The Motegi track in Japan is another longstanding race on the MotoGP calendar. On the plus side, it’s a really easy circuit to learn the layout of, but on the downside, it’s also trickier to lap consistently on.

On the other hand, the powerful MotoGP bikes can be difficult to control round this track, and you need good braking and stability under turning to get round the sharp hairpins.

I did find and modify one setup in particular that worked very well for me round here and made the track fun to ride.

Here is a bike setup for the MotoGP class for Motegi:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 1
    • Oil Quantity – 1
    • Front Spring Hardness – 1
    • Front Swingarm compression – 5
    • Front Swingarm extension – 7
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 7
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 3
    • Single shock absorber compression – 4
    • Single shock absorber extension – 7
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 2
    • Trail – 7
    • Steering plate position – 7
    • Rear swingarm length – 4
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 7-7-6-6-5-4
    • Final ratio – 6
    • Slipper clutch – 7
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 355 mm
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 5
    • Anti-wheelie – 4
    • Power mapping – 2

Some of these settings are a bit different to what other players use for this track. I’m using the thickest front brake disc – most players use 340mm or 340mm High Mass.  Plus the ECU settings are a little higher – more generally you’ll see something like 2333 or 2443 used round I here. But I want maximum stopping power; tweak and use what works for you.

This setup was quick for me and also easy to ride consistently round Motegi, which on the very difficult MotoGP 22 game is a feat in itself.

Alternate Bike Setup For Motegi (MotoGP)

I did also test another setup which if anything was even more consistent and easy to control, but couldn’t deliver as good lap times.

Here’s an alternate setup for Motegi using different settings values:

• Suspension (Front Fork):
  • • Front pre-load – 5
    • Oil Quantity – 2
    • Front Spring Hardness – 1
    • Front Swingarm compression – 7
    • Front Swingarm extension – 7
• Rear Single Shock Absorber:
  • • Rear Pre-load – 7
    • Swingarm connector – 4
    • Rear spring hardness – 4
    • Single shock absorber compression – 7
    • Single shock absorber extension – 7
• Vehicle Geometry:
  • • Steering head inclination – 1
    • Trail – 5
    • Steering plate position – 7
    • Rear swingarm length – 3
• Transmission:
  • • Gears (1-6) – 3-4-5-5-4-5
    • Final ratio – 5
    • Slipper clutch – 3
• Brakes:
  • • Front disc – 340 mm
    • Rear disc – 220 mm
• ECU
  • • Traction control – 2
    • Engine braking – 3
    • Anti-wheelie – 3
    • Power mapping – 3

This uses totally different values to the first setup, but still seemed to work well round Motegi. My personal favourite was the top one though, but setups and handling are subjective, so test and see which one you prefer.

Moto2 and Moto3 Bike Setups For Motegi

The slower Moto2 and Moto3 class bikes are less of a handful round Motegi. They don’t accelerate as insanely fast as the MotoGP bikes, but they also don’t brake as well, so the corners can still be tricky.

If you’re looking for starter setups for these bikes, check out our generic setups page for MotoGP 22, which has generic setups for both Moto2/Moto3 class, which you can test against a default and see if you find more time.

I like riding round Motegi, so if I find or create even better custom setups, I’ll post them here.

Tips For Riding Around Motegi

Motegi is in my opinion one of the easier tracks to learn on this game. But it does still have it’s challenges and requires getting into a rhythm and being patient to avoid falling off the bike.

Run-off areas – There’s almost always sand traps on the outside of most corners, so if you run off, you’re likely to fall off the bike and that’s your lap ruined. Get into a rhythm of knowing when to come off the power and get on the brakes, to avoid over-running corners.

Accelerator – There’s isn’t much time on full power round Motegi on the MotoGP bikes especially. There’s the longish back straight but even with that, you need to start slowing down early as it’s downhill. The pit straight and the other straights that separate the hairpins in sector 1 are just short blasts on the accelerator, but no more. You need to start braking early for the hairpins, and use the rear brake to get the bike leaned in if needed. The middle part of the lap is just very short dabs on the power only, or just coasting to the next braking zone. Over-doing the power is a recipe for disaster round here, and showing restraint on the accelerator is critical.

Final few corners – This is a tricky section to get right, and there’s lots of time you can gain by being aggressive here, but you also have to avoid corner cutting. It’s a left—-left/right chicane section. I like to come in hot to the first left, slow right down for the chicane, and literally as you take the left quickly lean the bike over to take the right of the chicane. Cutting the inside kerb on the final corner can gain time if you can get it just right without cutting it too much.