Aragon Roundup: A long-awaited return

You would be forgiven for heading into the Aragon round of the 2020 MotoGP thinking it was going to be dominated by the Yamaha riders. They showed up at the top of the timesheets for the entirety of the weekend, putting three riders in the top four positions of every practice session and qualifying. Besides the potential pace showed by Joan Mir on the Suzuki, they seemed the strongest of the field by a country mile, and it would have been a safe bet that one of them would end up on the top step.

And then something happened that had not occurred all weekend in Aragon: the track warmed up. After a frigid and frankly rather dangerous weekend, the event organisers decided to push the start time of the race back to try and get some warmer track temperatures for the race, and it was a resounding success. Suddenly the teams were faced with a myriad of last minute decisions, trying desperately to decide if it was worth gambling on a harder tire combination than the soft-soft slicks that had been the only realistic choice all weekend. With the track warmer than it had been all weekend, there was finally potential to get heat into a medium tire.

The Yamahas made several gambles, and most of them failed to pay off. There is no real way of knowing exactly what changes were made to the bikes in the leadup to the race, but the Yamahas struggled for the majority of the race. Vinales and Morbidelli, despite being so dominant in practice, were only able to squeak out 4th and 6th place, respectively. Quartararo, the polesitter, had one of the most disappointing races of his MotoGP career, falling all the way down to eigteenth and well outside the points. It was a weekend to forget for the ousted championship leader, who lost ground to all his major rivals and forfeited the championship lead for the first time since Misano 2.

In reality, the show was stolen by a Suzuki rider, just not the one we were all expecting. Alex Rins, the two time race winner who had his championship challenge hampered very early in this season with an injury sustained in Jerez, took his first win since Silverstone last year in rather commanding fashion. After scything his way through from tenth position on the grid, he took the lead after just eight laps and tore away, going almost entirely unchallenged. It was the first time he has won a race from the lead, with both of his previous wins being come-from-behind duels, and has properly silenced anyone still critical of his position in the factory Suzuki squad.

You may have noticed a choice word there, being that he went ‘almost’ entirely unchallenged. That would be because there was another hard-charging Spaniard with things to prove in the Aragon Grand Prix. Alex Marquez, fresh off his maiden podium just one week prior, stormed his way to an incredible second place finish, taking his first dry podium, Honda’s first dry podium of the year, and proving once and for all what an incredible talent he is. The Honda man threw everything he had at Rins in the closing stages of the race, but a few small mistakes stopped him from ever showing the Suzuki man his front tire. Nonetheless, it was an incredible showing from the rookie.

As a MotoGP fan and wannabe reporter, I try and keep my feelings neutral or balanced towards the various riders in the field, but it’s incredibly difficult not to be on the Alex Marquez hype train right now. The youngster has faced endless criticism for the manner in which he acquired his Repsol Honda ride, with many people pointing at his brother Marc as being the sole reason he managed to score a factory ride. The truth is that Alex is an incredible talent in his own right, with two world championships to his name, and has spent the year doing exactly what he does best, slowly growing familiar with his bike until he felt comfortable to begin really pushing to see just how fast he can go. We have yet to see the limit of his capabilities in the premier class, and I for one am keen to see the fireworks when he and Marc finally have an opportunity to do battle on circuit together.

Third place in the race went to Joan Mir, the Suzuki sophomore continuing his consistent form in 2020 to finally gain control of the world championship. The Spaniard has finished on the podium five times in the last seven races, and now faces the challenge of defending his championship lead for the first time in his MotoGP career. While you have to imagine that his first win is narrowly eluding him at present, there is no rule that states you need to win a race to be crowned champion, and in reality all he need do for the rest of the season is maintain this strong form and not lose too many points to the likes of Quartararo of Vinales.

The Honda factory was led by the younger Marquez brother once again, but it was actually a strong showing for the factory as a whole. Nakagami – who has finished every single race of this season in the top 10 – crossed the line in a strong fifth to maintain his slim chance of taking down the title, while Crutchlow finished eighth after losing ground in the opening laps. Aragon is a circuit that should benefit the Hondas, but because in recent history it has simply been dominated by Marc Marquez it is easy to forget the Japanese manufacturer has plenty of other capable riders willing to step up to the plate in his absence. A win or a podium will definitely be in reach for all three Honda riders this weekend when the paddock revisits Aragon for round eleven.

The Ducati riders also deserve a mention, as they managed a decent set of finishes despite their atrocious qualifying result on Saturday. The bologna factory had problems all weekend adjusting to the cold, and despite it being a strong circuit for them, all 6 riders ended up having to make their way through Q1. In the end, warmer temperatures and more tire options allowed several of their riders to bounce back, with Dovizioso finishing seventh, Miller in ninth and Zarco a surprising tenth. All of the Ducati riders will be hoping for warmer temperatures on the weekend, as if they can’t match the improvements of the other factories then the Grand Prix of Teruel may end up being a weekend to forget.

The championship fight grows closer once again, with the top four riders now split by just sixteen points, but with four races to go and the way 2020 has played out so far, there is no real way to predict who will feature in the title fight as we get closer to the finish line. That being said, everyone gets a second shot at glory under the Spanish sun this weekend, and if the Grand Prix of Aragon was anything to go by, we have a whole lot of drama headed our way.