But they are not the only ones, although they are barely separated by two points after the chaotic Thai Grand Prix at the Buriram circuit, as the Spaniard Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia RS-GP) is barely 20 points behind the leading pair, the Italian Enea Bastianini (Ducati Desmosedici GP21) at 39 points and one behind, the Australian Jack Miller (Ducati Desmosedici GP22).
Precisely Jack Miller is the proper name that everyone bets on in this season finale and even more so when it comes to the “home race”, even though it is his teammate “Pecco” Bagnaia who is in the best position.
[Consulta la clasificación del Mundial de MotoGP]
The power of Ducati
But for all of them there is a weighty argument, that of the mighty “Ducati Armada”which with up to eight bikes in the starting line-up are capable of causing surprises at any time and on any circuit.
The fight should be focused on Quartararo and Bagnaia, but Miller reaches the Indian route grown by his performance in the last grand prix and also for being newly married to his girlfriend Ruby, in addition to having the support of the always numerous local fans.
After two years with the country closed “hard and fast” due to the global coronavirus pandemic, forecasts suggest that the public will turn upside down completely with its best pilot of MotoGP, especially knowing that he has been the one who has scored the most points in the last three grand prix contested so far, from Aragon to Thailand, passing through Japan.
Although Miller will not be the only contender, because in this fight and on a fast and technical circuit like Phillip Island, the rest of the Ducati may have a lot to say, including the Spanish Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda RC 213 V), which arrives at a track that it likes very much, where it knows what it means to win and, furthermore, with the added incentive that in theory it will have a series of new parts at its disposal to evolve the motorcycle thinking already in 2023.
[Consulta el calendario del mundial de MotoGP]
Quartararo’s slight advantage
It would not be fair to leave aside the one who really is the leader of the championship and current champion, the Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, even though he only has two points ahead of Bagnaia and arrive at a circuit that is not one of the most favorable to the conditions of the Yamaha YZR M 1, although if he is able to get the best out of the motorcycle of the tuning fork brand he would have to be one of the riders to take into account .
In addition to Quartararo and Bagnaia, the Spaniard Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia RS-GP) must be the third in contention in the fight for the championship lead, “squeezed” by all the Ducati riders, ready to achieve a good result in any moment and circumstance, in addition to an increasingly strong Marc Márquez.
Nor can we forget the Spanish Maverick Viñales (Aprilia RS-GP), who in 2018 achieved victory on this stage ending a long Yamaha drought, and then was the only rider able to stay close to Marc Márquez in the fight for the 2019 world title, although now it arrives with the Noale prototype, to which little by little it shows more and more a greater adaptation.
An unknown circuit for several pilots
In any case, the experience is going to become a fundamental asset in Phillip Island, where it has not been run since 2019 and there are a few pilots who have never ridden on that beautiful track on the shores of the Tasman Sea, such as the South African Brad Binder (KTM RC 16), the Spaniard Alex Márquez (Honda RC 213 V), the Portuguese Miguel Oliveira (KTM RC 16), who did not ride at the time due to injury, or Fabio Quartararo himself, who crashed on the first lap.
A special encouragement may have, despite not having developed a season that was not brilliant, the also Australian Remy Gardner (KTM RC 16), as well as the Spanish Joan Mir (Suzuki GSX RR), who will travel to Australia to test the effect of his recovery after the ankle injury he suffered in Austria and which has kept him in dry dock ever since, but it is that the Australian track is one of very good memories for the one in Palma de Mallorca, because in this scenario he achieved his first world title, that of Moto3 in 2017.
His teammate, Alex Rins (Suzuki GSX RR) will be another of the pilots to take into accountas the Catalan has the clear objective of trying to say goodbye to the Japanese brand with a victory before the end of the season and join the ranks of Honda in Lucio Cecchinello’s team.
The Frenchman Johann Zarco or his partner in the Pramac team, the Spanish Jorge Martín, are other contenders to take into account, both in the fight for victory and when subtracting points from the championship contenders, by having of the powerful Ducati Desmosedici GP22 and having shown enough qualification to step on the highest step of the podium.
