MotoGP 2022

MotoGP, April 8th, 9th, and 10th 2022

As usual, you can ignore my ramblings and just scroll down to the photos. Just know that this web page is best viewed on a computer screen. It isn’t reactive so may not work very well on mobile devices.

MotoGP 2022, it seems like it was only 6 months ago they were here at COTA. Oh wait, it was just 6 months ago that the 2021 races ran here. But this time things were much more normal, and better. GA ticket holders once again had access to the full track so I was able to get out to turn 11 again. There seemed to be more people here than there was at the fall races, but I haven’t checked the official gate numbers.

I’m not going to go on about the races or the riders, there are plenty of other sites that already have that covered. Plus I’m posting this well over a month after the event, so it’s all old news.
Photography wise, this year I tried to focus on catching groups of bikes more than individual riders. I took tons of photos. Thanks to a 10 frames/second burst rate, I took close to 10,000 photos over the 3 day event. 1/3 of those get tossed right off the bat for being out of focus, only having half a bike, empty track, or my feet, etc. Out of those I sorted out 55 photos to process and then post here. Hence the month it took me to get this done. LOL

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do.

My favorite photo of the weekend	Moto3 rider coming out of turn 9	Moto3 riders coming out of turn 9	Moto2 Bikes in turn 10	Moto2 Bikes in turn 10
MotoGP riders entering turn 11	If you can see it, the rear wheel is off the ground	And now there is smoke coming off his boot	Not the clearist photo, but this shot shows the rear wheel up and the front suspension completely compressed	MotoGP bike in turn 11
MotoGP bike in turn 11	I like this photo because I can read his dash board	They often wheelie out of turn 11 while still leaning	The back straight isn't really all that straight, or flat	Turn 15 action
Turn 15 action	Turn 15 action	Wheels coming up out of turn 15	Turn 15 action	Turn 15 action
Turn 15 action	Bunched up Moto3 riders in the first lap at T13-T14	Motorcycle racing is a full contact sport notice that No. 66 has his elbow against the wheel of No. 99. Nothing to be concerned with, just keep racing	Uh Oh. That's not right.	No28 taking his penalty in the "Long Lap" section
hence the term "Grandstanding"	Race done, tire not needed anymore	This photo just pleases me "you 'da man!" "No, YOU 'da man!"	Congratulating the MotoGP winner	Burn out AND flag waving, 3rd place isn't bad
Somkiat Chantra had a really big crash at T12, but walked away	Somkiat Chantra had a really big crash at T12, but walked away	Somkiat Chantra had a really big crash at T12, but walked away	Somkiat Chantra had a really big crash at T12, but walked away	If you look closely you can see sparks, i think that's the airbag in his suit going off

This is a series of photos of No. 35, Somkiat Chantra, crashing at turn 12 in the early laps of the Moto2 race. If you look closely on the right hand side of the last few photos you can also see the No. 54 bike, Fermin Aldeguer, getting distracted by Chantra and hitting No. 84, Zonta Van Den Goorbergh.

This is 2 series of photos. The first 3 are of No. 42, Marcos Ramirez, passing No. 12, Filip Salac, in turn 15 during the Moto 2 race.
The rest of the photos are of a Moto3 bike No. 23, Elia Bartolini, going down at turn 15 and getting back up to get back in the race. Notice that the rider keeps his hand on the throttle to try keep the bike from stalling out during the crash. The bikes don't have starters so if it dies is not a given that he can get it push started to continue the race.

This is a nice series of No. 42 passing No. 12 during the Moto2 race	This is a nice series of No. 42 passing No. 12 during the Moto2 race	This is a nice series of No. 42 passing No. 12 during the Moto2 race
I belive this is Elia Bartolini falling at T15, and as they do, getting back on and racing away	I belive this is Elia Bartolini falling at T15, and as they do, getting back on and racing away	I belive this is Elia Bartolini falling at T15, and as they do, getting back on and racing away	I belive this is Elia Bartolini falling at T15, and as they do, getting back on and racing away	I belive this is Elia Bartolini falling at T15, and as they do, getting back on and racing away