Johann Zarco (5), as seen at COTA. Photo by Michael Gougis.
By Michael Gougis
The MotoGP circus came to Austin, Texas for the fourth round of the 2022 season with Aleix Espargaro leading the Championship on the strength of his first-ever Grand Prix victory in Argentina the previous weekend.
Factory Ducati honors were upheld by Jack Miller (43), second and 0.247 second off of Johann Zarco’s pace. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Fabio Quartararo (20) wrestled his Monster Energy Yamaha YZR-M1 around the partially repaved Circuit of The Americas to the third-quickest time. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Enea Bastianini (23) said he felt confident in the braking zones on his year-old Ducati Desmosedici GP21, and the Gresini Racing rider leapt to fourth overall. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Alex Rins (42) popped on a soft-compound rear Michelin tire halfway through the second practice session, fired off a pair of quick laps and then concentrated on evaluating whether the soft was an option for the race. His quickest time was good enough for fifth overall on the day. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Marc Marquez (93) returned from injury, saying in the pre-race news conference that he had lacked the motivation to try to race in Argentina, that the injury to his optical nerve that had sidelined him after a horrendous highside at Mandalika had frightened him. He told reporters that he wasn’t racing for the win, that he was just trying to get his confidence back. Then he topped most of FP1 and ended the day sixth, 0.499 second off the best lap of the day. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Aleix Espargaro said that COTA would challenge the Aprilia RS-GP, and he was unable to crack the top 10 in practice. Teammate Maverick Vinales was second in FP1 and remained in seventh after the second practice session. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Cameron Beaubier (6) said he had high expectations for himself at COTA, and he started strongly, finishing second and third in Moto2 FP1 and FP2, respectively. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Joe Roberts (16) has struggled this season with rear grip issues and wound up 11th on the Moto2 combined practice sheets. Photo by Michael Gougis.
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