The stakes couldn’t have been any higher for the 2022 MotoGP title contenders. Heading into the last four rounds of the season, only 25 points separated defending champion Fabio Quartararo and his two main title rivals, Ducati’s Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro. With Bagnaia qualifying third and Espargaro starting from 13th, Quartararo’s fourth-place start seemed like a suitable position. That is until the rain started falling.
Prior to the Thailand Grand Prix, Pecco struggled at a rainy Indonesian Grand Prix, finishing in 15th place. Quartararo nabbed his first podium of the season at the wet race, and many believed we’d see similar results at a soggy Chang International Circuit. Boy, were those projections wrong.
