APRIL 13, 2022
Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 09:11AM 
(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore https://www.instagram.com/whitbazemore/)
Enea Bastianini (No. 23 Gresini Racing MotoGP™ Ducati, above) is now a two-time MotoGP™ race winner in 2022 as "The Beast" delivered a Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas masterclass to retake the World Championship lead heading to Europe. Bastianini led home Alex Rins (No. 42 Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Jack Miller (No. 43 Ducati Lenovo Team) as the Suzuki and Ducati duo scrapped it out on the last lap for P2 and P3; Rins’ success brings up a magical 500 podiums for the Hamamatsu factory in the 500th GP for Dorna, IRTA, FIM and MSMA. As we wait for Whit's full report from the MotoGP round at the Circuit of The Americas, we have a few of his photos to share, and you can watch the Circuit of The Americas race highlights, courtesy of Motorsports on NBC here.
MotoGP Animals.
By Whit Bazemore
Austin. Headlining the pre-race news as the MotoGP world arrived in Austin, TX for the Red Bull US GP was that six-time MotoGP Champ Marc Marquez, who announced his diplopia (double vision) had healed, and was coming to America. Marquez has owned all the U.S. rounds of MotoGP since he joined the premier class in 2013 - winning all but one, in 2019, which he was leading when a mechanical issue caused him to crash out.
The past two years have not been kind to Marquez, not only widely regarded as the best motorcycle racer currently competing - across all disciplines - but one of the best ever. A broken arm, then a compromised healing process, complicated even more by infection and a muddled surgery, saw him miss most of 2020. Then, he competed during the bulk of 2021 not yet fully fit (but still able to win the 2021 U.S. GP held in October!), before a training accident resulted in his second career bout with the double vision issue. To make matters worse, he had missed the previous weekend’s Argentinian GP as a result of the huge high side crash two weeks prior to that race, in Indonesia. Marquez’s violent Indonesian crash, along with the return of the eye injury (it seems to occur with Marc after any sort of concussion), had the MotoGP paddock wondering about Marquez’s future.
A big part of the question would now be answered in America - much sooner than most expected.
In practice, Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team) was fast, if not the absolute fastest, as was once the norm at a U.S GP. In qualifying, however, he could only muster an 8th quickest time, putting him on the third row. He’d have his work cut out for him if he intended to win, especially considering that the top five spots were all taken by the ultra-fast and now well-working Ducatis, ridden of course, by five very fast and hungry riders. Notably, Marquez had mentioned in a media debrief that he “was scared” and “was here to get his confidence back.” He was taking it easy, and was only focusing on his riding, not necessarily on finding a good set up. Marquez’s definition of scared is not the same as a normal person’s. This man is fearless, and probably still 99.9% fearless even when scared.
At the start of Sunday’s Grand Prix, the Ducatis were away, and quickly settled in with factory man Jack Miller (No. 43 Ducati Lenovo Team) leading the two young Ducati superstars, Jorge Martin (No. 89 Pramac Racing Ducati) and Enea Bastianini (No. 23 Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati). But when the lights had gone out, Marquez’s Honda had barely moved. Some sort of electronic glitch (not the pit speed limiter that some had speculated) had cut the power to almost nothing for the first ten seconds or so, which of course meant that Marquez went into turn one not only dead last, but far off the back of the pack. His bid for an eighth win at the Circuit of the Americas was certainly over.
The Ducatis at the front were in a fierce fight. Martin passed Miller, while Bastianini eventually passed both of them, then Miller passed Martin back, then Alex Rins (No. 42 Team Suzuki Ecstar) passed Martin, then Miller as well - you get the idea: it was fantastic MotoGP action for a win everyone wanted, and needed. The order at the line: Bastianini winning for the second time this year for an incredible result, Rins second, and Miller hanging on for third. It was epic racing.
What about Marquez? Well, for being so called “scared,” he rode one of the best races of his career. He cut through the field as only he can, seemingly erasing all fear on the first lap, to “fight hard, and get as many points as possible. The most important thing was to finish the race, but we took a risk and I pushed.” He pushed until “5 or 6 laps left, and then my body stopped. I decided sixth was good enough.” After the 20 laps, the normally strongest man in MotoGP was “destroyed.” Dead last to sixth, with a pace to match the leaders (recording the second fastest race lap), and then basically going into survival mode, shows who and what Marquez is. Pure animal.
Race winner and Championship leader Enea Bastianini is nicknamed “The Beast” and he is one, but Marc Marquez is a bigger animal. Probably more of a pure animal than anyone else in racing today. There is really no other way to describe him.
The 2022 RED BULL U.S. GP will be remembered for two things. One, Enea Bastianini proved beyond any doubt that he has the speed, brains and maturity to win a MotoGP world championship, and that he very well might do it this year, and two, Marc Marquez has shown the world what he is made of, but also, the type of person it takes to dominate a brutal sport like he has done almost every year since 2013.
(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore https://www.instagram.com/whitbazemore/)
Francesco Bagnaia (No. 63 Ducati Lenovo Team) at Circuit of The Americas on Sunday.
(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore https://www.instagram.com/whitbazemore/)
Jorge Martin (No. 89 Pramac Racing Ducati) finished eighth on Sunday in Austin.
(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore https://www.instagram.com/whitbazemore/)
Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team) was absolutely sensational on Sunday. After falling to dead last at the start, Marquez charged back through the field to finish a remarkable sixth.
(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore https://www.instagram.com/whitbazemore/)
Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team) delivered one of the rides of his career on Sunday in Austin.
(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore https://www.instagram.com/whitbazemore/)
The MotoGP race action was typically intense, and the enthusiasts at Circuit of The Americas witnessed a great show on Sunday.
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Special AE contributor Whit Bazemore, the Renaissance Man and superb photographer is going to be giving us updates and his insider's perspective on the MotoGP season. MotoGP has become my personal favorite form of motorsport, and to have someone with Whit's talent share his visual art and deep knowledge of MotoGP is truly special for us, and we really appreciate it. By the way, you may recognize Whit's last name - Bazemore began making a living from drag racing when he was sixteen years old, and he is a two-time U.S. Nationals winner and still the fifth-fastest Funny Car driver ever at 333.25 MPH.-PMD
(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Team Penske Hitachi Chevrolet) captured his second consecutive win of the 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series season on Sunday and his first win in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Josef Newgarden kept Team Penske unbeaten in three NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season, capturing the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in a taut, three-way tussle under brilliant Southern California sunshine Sunday. Newgarden earned his first career Long Beach victory by holding off Romain Grosjean (No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda) and reigning series champion Alex Palou in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing NTT DATA Honda. Grosjean tied a career best by finishing second, with Palou rounding out the podium finishers in third. The race ended under caution after Takuma Sato speared the tire barrier in Turn 8 on Lap 84 of the 85-lap race. “This was a fight today,” Newgarden said. “This was not an easy race to win. I was working my butt off with Grosjean at the end there on the used reds (Firestone alternate tires). This Hitachi car was on it. I’ve been trying to win a race here for 11 years, so I’m so happy to get it done.” 2014 series champion Will Power finished fourth in the No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet as Team Penske has claimed at least two of the first four spots at the finish in all three races this season. The last time Team Penske won the first three races of the season was 2012, and Chip Ganassi Racing in 2020 was the last NTT INDYCAR SERIES team to open a season with three straight wins. Pato O’Ward rounded out the top five in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, his first top-10 result of the season. Two-time series champion Newgarden took the series points lead with his 22nd career INDYCAR SERIES victory. He leads teammate Scott McLaughlin, who won the season opener at St. Petersburg, 118-113. McLaughlin finished 14th in the No. 3 Team Penske Snap-on Chevrolet. Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to INDYCAR Media)
(Getty Images/F1)
Charles Leclerc (No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari) won the 2022 Australian Grand Prix to consolidate his and Ferrari’s championship leads as Max Verstappen (No. 1 Red Bull Racing) suffered a second retirement in three races. Sergio Perez (No. 11 Red Bull Racing) finished second and George Russell (No. 63 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) completed the podium. Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) finished fourth. A capacity crowd descended on Albert Park, Melbourne hosting its first Australian Grand Prix in 1,100 days. After action-packed free practice and qualifying sessions, they were treated to another thrilling show on Sunday afternoon. Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to F1 Media)
(IMSA/Cadillac Racing)
Cadillac Racing’s 1-2 finish in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – the third round of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - was anything but cut and dry. “That was a little more difficult than it should have been,” admitted winning driver Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais (No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R), the fastest qualifier in the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class and early race leader, slipped up just seven minutes into the 100-minute race while trying to lap a GTD class Porsche at the iconic hairpin of the Long Beach street course. The wall contact was light, but Bourdais struggled to get back in gear and he fell to the back of the field, 21 seconds behind his teammate Alex Lynn in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R. It made little difference to the 43-year-old Frenchman, who had smashed the Long Beach IMSA track record by nearly two seconds in qualifying. Bourdais required 22 laps, or a little under half an hour, to work his way past the five cars in front of him, culminating in a pass for the lead on Lynn in Turn 8. Not only did he make up a 21-second deficit and pass five competitors, he did it while under instructions to save fuel due to a lack of telemetry data. “You kind of go into a bit of a trance when you try to pull off something that really shouldn’t be possible,” Bourdais said, shortly after handing off the leading Cadillac to co-driver Renger van der Zande. “You’re on fire because you’re so mad at yourself. I guess I’m accustomed to stupid mistakes and trying to make up for that. Luckily, there wasn’t much damage and I’m just glad we got the lead back.” Van der Zande was able to maintain the lead over Earl Bamber in the No. 02 Cadillac through three full course cautions and restarts in the second half of the race. He pulled away for a 3.761-second margin of victory after completing 73 laps of the 1.968-mile Long Beach layout. Tristian Vautier and Richard Westbrook claimed third place in the No. 5 JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac after a furious four-car scrap in the final laps. The next round of the WeatherTech Championship is the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship Presented by Motul at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, April 29 – May 1. Watch Long Beach race highlights here. (Thank you to John Oreovicz/IMSA Wire Service)
(Michelin Motorsport)
The Heart of Racing’s No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 may not have been the fastest GTD PRO car in Saturday's IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, but drivers Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas never put a wheel wrong, and, in contrast to some of the competition, the Heart of Racing crew was flawless in the pits. As a result, Riberas took the checkered flag 1.4 seconds clear of Ben Barnicoat (No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3) to claim the first GTD PRO win for Aston Martin and the Heart of Racing squad. “We had a very clean race,” said Gunn. “We just chipped away at it and made no mistakes, then this guy (Riberas) was awesome and brought it home.” Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth drove a similarly clean race, and the Vasser Sullivan Racing crew executed their lone pit stop to perfection, enabling the No. 14 Lexus to come home 1.4 seconds adrift of the winners. Things weren’t as smooth for the third-place No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD. Having started from pole and led the first third of the race, Jordan Taylor brought the ‘Vette into the pits for fuel and tires on Lap 29. In a strange sequence of events during the tire change, one of the Corvette’s wheel nuts rolled into pit lane into the path of Mathieu Jaminet in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche GT3 R, which was running third in class at the time. The wayward nut punctured the Porsche’s radiator, knocking the car out of the race and resulting in a drive-through penalty to the Corvette Racing entry. Setting fastest lap of the GTD PRO race at 1:18.807 and aided by the succession of full-course yellows, Antonio Garcia closed the No. 3 Corvette within striking distance of the two leaders before settling for third place. (Thank you to David Phillips/IMSA Wire Service)
(IMSA)
Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers (No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3) delivered a GTD class victory at Long Beach in the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup. Starting from the pole position that Snow earned in qualifying on Friday, the No. 1 led throughout, surrendering the point only briefly during the pit-stop sequence midway through the 100-minute race. Sellers crossed the finish line 1.886 seconds ahead of Mario Farnbacher in the No. 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3. “You have to make sure you win on days like today,” said Sellers, who picked up his 13th career IMSA victory. “When they’re right in front of you, you have to win and that’s when it really comes down to everyone: the team, the drivers and everyone putting it together. That’s what I’m most proud of. You get the opportunity, and you don’t give it away because you don’t get them very often.” Both of the winning drivers benefitted by having a GTD PRO car between them and the rest of the GTD field throughout the race. Sellers was especially happy to see Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette between him and the hard-charging Farnbacher in the No. 66 Acura as the clock wound down. “Mario is extremely strong,” Sellers said. “Anytime you get into the last 15 minutes of a race, he’s not a guy that you really want behind you trying to hold him off for the win, so Antonio provided us a great buffer." Both WeatherTech Championship GT classes will be in action along with Daytona Prototype international (DPi) and Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) at the Hyundai Monterey Sports Car Championship Presented by Motul on May 1. The race airs live at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and IMSA Radio. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service)
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
The first night race for the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway was a cakewalk for Hendrick Motorsports—until a late caution sent the race to overtime, that is. But William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) survived a final restart and a mistake on the white-flag lap to win Saturday night’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at the 0.526-mile short track. Byron led 212 of the 403 laps. At the end of the two-lap overtime, Byron crossed the finish line 0.303 seconds ahead of runner-up Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Pennzoil-Shell Ford). Byron, who also won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Thursday night, became the first driver to win two Cup events this season. Saturday night’s Cup victory was his first at Martinsville and the fourth of his career. With his parents on his pit box for the entire race, Byron dedicated the win to his mother. “This one’s for my mom. This same weekend last year, she had kind of a mini-stroke and was diagnosed with brain cancer. It means a lot to have her here, and it’s been a crazy year, but she’s doing great, and thanks, everybody, for the support. I kind of felt like she was riding in there with me. It’s cool to have her here, and I’m definitely going to enjoy this one.” Watch race highlights here. (Thank you to Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service)
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
William Byron is congratulated by mother Dana and father Bill after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400.
