Category: Moto GP

The number 30 becomes the first Japanese rider on pole in the premier class since 2004, with Quartararo sixth, Mir 12th and Dovizioso 17th

Teruel, 24 October 2020: Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) kept his fine form rolling on Saturday at the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel, taking a maiden MotoGP™ pole position and becoming the first Japanese rider on pole in the premier class since Makoto Tamada at the 2004 Valencia GP. The number 30 also makes it three maiden polesitters this year, a first in a single MotoGP™ season since 2013, and ends Honda’s longest premier class run without a pole since they returned to the class in 1982. It was close in the end though, with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) just 0.063 off as the Italian starts second; the only other man in the 1:46s. Aragon GP winner Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) took an ominous third place to start the Teruel GP a good few places higher up the grid than last weekend, locking out the front row.

In Q1, however, all eyes were on Ducati. With every Borgo Panigale machine set to fight it out in the session, there was plenty at stake… and it started well enough for Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) as he held onto the provisional fastest lap after the first runs. Then though, a stunner came in from Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as the Spaniard pulled clear at the top… and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) looked set to move through too. But then, a last lap dash from Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) ensured there was going to be one Ducati in the fight for the top 12 – with the Frenchman taking second right at the flag and moving through along with Pol Espargaro. That left Aleix Espargaro set to line up 13th, Miller 14th and Championship contender Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) in a difficult P17 for race day.

The action was back underway soon enough for Q2, and it was a familiar name at the top after the first runs as Nakagami came straight out the blocks with a 1:47.072. It was also a familiar name in second, with Morbidelli just half a tenth off once again. Zarco impressed as the Q1 graduate slotted into third early on before the calm before the storm returned to pitlane, first runs done.

With just five minutes left on the clock, the field filed back out. Mir was 4.5 seconds off after failing to set a competitive lap time on his opening run, Aragon GP podium finisher Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was P11 and Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) seventh, with a lot at stake in the final few minutes. With two minutes to go though, everyone was still setting grey sector times for the time being, with no one able to go quicker…

That left Mir with a one-lap shot at picking up places from P12. Pol Espargaro found time in Sector 2 and was on a personal best time, Viñales had also found time, but all eyes then returned to Nakagami. The Japanese rider was 0.239 up in Sector 3, and Honda have been mighty in Sector 4… would it be a 1:46? It would. Coming across the line, Nakagami set a phenomenal 1:46.882 to move the goalposts significantly, and ultimately secure his maiden MotoGP™ pole position.

Quartararo was threatening but had a second wobble coming onto the front straight to go P5, and just behind the Frenchman, Rins did improve even more to take third. On his last lap, Viñales also went quicker –  but it wasn’t enough to threaten Nakagami or for the front row. Morbidelli, meanwhile, did threaten slightly – but it wasn’t quite enough as the Italian ended the session 0.063 off.

That guaranteed a maiden MotoGP™ pole position for the LCR Honda Idemitsu rider, and he’ll be one to watch on race day. Morbidelli takes his fourth front row start of the season in second, with Rins retaining P3 and looking a little threatening after his win last weekend from 10th on the grid…

Viñales is forced to settle for fourth, with Zarco keeping P5 despite a crash late on for the Frenchman, his earlier laptime proving stunner enough. Quartararo will start from sixth, just pipping LCR Honda Castrol’s Cal Crutchlow.

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) slots into eighth alongside the Brit, getting the better of Pol Espargaro by just 0.010 as the Q1 graduate starts ninth. Tenth place went to Alex Marquez as the rookie took his best qualifying result so far – better than last weekend, when he took another podium – with Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) right behind him, also a best ever for the rookie number 27.

So where’s Mir? After some late drama that looked like the Yellow Flag for Zarco’s crash would cancel a number of laps, including that of the Championship leader, it looked like he may have to settle for his first effort – over four seconds adrift. But the laptimes were reinstated after it was shown the Yellow Flag hadn’t been out for the likes of Mir, Oliveira, Crutchlow and Alex Marquez… but it didn’t prove a key aide. By just 0.021, the Championship leader is forced to settle for P12 – and will have plenty to do on race day. But then, we’ve seen some sensational comebacks this season already…

This season continues to be a stunner in MotoGP™, and the grid for the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel looks set to deliver another classic come Sunday. Can we have a ninth different winner? Who will gain in the title fight? Can Nakagami make more history? The lights go out for the premier class at 13:00 (GMT +1) – earlier than normal – and remember daylight saving changes where they apply!

Aragon, 18 October 2020: Stalking the Monster Energy Yamaha for a couple of laps, Rins chose his moment at the final corner and took a tight, tight line to sweep up the inside for the lead, neatly done to take over at the front. Just behind, things were getting spicy as Mir had managed a two-for-one past the Petronas Yamahas with a similar move up into third, and Alex Marquez was on a charge.

Rins, Viñales, Mir… the trio at the front remained pretty close together as the cat-and-mouse race began, with Marquez the man making serious gains. As the number 73 arrived on the scene, Mir seemingly decided enough was enough, slicing through on Viñales at the final corner. To compound Viñales’ chagrin, Marquez then made a stunner of a late dive past the Yamaha into Turn 1 too…

Up ahead, Rins remained ahead but it was far from becoming a runaway win. As the laps ticked down, the number 42 retained the close company from teammate Mir and Alex Marquez, but the next move wouldn’t threaten for the lead. With six to go, and again at the final corner, the number 73 Repsol Honda swooped past Mir to take over in second, Alex Marquez on for his second second place in a row. Or was he?

Once past, the Honda was closing. And not in thousandths or hundredths, but really reeling Rins in. Alex Marquez was over three tenths faster with four laps remaining, and looked seriously primed for a shot at the win. But Rins was holding station, and then a major warning came Marquez’ way at the final corner with two laps and a corner to go. The number 73 was out the seat as he squeezed on the gas and lot some ground, but he gathered it back up and set his sights back on the Suzuki.

Rins had a three tenth lead with two to go, and coming onto the last lap, it remained at 0.3 seconds. Marquez had to try and get close enough to get into the slipstream down the back straight, but Rins got his GSX-RR hooked up nicely and the Honda man wasn’t close enough to try his inside sweeping move. Despite the pressure, Rins made no mistakes. rising over the brow of the hill and making it to the line with two tenths in hand. The eighth winner in eight races and eighth of the season, back on the top step for the first time in over a year – and Marquez, despite losing out on the win, back on the podium for the second time in a week.

Mir had to keep an eye out for Viñales on the final couple of laps, and Morbidelli had Nakagami for company in the battle for the top five. In the end, Mir came out on top in the fight for third but again, by only a couple of tenths, but it’s enough to see him take the title lead as Quartararo plummeted through the field. Viñales also made a big gain in points given that, coming home off the podium but the second Championship challenger over the line.

Nakagami kept up his 100% top 10 finish record in 2020 with a superb P5, the Honda rider managing to beat Morbidelli on the last lap for the honour of top Independent Team rider too. That’s the number 30’s second top five of the season..  and he’s only 29 points off Mir!

After a difficult weekend, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) salvaged P7 on race day to sit closer to the top of the Championship than he did before the lights went out, top Borgo Panigale machine on Sunday and still in the hunt. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), after a tough start, was able to climb back up to P8. The two Ducatis of Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) and Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) completed the top 10, not what either would have been expecting heading into the weekend.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) led teammate Pol Espargaro across the line as the Austrian factory suffered a difficult Sunday taking P11 and P12, with Aleix Espargaro  (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) finishing just under a second from his younger brother in P13. Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) grabbed P14 to finish ahead of the final point scorer – Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team).

So where was Quartararo? The former points leader, after struggling with front tyre pressure, went from off the podium to fringes of the top ten to end up outside the points in P18. After a heroic pole position taken despite his big FP3 crash, the Frenchman had one of his toughest Sundays yet in the premier class… but he’ll be fired up to try and hit back next week. Mir now leads on 121 as Quartararo remains on 115, with Viñales third with 109. Dovizioso has 106, still very much in touch…

That’s all Bibendum wrote at the Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon, with another huge swing in momentum in the title fight. Whose way will it go next week? Find out in less than seven days as MotoGP™ get back on track for the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel on Friday.

Alex Rins: “Incredible! Unbelievable! Sincerely, at the start I was so calm, and I was thinking ‘hmm maybe that’s a bad thing!’ I made a really good start, the first laps were really good, then when I was behind Maverick I was thinking, ‘Alex, you have a bit more so try to go, but slowly because otherwise you’ll ruin the rear tyre!’ I tried to manage the distance to the guys behind and it’s amazing. This is for all the fans that normally come here from the towns around here, and for all this amazing team, and my family, friends, girlfriend. Everybody! This is for you guys!”

MotoGP Top results: 1 Alex Rins –Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki 41:54.391
2 Alex Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda – +0.263
3 Joan Mir –Team Suzuki Ecstar – Suzuki +2.644

Top Independent Team rider
5 Takaaki Nakagami – LCR Honda Idemitsu – Honda +4.570

The Frenchman beats Miller to pole at Le Mans, with Petrucci completing the front row and Mir left down in P14

Le Mans, 10 October 2020: Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took a stunning home turf pole position on Saturday at the Shark Helmets Grand Prix de France, the Frenchman denying Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) by two tenths after a late lunge for the top. Miller impressed in second to make it an Independent Team rider 1-2, with fellow Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) completing the front row as Borgo Panigale machinery shone in qualifying.

Before the final push to decide the top 12 positions on the grid got underway, however, Q1 made some headlines as both Team Suzuki Ecstar machines failed to move through. Joan Mir was left down in P14 on the grid and teammate Alex Rins two places further back, giving the Hamamatsu factory a mountain to climb on Sunday. Can Mir do the damage limitation with Quartararo starting from the front?

Moving through from Q1 instead were Petrucci, who set the fastest lap of the weekend up to that point, followed by Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) as the Italian pipped Mir to it. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) lost out too, with a few final laps chalked off after a late crash for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) that brought out the Yellow Flags.

Q2 began with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) leading fellow Yamaha riders Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Quartararo over the line, and it was the Italian who set the first benchmark time – a 1:32.393. Bagnaia then went up to P2 with Viñales slotting into P3, but the times were going to change immediately, with red sectors everywhere. All four Yamahas were inside the top four with Quartararo launching to P1 with a 1:31.679, but Bagnaia then improved again to slot into P2 behind the home hero; 0.073 the gap after two flying laps.

Quartararo then improved again to extend his advantage to 0.087, with Morbidelli holding P3 for the time being as the riders completed their first runs. Viñales was P4 and was seemingly – like he did at Misano – on a two-stop qualifying strategy as Petrucci and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) joined Viñales on the provisional second row. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was sitting P10 with six minutes to go, meanwhile Bagnaia hadn’t pitted and after venting his frustrations at Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3), although he was on another flyer before it went wrong at Turn 9…

Viñales was then pushing for a lap but it wasn’t happening for the Spaniard, with Dovizioso the man on the move instead as the Italian shot up to P2 to sit 0.082 off Quartararo. On the next lap, he was on it once more. Dovi was over a tenth under, but then lost some time in the last sector and didn’t improve…

It was all go in the final few seconds. Riding wounded Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) seemed to come out of nowhere to set an unbelievable 1:31.686 and take provisional P2, and just behind him on the road, Miller was also setting the world alight. The Aussie was 0.3 under at the third split and despite losing some time in the last sector, Miller demoted Quartararo to P2 and went to provisional pole position by 0.128. Alas for the Aussie, it wasn’t over yet…

There were red sector times across the board, the last push seemingly making it anyone’s game. Viñales improved but couldn’t find his way onto the front row and went to P4, and then Dovizioso was one of the riders who was going faster. Despite setting his personal best lap time, the Italian didn’t improve his position – but teammate Petrucci did. The latter shot up to P3 to beat Crutchlow’s time by just 0.012, and Miller was safe from another threat. But then a Frenchman caught everyone’s attention: Quartararo was determined to make it a home Grand Prix pole position and he was on course to absolutely smoke the competition; the number 20 two tenths under Miller’s time heading into the last sector. And the number 20 kept it pinned and tidy with no mistakes, taking the chequered flag to claim his ninth MotoGP™ pole position, ultimately by 0.222.

Nevertheless, Miller was happy to claim a front row start given his FP3 crash, and Petrucci’s wonderful Saturday afternoon sees the charismatic Italian start from the front row for the first time since the 2019 Italian GP – and we know what happened there. Crutchlow’s P4 was a true stunner given his physical condition, his right arm after surgery still giving him grief but the Brit taking his first top 10 qualifying result in 2020. He’s joined on the second row by Viñales in fifth; the Yamaha star ending Q2 0.4 seconds off Quartararo. He did, however, just edge out Dovizioso by 0.003. Still, P6 is Dovi’s best qualifying since his fourth in Austria.

After coming through Q1, Bagnaia claims P7 as both he and eighth place Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) also sit around 0.4 off pole position, again showing how tightly contested MotoGP™ really is in 2020. Frenchman Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) joins Bagnaia and Espargaro on Row 3, with two Yamahas left disappointed in Q2: Rossi and Morbidelli have work to do on Sunday afternoon after qualifying P10 and P11, and Oliveira was forced to settle too, in his case for P12. The Portuguese rider encountered plenty of troubles in FP4 with a mechanical problem and a crash, but the Styrian GP winner was just 0.694 from pole despite his position.

Quartararo takes full advantage of his main title rival Mir suffering on Saturday. Is a dream home Grand Prix victory going to come his way on Sunday? If it does, he’ll be the first ever French premier class winner at Le Mans. Only time will tell, but judging from FP4, it looks likely that he’s going to take some stopping! Tune in for the French GP on Sunday to see and remember, MotoGP™ kicks off at the earlier time of 13:00 local time (GMT+2).

Fabio Quartararo: “It feels special because the conditions were really tricky and cold, time to warm up the front tyre but it’s been quite a long time since I was on pole, so I’m so happy because we worked in a real good way. Yesterday I was so confident, I was a bit far yesterday but I knew where we needed to improve, I took no risks and we took the risk when we needed to: today. So happy to exit from the front row we have two Ducatis on the front row so we might struggle a bit off the line, but I’m feeling confident and we have the pace to fight for the win tomorrow!”

MotoGP Front row:

1 Fabio Quartararo* – Petronas Yamaha SRT – Yamaha – 1:31.315    
2 Jack Miller* – Pramac Racing – Ducati – +0.222
3 Danilo Petrucci – Ducati Team – Ducati – +0.359
*Independent Team riders