The signs Quartararo’s 2022 MotoGP title is slipping away from him
Prior to the summer break, the 2022 MotoGP title looked like it was Fabio Quartararo’s to lose. But a crash at Assen and the consequential penalty he had to serve last weekend at Silverstone stopped him from capitalising on a main rival’s injury woes, while a resurgence from another, plus the rise of a former teammate, look set to conspire against the Yamaha rider.
Having come away from the Mugello/Catalunya double-header with 45 points out of a total of 50 at two venues he was expected to suffer at, and a victory in Germany, while Francesco Bagnaia suffered two DNFs in three races and Aleix Espargaro threw away a podium in Barcelona due to a lap count gaffe, Fabio Quartararo looked well on his way to MotoGP title number two.
Heading to Assen, Quartararo’s championship lead stood at 34 over Espargaro and 91 over Bagnaia. An uncharacteristic crash while passing the former in the Dutch GP – and a second crash which ultimately ended his race early – coupled with a fightback to fourth from Espargaro saw Quartararo’s lead cut to 21 points going into the summer break.
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