MotoGP™ is a sport where many factors play a key role, and a sport where fine margins make all the difference. That’s why it’s always interesting to delve into how the riders performed in the first and second parts of the season. 2021 was another stellar year of racing in the premier class, but some riders showed form at different times – for varying reasons. Some, however, remained consistent throughout.
Points accumulated (top 15) from Qatar to Assen:
1. Fabio Quartararo – 156
2. Johann Zarco – 122
3. Francesco Bagnaia – 109
4. Joan Mir – 101
5. Jack Miller – 100
6. Maverick Viñales – 95
7. Miguel Oliveira – 85
8. Aleix Espargaro – 61
9. Brad Binder – 60
10. Marc Marquez – 50
11. Takaaki Nakagami – 41
12. Pol Espargaro – 41
13. Franco Morbidelli – 40
14. Alex Rins – 33
15. Alex Marquez – 27
Let’s take a look at the first half of the season first, from the Qatar GP to Dutch TT. Nine races that certainly shaped the title fight. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) claimed his fourth victory of the season at the famous TT Circuit Assen, seeing him extend his lead at the Championship summit to 34 points over compatriot Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing). A commanding position at the halfway stage that ultimately saw El Diablo go on to become World Champion.
Zarco’s opening half of 2021 consisted of four second place finishes in Qatar, Doha, France and Catalonia. The Frenchman was Ducati’s leading light in the title chase, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) on 109 points – and winless. Pecco’s crash from the lead at Mugello was a huge blow. The Italian had notched up three podiums in the opening nine races, seeing him fall 47 points adrift of Quartararo, while fellow factory Ducati star Jack Miller had won two races. But DNFs in Portimao and Assen, as well as two P9s at Losail, hindered the Australian’s early charge.
Elsewhere, 2020 World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was sitting on 101 points after a trio of P3s. It became apparent that Suzuki hadn’t been able to make the strides forward that Yamaha and Ducati had with their 2021 packages, with KTM also falling a little behind in the pecking order. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) managed to pocket P2 at Mugello and then a victory in Barcelona, seeing the Portuguese rider have 85 points to his name – 10 off Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), who cut a frustrated figure for much of the first half of 2021.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had endured a trickier than expected start to 2021, while the returning Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was slowly getting back up speed. Three DNFs in France, Italy and Catalonia was then followed by that emotional comeback victory for the eight-time World Champion at his stomping ground: the Sachsenring.
Points accumulated (top 15) from Styria to Valencia:
1. Francesco Bagnaia – 143
2. Fabio Quartararo – 122
3. Joan Mir – 107
4. Marc Marquez – 92
5. Brad Binder – 91
6. Jorge Martin – 88
7. Jack Miller – 81
8. Enea Bastianini – 75
9. Alex Rins – 66
10. Aleix Espargaro – 59
11. Pol Espargaro – 59
12. Johann Zarco – 51
13. Alex Marquez – 43
14. Takaaki Nakagami – 35
15. Valentino Rossi – 27
Now, looking at the second half of the campaign, there’s a few names that stick out. Firstly, the top trio remained the same – albeit in a different order. Pecco’s maiden MotoGP™ victory in that epic tussle with Marc Marquez at MotorLand Aragon kick-started his rise to superiority in the latter few rounds of 2021. Four victories and a P3 in the final six races saw Bagnaia hunt Quartararo down in the title race, ultimately falling short, but proved that he and Ducati were one serious force to be reckoned with when bike and rider are singing from the same hymn sheet.
Quartararo and Mir remained consistent. The eventual World Champion’s last win of the season came at Silverstone, with crucial podiums at the San Marino and Americas GPs seeing him then claim the crown at the Emilia-Romagna GP. No podium in the final three races of 2021 didn’t matter in terms of the 2021 title race, but Bagnaia and Ducati’s performances will be a worry for Quartararo and everyone else not riding the Desmosedici machine.
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That includes Mir, who notched up three podiums in the second half of the season. P2s in Styria and the Algarve were the standouts, as Mir did what he could to take it to Quartararo and the Ducatis on a regular basis. Consistency won Mir the 2020 title, and although it wasn’t enough for a repeat in 2021, he was often in the rostrum scrap.
Marc Marquez was going from strength to strength in the second half of 2021. 92 points between Styria and the Emilia-Romagna GP, including two wins in Austin and Misano, was a sign that the number 93 was returning to some serious form. Unfortunately, a training accident saw Marc Marquez miss the Algarve and Valencia GPs as a recurrence of diplopia, a real shame for Marquez, Honda, and the sport as a whole. Hopefully we'll see Marquez fully fit at the start of 2022.
Binder’s extraordinary Austrian GP victory elevated his second half of the season, with rookies Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Team Gresini Racing MotoGP) also enjoying stellar races as they went head-to-head in the Rookie of the Year battle. A P1 in Styria was backed up by two further podiums for Martin, who had banished the demons from his horrific Portimao crash that saw him miss three races. Meanwhile, Bastianini grabbed a pair of P3s at Misano to announce himself as a proper threat in the premier class, as the duo ended 2021 as two standout performers.
On the other end of the scale, Zarco’s second half of the season form dropped off a cliff compared to his opening nine races. The Frenchman was suffering from arm pump and eventually had surgery in September, but his title hopes quickly faded after the summer break. Zarco went without a podium from the Catalan GP to the end of the season, but P5, P5 and P6 was a solid enough end to a promising campaign. In addition to Zarco, Oliveira's name doesn't even appear in the top 15. Injury at the Red Bull Ring saw Oliveira struggle, but the three-time premier class race winner and his RC16 weren't firing in the second half of 2021. It was a dramatic drop off in form compared to his Mugello and Barcelona rides, but KTM riders seemed to struggle throughout the season. There's more to come from the Austrian factory in 2022, that's for sure.
Others like Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) stayed fairly consistent as well, but podiums for both in the second half of the season saw them top their points tallies from the first nine races. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) also climbed onto the podium for the first time between Styria and Valencia, as the Spaniard showed glimpses of what we know he's capable of after DNFs and an injury blighted his start to the campaign.
2022 is shaping up to be a thriller, but who will be able to string a consistently strong season together like Quartararo and Pecco did this year? That’s something we’re looking forward to finding out.