【2022 Season Review】Dennis Foggia third overall, two Honda Team Asia rookies also strong performance

The 2022 Moto3 class was contested over twenty round. After finishing 2nd overall last year, Leopard Racing's Dennis Foggia took four wins to finish 2022 third overall, and was the best performing NSF250RW rider in the Moto3 class. Honda Team Asia Moto3 rookies Taiyo Furusato and Mario Aji also drew attention for their speed.

Migno wins opening round, Foggia wins second round. Honda off to a good start

The opening round of the season was held in Qatar. Andrea Miignot (Rivacold Snipers Team) on his NSF250RW won a close battle for the season-opening victory. Foggia, who had started from 28th grid due to a penalty imposed in Qualifying, staged a furious pursuit to finish in seventh position.

In Round 2, Indonesia, Moto3 rookie Aji qualified on the front row, living up to expectations of the local fans. In the race, Foggia, who started seventh, took an early lead and pulled ahead for his first win of the season. Although Aji dropped to 14th, he scored points for the first time.

Foggia finished second on the podium in both Round 3, Argentina, and Round 4, USA, moving up from second overall to points leader, declaring his intent on winning the championship. Other Honda riders also scored points in this round, with Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing) finishing ninth and tenth, respectively.

Difficult mid-season rounds

In the fifth round of the season, the Portuguese GP, Honda teams struggled. Foggia finished eighth, dropping to second overall. Aji showed great potential to qualify second on the front row, but in the race  was unable to fight for the top positions and finished 16th. The difficulties continued, and Honda teams were unable to finish on the podium in rounds 6 and 7.

In Round 8, the Italian GP, Honda's new driver, Tatsuki Suzuki, who joined Leopard Racing  this season, showed his ability to overcome difficult situations, starting eleventh and fighting for the lead, and despite taking a long lap penalty, catch up and finish third for his first podium of the season.

In Round 9, Catalunya, Suzuki finished third once again, while his teammate Foggia retired due to mechanical issues. In Round 10, Germany, Izan Guevara (GAS GAS) broke away from the large pack to take the win, and Foggia won the battle for second place. This was Foggia's fourth podium finish this season, and he moved up from fourth to third overall. Furusato started 20th and was in contention for 13th place, but had to settle for 17th. A mistake on the last lap dropped him down the order, but he held on to finish just one place away from earning points.

In Round 11, the Netherlands, Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Racing), who started from the second front row on the grid for the second time this season, finished fourth after a fierce battle, and was the only Honda rider to finish in the top 10.

Foggia three wins in the second half of the season

Following the summer break in the British GP, Round 12 of the season, Foggia took his second win of the season in a thrilling race where the lead changed rapidly. In the 13th round held at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, Suzuki rode a fast race and finished on the podium in second place, losing out to Ayumu Sasaki (Husqvarna), who was catching up in the final laps. Despite the fact that this was not his favorite track in Austria, where his best finish had been seventh, Suzuki's good results raised expectations for the future.

In the 14th round in San Marino, Foggia started his home GP from seventh, and emerged from a six-way battle the winner, his third of the season. With this win, Foggia was down to 35 points to the points leader.

Furusato scores first points at home grand prix

After a disappointing 12th place finish by Suzuki in the Aragon GP, Suzuki qualified on pole  for the Japan GP to the cheers of the local crowd, but crashed on Lap 5 and was out of the race. His teammate Foggia joined the leading group, and finished on the podium in second place. Rookie Furusato finished 14th, earning his first points at his home GP.

In Round 17, Thailand, Foggia started on pole and won a late-stage three-way battle, moving up from third to second place overall standings. Riccardo Rossi (SIC58 Squadra Corse), who had struggled all season, finished on the podium in third place for the first time this season.

Round 18, Australia, was not kind to Foggia, who finished ninth, losing ground to third place in the overall standings. The points leader, Izan Guevara (GAS GAS), won the race, securing the championship title with two rounds remaining.

In Round 19, Malaysia, Foggia led the early stages, but lost positions in the closing laps to finish a disappointing sixth. The gap to the race leader, however, was only 0.371 seconds.

In the final round in Valencia, Foggia was pushed to the back of the battle for fourth place in the early stages of the race, but made a spectacular comeback in the closing laps to finish fourth. He finished ahead of Sasaki (Husqvarna), who finished fourth overall, and defended his third place to end the season.

Suzuki and Migno also scored points in the final round, finishing 14th and 15th  respectively, while Honda Team Asia's Aji finished 27th due to injury and Furusato retired after a crash on Lap 15.

After the longest, 20-round season in Moto3 history, Suzuki finished seventh overall with three podium finishes, and Migno, who won the season-opener, finished ninth overall. Foggia is set to join Moto2 next season, and with rider transfers taking place, it will be interesting to see who the leading Honda rider will be next season.

Race Report

Rd.01 Qatar：Migno And New Honda NSF250RW Beat All-Comers In Qatar

Rd.02 Indonesia：Foggia Dominates at Mandalika to Lead Title Chase

Rd.03 Argentina：Foggia Just 0.146 Seconds From Victory in Argentina

Rd.04 Americas：Foggia Takes Thrilling Second To Extend Title Lead

Rd.05 Portugal：Foggia Battles To Important Top-Ten Finish

Rd.06 Spain：Foggia Out Of Luck At Jerez, Rookie Aji Impresses

Rd.07 France：Foggia And Suzuki Just Miss The Podium At Le Mans

Rd.08 Italy：Honda’s Suzuki On Podium After Mugello Thriller

Rd.09 Catalunya：Suzuki Scores Second Consecutive Podium

Rd.10 Germany：Foggia Takes Brilliant Second After Last-Corner Skirmish

Rd.11 TT Assen：Honda’s Suzuki Stars In Thrilling Assen Podium Battle

Rd.12 British：Foggia Wins Epic British Moto3 Race

Rd.13 Austria：Honda’s Suzuki Misses Austrian GP Victory By 0.064 seconds!

Rd.14 San Marino：Foggia Wins For Honda At Misano

Rd.15 Aragon：Suzuki Out Of Luck In Battle Royal For Fifth

Rd.16 Japan：Foggia On Motegi Podium, Furusato Scores First Points

Rd.17 Thailand：Foggia Unbeatable In Thai Domination

Rd.18 Australia：Foggia Finishes Ninth, Loses His Title Chances

Rd.19 Malaysia：Foggia Fights For The Win, Finishes Sixth

Rd.20 Valencia：Foggia Fights His Way To Third in 2022 Moto3 World Championship