And 2022 certainly didn't disappoint with enough storylines for the year to write an entire book. Here are some of the most notable moments of 2022 in the premier class of motorcycle racing.

One-man army

The season may not have started off on the most positive note, but 2021-champion Fabio Quartararo showed that his maiden title was no fluke, with the factory Yamaha rider stealing a march thanks to wins in Portimao, Catalunya and the Sachsenring.

The wins weren't the only impressive feat as it was Quartararo's consistency that gave him an early advantage and the fact that he was on a bike that had a significant top speed disadvantage to most of the field. So making overtakes was almost a daredevil-like feat for Quartararo with the risks he had to take under braking compared to Ducati riders who were the benchmark in the top speed charts.

What really stood out for Quartararo was that he was pulling off these feats alone, with neither his teammate, Franco Morbidelli, nor the satellite WithU Yamaha RNF squad anywhere close to the front of the field. Rather they were always fighting for the tail end of the points-scoring positions. So you could say Yamaha found themselves in a similar position to Honda where only one rider can fight up front with the bike. But heroics like this can only work up to a certain point with the second half of the season painting a completely different picture.

Comeback king