This is the last weekend of 2022 when Formula 1 and MotoGP are both on the calendar. The MotoGP World Championship follows up their visit to Australia last weekend with the Grand Prix of Malaysia on Sunday, with the last race of the season in Valencia on November 6th.

Formula 1 comes to America this weekend, followed by the Mexican Grand Prix next weekend and the last two races of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi on the 13th and 20th of November.

Last weekend's Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix was one for the ages. Three different makes on the podium, a first win of 2022 for the departing Suzuki and a change at the top of the World Championship. Race coverage and a preview of the GP of Malaysia follow.

F1 comes to COTA this weekend. The title has been decided, but the excitement for Formula 1's second visit of 2022 to the United States remains. Read on for a preview the Aramco United States Grand Prix.

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For more on your favorite series, visit the homepage of SARNIMOTORSPORTS.

Jay Geils Memorial TV Links:

Friday, October 21st: Formula 1 - USGP - FP1 2:55 PM ET ESPN2 - FP2 5:55 PM ET ESPNEWS

Saturday, October 22nd: Formula 1 - USGP FP3 2:55 PM - Qualifying 5:55 PM ET ESPNEWS

Sunday, October 23rd: Formula 1 - United States Grand Prix Sunday 1:30 PM ET ABC

The Aramco United States Grand Prix 3:00 PM ET ABC

MotoGP - Malaysia (SD) 1:30 PM ET CNBC

ENJOY YOUR RACE WEEKEND!

MOTOGP - When the smoke cleared at the OK Corral of Phillip Island, seven bikes crossed the finish line in the blink of an eye. Team Suzuki Ecstar's Alex Rins, the Repsol Honda of Marc Marquez and Lenovo Ducati Team's Francesco Bagnaia put three different manufacturers on the Australian Grand Prix podium within 0.224 of a second!

Pecco was followed by fellow Italians Marco Bezzecchi on the Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati, Enea Bastianini, riding the Gresini Ducati and Marco's teammate Luca Marini. Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco made it six Ducati machines in the top eight finishers. The top seven riders all finished within one second of one another. Incredible parity for the MotoGP class, with a race more akin to the support spec categories than a series with five different manufacturers. It was the second-closest top 10 finish in MotoGP history.

Besides the ultra close racing at Phillip Island, the big story is the change at the top of the MotoGP World Championship. Fabio Quartararo entered the weekend leading the championship by two points over Pecco Bagnaia. El Diablo was riding outside the top five when it all went wrong for him, crashing at the Southern Loop and out of the contest on Lap 11.

The DNF and zero points were softened somewhat when Pecco, who was playing it carefully, was passed on the last lap by both Rins and Marquez and garnered P3 points (15) instead of the 25 he would have reaped had he won. With two races remaining, that last lap swing of 10 points could loom large. Pecco now leads El Diablo by 14 points heading into the last two GPs.

In a ceremony earlier in the weekend, Jack Miller joined fellow countryman and Ducati Factory rider Casey Stoner, in having a corner named after him at Phillip Island. He would depart the race after being piled into by Alex Marquez in the corner that now bears his name. Out of home GP. Zero points. Long shot title chances dashed.

Prima Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin took the pole and the lead early. Pecco was not able to engage his holeshot device at the start and was dropped from the first row, back behind title rivals Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo.

Rins, who qualified 10th, blasted by three different riders, on three different laps in Turn 2, getting by Miller for fourth and then Bagnaia for third, with just Martin and Marquez up ahead.

Bagnaia hit the front when he passed Rins at Doohan Corner on Lap 15, and Marquez was into second with a move on the Suzuki at Miller Corner. The Moto3-style back and forth at the front continued, with Martin being dropped, getting by Marquez and then off the podium once more.

Rins returned to the podium places with a pass on Marquez at Stoner Corner on Lap 22, then regained second spot when he put the same move on Bezzecchi, three laps later. Meanwhile, after a battle over fourth with Martin, Marquez was back into third by overtaking Bezzecchi at Miller Corner on Lap 25, and was within striking distance of Bagnaia.

Marquez passed Rins for second at Southern Loop but the Suzuki rider hit back straight away at Stoner Corner, and that was how they commenced Lap 27 of 27. Rins went a corner earlier this time with a move on Bagnaia at Southern Loop and Marquez followed, with those three covered by just 0.224 seconds across the stripe.

Alex Rins: “I’m super happy! During the race I was feeling pretty good, in fact my feeling with the bike was amazing. The pace was fairly slow to try and preserve the rear tire, because we know this place can be tough on tires. But in the end, I was able to find some good traction in the sweeping corners and this allowed me to gain places and feel strong until the end – we had a fantastic battle all together! The entire team and everyone who has worked on this project deserves this win, and so do the fans, I’m so pleased that I could celebrate another victory together before we depart.”

Now it's on to the heat, humidity and the wet weekend weather of Sepang. The Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia will be a flash point in the 2022 MotoGP World Championship. Temperatures in the upper 80s, with humidity at 72% will greet the riders for tomorrow's Free Practice. It goes downhill from there. Qualifying day presents more extreme humidity with a 70% chance of a thunderstorm. Race day will see an 80% chance of storms, humidity at 79%, with an expected high of 86°F.

The old adage that "only the strong survive" will be put into play. Sometimes a strong mind and adrenaline can overcome physical deficiencies. Marc Marquez, for the first time since he returned from surgery, did not wilt at the end of the Australian Grand Prix, finishing a strong second. He talked about the demands on riders in Malaysia.

Marc Marquez: "As I say in Thailand, three races in a row I felt like I needed a rest but it was important, but as soon as I got on the bike in Australia I felt a big improvement. Not only in the Australia GP, the way the muscles recovered from Australia to Malaysia was faster, and the muscles are relaxed in a better way. This track is one of the most difficult and most demanding for the hot conditions. But we are ready to fight and I don’t want to think about the arm anymore, it's true we’ll improve especially during the winter, but I will try to give my 100% as we are."

With the title now within his grasp, if there is anyone who has to block out all of the distractions, including weather and track conditions, it is Pecco Bagnaia. His past history in Sepang is superb. It's the site of his Moto2 title-deciding race in 2018.

Francesco Bagnaia: "An Italian has not won the MotoGP title since 2009, and Ducati has not won the [riders’] title since 2007. It would be my first title in MotoGP so, for sure, the pressure is there. I feel that I’ll start having the pressure, but in this moment, I’m quite happy. I know that we did something really good this year, but we still have to finish the job and my main focus in this moment is on that.

"In this moment, I’m quite calm, because finally I know that our potential can be high. If we continue working like we did in the second half of the season, we can do a really good job. The main question here is the weather because it looks like it can rain on Saturday and Sunday, but let’s see. It’s always very difficult to predict the weather here, but I think, if we work well, we have a great possibility."

The pressure now is squarely on the shoulders of Fabio Quartararo. He overcame his lack of ability to change his own fortunes and rode with consistency to take the 2021 title. Will that be the Fabio that we see this weekend or will a drowning man continue to sink?

Fabio Quartararo: "I would not say really pressure but I have the feeling I have nothing to lose right now in this moment, so of course I will approach the race putting myself on the limit from the beginning of the weekend, make some changes on the bike at the beginning of the weekend. Try to make some changes on the bike, I think this is something – every time we go to a track we feel super good and never touch something. I think it’s a good moment to, even if we have a good feeling, try to make an improvement in some areas. I think it’s a different situation than the previous ones.

"It’s not over. If he (Bagnaia) did it, we can do it. Like I said, of course the second part of the season has been horrible, but we can make it turn and try to really perform during these last two races."

The other rider with the chance at the title has to have a perfect race in Malaysia. Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro needs to finish in front of Pecco for any chance at seeing the fight carry on to Valencia.

Aleix Espargaro: "The goal is to try and stop Pecco, which is going to be difficult because the form he showed in recent races – actually, the second part of the Championship – has been amazing, but I will try my best. I have the feeling that it’s more lost than won, this title, for me, so I can risk a little bit more, be a little bit more aggressive on race day, and hopefully bring it to Valencia."

The Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia will be shown in the States at 1:30 PM Eastern on CNBC on Sunday afternoon.

Next season begins right after this one concludes, with the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia hosting a one-day test for the MotoGP class following the 2022 season finale.

There, the world gets its first look at 2023 as riders head out in new colors with new teams, and many on new machinery. GASGAS will also officially join the fold, bringing another brand onto the MotoGP grid. That one-day test takes place on the Tuesday following the Valencia GP.

Pre-season testing in 2023 for the MotoGP class will then take place at Sepang and Portimão:

Sepang Shakedown Test: February 5th – 7th

Sepang Test: February 10th – 12th

Portimão Test: March 11th – 12th

One-day in-season tests for the MotoGP class will happen following the Spanish Grand Prix and the San Marino Grand Prix:

Jerez Test: May 1st

Misano Test: September 11th

WORLDSBK - Meanwhile, the Motul Superbike World Championship stages their first flyaway race of 2022 this weekend. The series will be in the Southern Hemisphere at the Circuito San Juan Villicum for the Motul Argentinian Round. Saturday looks to be around 72°F , with temperatures rising to 88°F on Sunday.

After the Pirelli Portuguese Round, Alvaro Bautista leads the Championship with a 56-point advantage over Toprak Razgatlioglu. Bautista’s best result at the Argentinean venue is a race win back in 2019 when during his first stint with Ducati.

Alvaro Bautista: “The next race is in Argentina; sincerely, three years ago with Ducati I won on my first time there. But then I had some problems in the other races so… let’s see. It’s a tricky track because the conditions are very different from one day to another. We have to be ready for all kind of conditions and adapt as best as we can and just try to enjoy as we are doing and do our best!”

Toprak Razgatlioglu has 56 points to make up, but knows that he has to take it one step at a time in South America. He has been on the podium in seven races out of eight that have been staged in San Juan. Razgatlioglu is a race winner at the Circuito San Juan Villicum. In 2021, he won Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race.

Toprak Razgatlioglu: "Now I’m looking to Argentina. I know it’s not an easy track for anyone because the Ducati again is very strong. I also remember that Alvaro was very strong in Argentina in 2019, but this year is different. We’ll keep fighting for the win. Now I’m focused on Argentina, and we’ll try our best.”

Jonathan Rea is in an unfamiliar position in the 2022 WorldSBK Championship; a distant third, 82 points behind Alvaro Bautista. The six-time WorldSBK Champion is on a winning drought of 18 races, his longest since 2012-2013. Rea has done well in San Juan, his last win was in Race 2, 2019. He is the most successful rider there, taking victory in four of the first five races run.

Jonathan Rea: “Argentina is a cool round to go to, all the flyaways are to be honest. The different cultures, different tracks… Argentina especially because it doesn’t have a lot of track activity, so the track is always quite green. So, we have to understand what conditions we’ll face when we go there. Step by step throughout the weekend, I’ll work with the team trying to get a good package and be able to fight. I expect a tough weekend, there is a very long straight there. I will try to make myself as small as possible down there but there is plenty of other places at the track where I’m sure we can exploit our strengths of the ZX-10RR.”

On Monday WorldSBK announced changes for 2023 to the technical and sporting regulations following a Superbike Commission meeting.

Check out DEM CHANGES.

This weekend's Argentinian Round is followed by Indonesia and the finale downunder at Phillip Island on the 18th - 20th of November.

MOTOAMERICA - The motorcycle road racing community mourns the death of John Ashmead. The Floridian was known for a long career in AMA racing. He won the Daytona 200 as a privateer in 1989 riding a Honda VFR750 Superbike.

Ashmead died on Sunday in Port St. Lucie, Florida at the age of 59, after suffering from cancer. His first AMA podium was in 1985 at Road America. Then one month later he won the AMA National at Laguna Seca.

As the story goes, Ashmead turned from racing on the street to the track after a police chase in Florida. Race fan Pete Brady found him hiding from the police behind his garage. The Honda VFR750 that Ashmead won the Daytona 200 on was sponsored by Peter Brady.

It is no stretch of the imagination to say that John Ashmead raced motorcycles for his entire life. He competed in 34 Daytona 200 races over five decades, from 1983 to 2021.

John Ashmead's long career included a stint racing for the famous Rob Muzzy Kawasaki team. He teamed with Doug Chandler and an up an coming young racer named Scott Russell, who looked up to his older teammates. Scott Russell would go on to win five Daytona 200 races, earning the nickname "Mr. Daytona".

Scott Russell: "Teaming with Ashmead and Chandler in 1990 is when the good times were just starting to roll. I’m glad I had the chance to share that and the track with John Ashmead. R.I.P."

Alboreto: Gasoline in the Veins - The story about the man who grew up to realize his childhood dream of driving a Formula 1 car for Enzo Ferrari is now available once more in the United States.

Listen to that interview HERE. 

There is also a Facebook page for the book HERE.

FORMULA 1 - Formula 1 arrives in Texas this weekend for Round 19 of the World Championship.

The Hermann Tilke-designed track was opened on October 21, 2012.

Unfortunately, the land that the circuit was built on has started to shift in a condition known as subsidence. This unstable nature of the ground has caused the circuit to earn a reputation as one of the bumpiest on the F1 calendar. Just what the teams, who have not come to terms with the porpoising effect of their 2022 cars, do not need.

COTA is one of eight circuits on the calendar that runs in a counter clockwise direction. Several of the 20 corners at COTA were inspired by iconic turns from tracks in Europe, including Turns 3 to 6 (Silverstone's Maggotts and Becketts), Turns 12 to 15 (Hockenheim's stadium section) and Turns 16-18 (Turn 8 at Istanbul Park).

With so many corners and several long straights, it's also one of the busiest laps for gear changes, with 72 shifts taking place during each lap of COTA. The track requires high downforce and also has a big DRS effect, which allows teams to run reasonably large wings.

The entry to Turn 1 features the single biggest corner elevation change of the season. Several corners at COTA feature wide entries to encourage different lines to be taken and promote overtaking, including Turns 1, 11 and 15. The latter corner is also interesting for its 'combined' braking, where the car is turning and braking at the same time. This can cause lockups if pushing the tire over the limit.

The circuit is not only challenging, it is exhausting. In addition to the punishment that the bumps hand out, drivers are also stressed by a load of over 5Gs under braking entering Turn 12, which is one of the biggest G loads of the season. A 155 pound driver will experience 772 pounds of centrifugal force under braking.

With Miami joining the F1 calendar in 2022, COTA is now one of 11 different venues to have hosted a race in the United States. That's the most of any country. That number will grow to 12 when Las Vegas joins the schedule in 2023.

Alberto Longo, Co-Founder and Chief Championship Officer, Formula E: “We are excited to announce Cape Town as a new destination for our series in Season 9. Our local partners are working incredibly hard to bring an ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race to the city and we cannot wait to see the futuristic Gen3 race cars competing against the iconic natural backdrop of Table Mountain.

“Renovation work at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, the venue for our first races in South Korea earlier this year, means we cannot return to the same location next season as originally planned and so we are exploring other options in South Korea to replace this venue. We are also in active discussions with more world cities and venues to host an event on the other date without a confirmed location.”

Season 9 marks the beginning of the Gen3 era in Formula E. The third generation of race car in the championship, the Gen3 is the fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient electric race car to date.

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track will be the site of the Gen3 debut. The Mexico City E-Prix is set for Saturday, January 14th 2023.

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WEC - The FIA World Endurance Championship wraps up the 2022 calendar at the 8 Hours of Bahrain on November 12th.

Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa enjoyed a flawless performance last time out to win the 6 Hours of Fuji and currently lead the title race.

The popular Portuguese Algarve International Circuit makes a return to the FIA WEC calendar in 2023 after a previous appearance in 2021, when it hosted the 8 Hours of Portimão.

The 2023 race will take place on April 14th - 16th, one month after the season-opening 1000 Miles of Sebring and two weeks before the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Tickets for the second round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Portimão are on sale now. For more information and to purchase tickets visit WEC.

Corvette Racing announced their FIA WEC Plans for 2023 earlier this week. The Corvette C8.R will again join the grid in the World Endurance Championship as a full-time entry, this time in GTE Am. The C8.R will be driven by Nicky Catsburg, who moves to full-time duty in a Corvette for the first time and Bronze driver Ben Keating – widely considered one of the world’s best privateer drivers.

The sporting rules of the GTE Am category require at least one Bronze-level driver, as rated by the FIA. One professional-level driver is allowed along with a second Bronze or Silver-rated driver. Corvette Racing will confirm the final member of the WEC lineup at a later date. The trio will contest the full seven-race WEC calendar including the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Keating is a past winner at Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring and many of the other premier races in WEC, IMSA and Intercontinental GT Challenge. The Texan began racing in 2006 and quickly established a reputation as one of sports car’s fastest and most reliable amateur drivers in both prototype and GT categories. He races with the support of Four Horsemen Racing and Wynns.

While Keating will race a Corvette for the first time, Catsburg has established himself as a fixture with the marque. Since joining the program in 2020, Catsburg recorded a victory at Daytona in 2021 and Sebring this year alongside Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor.

The 2023 campaign will be Catsburg’s first in the World Endurance Championship since 2019. He also has wins in long-distance races at the Nürburgring, Spa and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, among other venues.

The 2022 FIA WEC season concludes with the 8 Hours of Bahrain on November 12th.

IMSA WTSC - Corvette Racing will also continue its long-running commitment to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023 as part of the GTD PRO class, while simultaneously taking on a new challenge by transitioning into GTE Am competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

For the second year in a row, Corvette Racing will enter one car in each of sports car racing’s most prestigious championships. The premier races in the world will be part of the schedule for the Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R including the Rolex 24 At Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, among others.

“We learned a great deal this year about running dual programs in both IMSA and the FIA WEC – all of which will benefit the Corvette brand going forward,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager. “In IMSA, we will return to GTD PRO against a very competitive group of manufacturers while laying the groundwork for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Similarly, Corvette Racing’s FIA WEC program allows us the opportunity to continue growing the global presence of Corvette in a world championship.”

Tommy Milner, currently contesting the full WEC for Corvette Racing, will take over the endurance driver role in the WeatherTech Championship for 2023. He will drive with Garcia and Taylor at Daytona, Sebring and Petit Le Mans.

Milner also will serve a key role as the primary testing and development driver for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which will be available to customer racing teams starting in 2024.

Development continues with the LMDh cars that will compete in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship beginning at Daytona in January. Cadillac, BMW, Porsche and Acura are testing together and individually and sharing some of their information for the good of all.

Private manufacturer testing continues through the fall, with an IMSA-sanctioned test for all four manufacturers set for December 6th - 7th at Daytona International Speedway.

The 2023 season get underway at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The race is on January 28th and 29th. For tickets, visit DAYTONA.