MotoGP Argentina: Race preview

As MotoGP returns to Argentina for the first time since 2019, plenty has changed, so could it be another unpredictable weekend in South America?

It’s already been a tough task to predict MotoGP so far in 2022, and now the paddock heads back to Argentina’s Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo and some unchartered premier class territory for many.

There are only eight permanent riders - with Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez out of action due to his continued recovery - who have raced MotoGP machinery at Termas de Rio Hondo more than once and of those, even less return to take on the track on the same bikes as they were riding on our last visit. So it really will be an interesting weekend, with even the rookie class of 2020, such as Red Bull KTM’s Brad Binder, back in at the deep end with zero track experience on premier class machinery. So where do we start?

KTM seems the perfect place, as the Austrian factory currently has the best seat in the house in two of three Championships, heading the standings in the Constructors’ and Teams’ title fights for the first time ever. The aforementioned Binder is only two points off the top in the fight for the riders’ crown too, and teammate Miguel Oliveira is in the top five after catapulting himself up the table by 16 places thanks to that awesome win in Indonesia. Oliveira is also one of the only riders on the grid who’ve previously raced the track with the same factory with which they return to tackle the challenge in 2022. Can they tame Termas and lead the three leaderboards of the coveted Triple Crown?

At Tech3 KTM Factory Racing, meanwhile, the rookie duel continues and it’s still split between the two by the single point taken by reigning Moto2 Champion Remy Gardner in Qatar. Gardner also