Argentina MotoGP Rider Ratings: What went wrong for 5/10 Fabio Quartararo?

Aleix Espargaro - 10

(Qualified 1st, Finished 1st)

Aleix Espargaro gets full marks after a dominant weekend led to him capping off his first-ever Aprilia pole with the Italian manufacturer’s first-ever victory in the MotoGP era. Espargaro was initially curtailed in his efforts to take off at the front by Jorge Martin. But after two overtakes failed at turn five, it was a case of third time’s the charm as Espargaro produced a lovely block pass on the Pramac rider, again at turn five. Espargaro’s win also came on a landmark appearance as he was taking part in his 200th MotoGP start in Argentina. 

Maverick Vinales - 7

(Qualified 5th, Finished 7th)

Although he lost two places from his starting position, Maverick Vinales gets solid grade of 7 due to achieving his best qualifying and race result since joining Aprilia. The ex-Yamaha rider was consistently inside the top five throughout the weekend, which is a major improvement from anything we’ve seen previously with the Noale-based team. The Spaniard was just over six seconds off race-winning team-mate Espargaro.

Jorge Martin - 9

(Qualified 2nd, Finished 2nd) 

Looking for his first finish of 2022 following two DNF’s in Qatar and Indonesia, Jorge Martin nearly took the full complement of points after leading more than three quarters of the race. Martin showed just why Ducati have such high hopes for him, as it was a race where he wasn’t expected to battle with Espargaro, yet he did so in fine fashion. 

Johann Zarco - 3

(Qualified 9th, Finished DNF)

A difficult weekend for Johann Zarco ended with the Frenchman suffering a crash at turn two. After qualifying in ninth - some four tenths off his team-mate - Zarco looked to have solid pace in the race before making the error. His non score means a drop to eighth in the championship standings. 

Alex Rins -  9

(Qualified 7th, Finished 3rd)

A first podium since Silverstone last year sees Alex Rins catapult himself into the top five of the world championship. Despite starting in seventh, Rins made a great start which was key to his race. After getting through on Pol Espargaro for P3, the Suzuki remained inside the top three places until the checkered flag. 

Joan Mir - 8

(Qualified 8th, Finished 4th)

Like his team-mate, Joan Mir gained four places from his original starting spot. The 2020 world champion delivered another impressive comeback through the field, albeit a much smaller one than this time two weeks ago. Mir still seems to be short of what he needs to contend for race wins, but with several of the main title contenders behind him, it’s an all-around positive result. 

Francesco Bagnaia - 8

(Qualified 14th, Started 13th, Finished 5th)

One rider who produced an unlikely turnaround given his Saturday performance was one to forget, was Francesco Bagnaia. The 2021 title runner-up bounced back from an awful day-one, in fact, it was one of his worst weekends since joining the factory team, with a brilliant performance in the race. Bagnaia was the biggest mover during the Grand Prix after starting from 13th. 

Jack Miller - 5

(Qualified 11th, Started 14th, Finished 14th)

While Miller wasn’t the only Ducati rider that found raw speed difficult to come by this weekend, signs heading into qualifying looked positive. The Australian began to look like a possible first or second row threat, but after blocking Quartararo towards the end of Q2, and then making no progress whatsoever during the Grand Prix, Miller only gets half marks for the 2022 Argentina MotoGP.

Brad Binder - 8

(Qualified 12th, Started 11th, Finished 6th)

Following a slightly disappointing qualifying session, we have given Brad Binder an eight out of ten for his strong race performance. Way ahead of team-mate Miguel Oliviera, the South African showed a lot of grit to come through from P11. 

Miguel Oliveira - 6

(Qualified 16th, Finished 13th)

Although Oliveira gained three places in the race, inconsistencies continue to hamper the Portuguese rider. Race winner just two weeks ago, Oliveira has scored three points between rounds one in Qatar and today’s Argentine Grand Prix.  

Fabio Quartararo - 5

(Qualified 6th, Finished 8th)

The biggest disappointment in today’s race was reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo. The factory Yamaha rider looked poised for a podium fight based on his race pace throughout the weekend, however, a shocking start was then followed up by a fairly lacklustre race. Quartararo slipped down to P13 come the end of lap one, and despite not making any evident mistakes, Quartararo later confirmed there were no issues with his M1, making his P8 finish all the more puzzling. Not for the first time, top speed was severely hampering Quartararo as several riders blasted past him along the back straight. The French rider also cited a lack of grip as a major hindrance to his race. 

Franco Morbidelli - 4

(Qualified 15th, Finished DNF)

A tough weekend for Franco Morbidelli ended with reliability issues costing him a potential points finish. A long way off Quartararo in qualifying, the Italian is yet to really gel aboard the 2022 M1 package. 

Marco Bezzecchi - 8

(Qualified 17th, Finished 9th)

With qualifying the only blemish on his weekend’s resume, Marco Bezzecchi was easily the best and most consistent rookie this weekend. A crash in Q1 halted his attempts of progressing to Q2, something that looked more than possible given his pace in practice. Bezzecchi then managed to put that behind him as he claimed a brilliant ninth place result.

Luca Marini - 5

(Qualified 3rd, Finished 11th)

Luca Marini is a rider that should have graded much higher after qualifying in third place. However, a serious lack of race performance meant he slid down to 11th, whilst also being beaten by team-mate Bezzecchi. Considering the fact Bezzecchi started 14 places behind him, Marini will be looking for answers as to where his pace was.

Enea Bastianini - 6

(Qualified 13th, Started 12th, Finished 10th)

The now former championship leader had what can only be described as a difficult first appearance at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit aboard MotoGP machinery. A great start looked set to propel Bastianini into a possible top five fight, however, a big mistake at turn five later in the race saw hopes of big points drift away. 

Fabio Di Giannantonio - 3

(Qualified 20th, Finished DNF)

While other rookies have scored points or looked to have top five pace in a particular sessions, Fabio Di Giannantonio is yet to achieve that as a lack of pace was fairly evident once again in Argentina. Di Giannantonio’s race came to an end following a mid-race fall. 

Takaaki Nakagami - 6

(Qualified 10th, Finished 12th)

A stunning start from Takaaki Nakagami saw the LCR Honda rider move into sixth place come the end of lap one. But as has been the case on way too many occasions during his MotoGP career, the Japanese rider started to head back down the field before eventually finishing P12. It should be noted that Nakagami arrived late following a negative PCR test and still managed to top FP1, which is why a decent grade of six has been awarded. 

Alex Marquez - 4

(Qualified 19th, Finished 15th) 

A tough start to his third season in MotoGP continued for Alex Marquez as he could only manage P15. It’s looking more and more like this season could be one where Marquez loses his seat for 2023. 

Raul Fernandez - 6

(Qualified 21st, Finished 16th)

His best finish in MotoGP to date, Raul Fernandez gets a six even though we’re yet to see the ‘Fernandez’ that many expected. 

Remy Gardner - 5

(Qualified 22, Finished 17th)

One of his favourites tracks on the calendar, round three in Argentina was one where challenging for points was expected to be on the cards, however, the current Moto2 champion struggled to match other rookies, including his team-mate. 

Darryn Binder - 5

(Qualified 23rd, Finished 18th)

Coming off the back of his sensational wet-weather performance in Mandalika, Argentina was more of a return to reality for Darryn Binder as he battled hard with Gardner for P17.

Andrea Dovizioso - 4

(Qualified 18th, Finished DNF)

In what’s quickly turning out to be a nightmare start to 2022 for Andrea Dovizioso, continued in Argentina after a second consecutive round where bike issues saw him return to pit lane and thus retire. It’s unknown whether the issue was the same as in Mandalika, but it’s a result that means the Italian has just two points in three races. Since returning to Yamaha machinery Dovizioso has looked a shell of the rider that finished a three-time runner-up with Ducati. 

Stefan Bradl - 5

(Qualified 24th, Finished 20th)

Stepping in for Marc Marquez who missed this weekend’s round due to ongoing diplopia issues, Stefan Bradl finished a respectable 31 seconds of the win in last place. 

Pol Espargaro - 4

(Qualified 4th, Finished DNF)

A great start left Pol Espargaro in third place and looking like a real threat for the podium. And although the Repsol Honda rider lost out to Rins after several laps, Espargaro managed to hang on - suggesting a battle for third would go down until the wire. But Espargaro crashed at turn two, the same corner as Zarco which led to an immediate race retirement.