There’s no time to rest for riders or MotoGP™ Fantasy players, with Round 9 of the World Championship this weekend at Barcelona
Just days after the enthralling contest that unfolded at Italy’s Mugello, MotoGP™ is back on-track in Catalunya for Round 9 of the 2022 World Championship. It’s time for you to pick your riders and constructor for MotoGP™ Fantasy, and time for us here at motogp.com to take you through the form guide ahead of the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya.
Who made the Dream Team at Mugello?
For Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), it was a maiden victory in his home event, and the biggest haul of points In MotoGP™ Fantasy. ‘Pecco’ not only climbed from fifth on the starting grid to be leading before the halfway mark, he set the fastest lap of the race, with the five bonus points for that achievement taking him to 44 in total.
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) started and finished one position behind Bagnaia at Mugello so, unsurprisingly, the Frenchman was the next-highest scorer at 33 MotoGP™ Fantasy points if you had him in your team.
The best Silver Rider combination was all-Aprilia Racing. Aleix Espargaro collected 14 points for the Dream Team by also getting onto the podium with a gain of four positions compared to where he started. If you had selected Espargaro as your Gold Rider, you would have scored 28 points.
Espargaro’s team-mate Maverick Viñales scored the same, but went about it in a very different way. In tricky conditions, he qualified 24th, but hauled his way to 12th by the chequered flag.
Who came out on top in the constructors’ battle?
With four different manufacturers represented in the top five in terms of the MotoGP™ Fantasy rankings for riders in Mugello, the constructors’ contest was a close-run thing. However, Bagnaia’s efforts, in combination with those of Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), meant Ducati prevailed again, on 32 points.
What should I look out for at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya?
While the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, like Mugello, has a relatively long main straight, four different constructors have won the last four MotoGP™ races at the Spanish circuit, making it a difficult task to pick your team.
Looking at the Mugello podium finishers, Bagnaia will set you back 4.7M, Quartararo 4.9M, and Espargaro 4.1M, making it tough to fit all three into a team if you have not selected them already. Each is a potential race winner on their day, but Espargaro is now on a streak of four podiums in a row, and five in the last six rounds once his Argentina GP win is accounted for. Is Aprilia’s ‘Captain’ worth a look for his consistency?
Last weekend’s front row could be tempting, too. Mugello pole-sitter Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) is going for just 1M, and the Ducati Desmosedici GP21 which he rides has been shown to be a competitive bike. The Mooney VR46 Racing Team’s Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini are priced at 1.9M and 2M respectively, and they will also be riding a wave of confidence after their performances on home soil last time out.
How about a bit of range for your team? Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Miguel Oliveira won the Catalan GP last year and is available for 2.7M, which would hardly break the budget. There might also be value in some riders looking to bounce back from tough weekends in Italy, namely Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) at 3.3M, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) at 3.4M, and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) at 3.2M.
