The 2022 season was marked, among others, by the dominance of Ducati and the performances of Aprilia, as well as positive signs from KTM.
In contrast, the Japanese factories lost ground. Honda had one of its worst seasons ever with just one podium all year and four riders on track, Suzuki said goodbye to MotoGP in good shape but without consistent results, and Yamaha was only strong with Fabio Quartararo.
On the other hand, KTM managed three podiums and two wins while Aprilia surprised with podiums achieved, like KTM, by its two riders, and with Aleix Espargaro fighting for the title in the first half of the season. Now Davide Brivio – the former Suzuki Team Manager – has criticized the methodologies of the Japanese factories, in a statement to Slick Magazine, quoted by AS:
– Honda and Yamaha go out on track without having accurate data. They haven’t fully understood that this MotoGP has nothing to do with what it was 20 years ago. There has always been a conservative approach. Before, the evolutions were small during the season, concentrating the bulk of the developments for the next championship.
The performance of the Japanese factory teams in 2022 was evident in the final championship standings, with the best Japanese team being Yamaha in fifth…behind even Ducati’s satellite, Pramac Racing.