Sergio Garcia (Solunion GASGAS Aspar Team) vs Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) was an instant classic in Argentina, with both underlining their speed in 2022 and Garcia once again sending it on Sunday, pulling off that final lunge to perfection as the number 11 tends to do. The stage could well be set for another showdown in Texas between the duo too, although there is last year’s winner who’ll likely have different ideas about the weekend ahead: Izan Guevara (Solunion GASGAS Aspar Team). As well as the rest of the pretty packed grid…
Guevara and Garcia were the breakaways early on in Argentina before the number 28 suddenly suffered a technical problem, adding a dash of bad luck to the qualifying penalty that already dampened his charge in Qatar. If it had stayed as it was in Termas before that though, the sophomore would have been leading the Championship, equal on points with his teammate but the first of them to win.
Shoulda woulda coulda is often of little use in racing, but one time it can be relevant is when the points don’t quite reflect speed - especially judging a sophomore rider like Guevara against the wealth of experience of Garcia and Foggia. The number 28 appears to have gone under the radar for some in 2021, despite having arrived in Moto3™ from winning the FIM JuniorGP World Championship as a rookie and winning a Grand Prix race as a rookie last season, but it looks like it’s game on now.
So can anyone else keep challenging the sheer speed of Foggia, the send it masterclasses of Garcia and the elbows out of Guevara? So far, the next fastest rider – and sometimes fastest of all – has been Ayumu Sasaki (Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max), but a mixture of bad luck and trouble has hit the Japanese rider in the first couple of rounds. In Argentina though he made it happen, despite a Long Lap for the incident with Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) in Lombok, and sliced back through from outside the points.
Speaking of Migno, the Italian has also been fast but suffered mixed fates since his awesome win in the season opener. He'll be one to watch, as will Termas sparring partner Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), also fast but lacking points. Kaito Toba (CIP - Green Power) and Deniz Öncu (Red Bull KTM Tech3) are lurking in the standings thanks to a little better consistency, and the likes of Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing), Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Carlos Tatay (CFMoto Racing PrüstelGP) are in their stride.
The same can also be said of some of the very impressive rookies joining the class this season. Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets - MSI) was once again the top debutant with another impressive finish in the top six, but as Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Ajo) gets back to fitness, this time Moreira had close company. Joel Kelso (CIP - Green Power) also impressed in Argentina with provisional pole after the first runs and then a second row start, coming home tenth. What hands can they play in Texas?
Moto3™ race later in the day this time around, with Moto2™ and MotoGP™ heading out first. Tune in for more of the same stunning action at 14:430 local time - GMT-7!