MotoGP 2020: Andalucia GP Winners And Losers

The entire MotoGP field will breathe a sigh of relief after the Andalucia Grand Prix, except maybe Fabio Quartararo who won dominantly from pole position. The season opening double header netted the young Frenchman two straight poles and two straight wins. Not a bad way to lay a claim to the 2020 premier class title, especially with defending champion Marc Marquez not scoring any points over the first two races. 

The rest of the field were happy to somewhat make it through the punishingly hot conditions in one piece. With track temperatures breaching 60 degrees at some parts of the Jerez Circuit, crashes and reliability issues hit the MotoGP crews hard. But as was the case last week, there were still some who would feel happier than others. 

Winners

Fabio Quartararo - The Frenchman was the personification of perfection over the Jerez double header and particularly so today. He looked completely untouchable as he shot away from pole position, eight seconds clear of the field at one point in the 25 lap race. With enough time to spare, he was almost 4.5 seconds ahead of second placed Maverick Vinales at the finish line. A maximum points haul of 50 makes him the early favourite for this year’s title as there are only 11 more rounds to go after today. Fortunately for the rest of the MotoGP field, they won’t have to face Quartararo at Jerez again this year. However, despite the MotoGP season moving away from the Frenchman’s favourite venue, it is unlikely there will be any let up from the consistently fast MotoGP points leader.

Valentino Rossi - His first podium since the third round of last season had a dash of fortune to it thanks to the retirement of Francesco Bagnaia and the absence of Marc Marquez, but the Italian legend’s superb defensive riding was the overriding factor. He managed to hold off his works Yamaha teammate Maverick Vinales twice after a sustained period of pressure before finally conceding second place. Nonetheless the 41 year old’s presence on the podium was a welcome sight to his many fans. His longevity is no accident as training, nutrition and sports science (especially recovery) have come a long way in increasing athlete’s careers. Serena Williams, LeBron James, Tom Brady and Roger Federer are other highly decorated athletes performing at the top despite advancing years. This should, in no way, discredit Rossi’s ability and hunger to keep himself as close to the top of MotoGP as possible. 

Francesco Bagnaia - Motorsport is probably the cruelest of all sports on account of how there are so many things outside of a participant’s control. No one expected to see blue smoke billowing out of the exhaust of Bagnaia’s Ducati when he looked set to take an unexpected but brilliant second place. He had pretty much left the two works Yamaha bikes of Rossi and Vinales for dead before having to retire from the race. His pace was exemplary deep enough into the race for him to be mentioned among the winners of the race even if he ended up with a DNF. 

Takaaki Nakagami - The LCR Honda Idemitsu rider turned out to be Honda Racing Corporation’s (HRC) best performer on the weekend and looked fast enough to steal a podium from Rossi had the race been a lap longer. Nevertheless, a fourth place finish was the Japanese rider’s best ever finishing position in the premier class and it also puts him in fourth place in the championship. HRC will be mighty pleased with his progression since making his premier class debut in 2018. Especially as Nakagami’s finish gave them a decent result in an otherwise miserable opening two races of the season. 

Losers

Maverick Vinales - Hang on a second, didn’t the Spaniard finish second in the Andalucia GP? And doesn’t his second place from last week’s season opener give him 40 points and second place in the championship? How does he end up in the losers column? Well, following the race itself, it was clear that there was promise of much more than being second best. Vinales gave enough proof of good race pace in free practice but in the race itself he lost the chance to capitalize on it. An attempted pass on Fabio Quartararo led to the Spaniard losing a position to Valentino Rossi. He was then  stuck behind the Italian until the last couple of laps of the race. He was even passed by the Pramac Ducati riders before a late race charge to get past his works Yamaha teammate. And boy did Rossi make him work for it. There is clearly race winning potential in Vinales but at the moment, he is being totally overshadowed by the fabulous Fabio Quartararo. 

Yamaha engine reliability - Even before Franco Morbidelli’s retirement in the race, the Yamaha riders were in big trouble with regards to engine allocation. Morbidelli along with Quartararo, Rossi and Vinales had used four of the five engines allotted to them for the shortened season. It is entirely plausible that Yamaha’s troubles were purely down to the scorching temperatures at Jerez. However, they have still been hit harder than any other manufacturer, and there are still 11 races to go. If a solution is not found to the problem, Yamaha may have to consider turning down the power in order to finish races. 

Aprilia - Bradley Smith 12th out of the 13 finishers and Aleix Espargaro crashing out summed up a miserable race for Aprilia. Especially as they had shown hints of good pace in pre-season testing. With such few finishers in the race, there was a chance of a decent points haul. Instead, Aprilia leave Jerez with their heads drooping low and wondering when they will get another chance to score strong finishes. 

KTM - Aside from Pol Espargaro’s seventh place finish, no other KTM rider made it to the finish of the Andalucia GP. An accident for Miguel Oliveira put his excellent fifth place in qualifying to waste. His Red Bull KTM Tech 3 teammate Iker Lecuona was forced to retire and then factory KTM rider Brad Binder crashed out. As was the case with Aprilia, there was a chance to score good points this weekend, but the Austrian manufacturer will have to settle with just a seventh place finish. With Espargaro leaving next year for Repsol Honda, one has to wonder when KTM’s fortunes will improve enough for them to move further up the grid.