The stage has been set, the battle lines drawn. In March of this year races started to be cancelled, and MotoGP fans across the world began to worry about whether we would have a season at all. By April, most of us had given up hope that racing would happen in 2020. July saw the first set of races kick off in Jerez, and now, in a miraculous turn of events, we find ourselves at the beginning of the end. We have witnessed a once in a lifetime season, with drama, action, uncertainty and more, and the conclusion of this season is upon us.
November will include three races for the MotoGP class, starting with two races in Valencia, this weekend and next weekend, before the season finale in Portimao on the 22nd. This weekend’s race, known simply as the Grand Prix of Europe (note: this made it incredibly hard to title this article. Europe preview? European? Anyway…), offers up 25 precious points to the winner, with only 75 left on the table at all. The end of the championship is here, and it is time for us to begin the process of crowning a champion.
Valencia is of course no stranger to crowning MotoGP champions: look no further than the 2017 season, in which Marc Marquez took the crown after Dovizioso crashed out mid-race. Or perhaps we could remember back to 2015, the last year Lorenzo won a world championship, when Rossi was penalised all the way to the back of the grid. Look further still and we get Marquez taking the title in 2013, or 2006 when Nicky Hayden famously took the championship from Rossi himself. Make no mistake of it, Valencia has a history of world-class racing, and while we may not see a champion crowned at the circuit this year (though it is a possibility), we can at least expect some stellar racing from the 2020 grid.
The circuit itself isn’t actually particularly special or unique. It’s a relatively short and flat track, with little to no elevation changes and an expected MotoGP lap of around 1:31 to 1:32 (or 1:29-1:30 in qualifying). This does not mean it is a boring track, however, and is actually a potential reason for the lack of any dominant manufacturer/s at this circuit. While certain riders have found repeat successes here, there has never been a particular bike that has dominated the others in Valencia. It is a circuit where anyone can win, and in a season like 2020 that is a mouth-watering prospect indeed.
That being said, the Repsol Honda team have had a number of victories in Valencia, and there is no reason to believe they won’t have at least a chance to put another rider on the top step come Sunday. Alex Marquez is the rookie on form at the moment, with double podiums in Le Mans and Aragon followed by an unfortunate crash in Teruel when he was chasing down the leaders. The younger Marquez brother has done in MotoGP what he does every single time he is presented with a new bike: he takes his time to study it, learn its strengths and weaknesses, adapts his riding style, and then proceeds to crush his opposition with raw speed and talent. He did the same thing in Moto2, and his rivals should fear what he will be capable of here in Valencia, as well as what they may face from him come 2021.
He’s not the only Honda man on a roll, either. Idemitsu rider Takaaki Nakagami took his first pole position since stepping up to MotoGP last time out, and had the pressure not gotten to him and caused him to crash on the opening lap, he likely would have challenged for his first podium, or even for the win. His Teruel crash ends Nakagami’s perfect streak of points results this season, with all ten of his finishes this year being inside the top ten, which puts his name down as arguably one of the most consistent riders of 2020 alongside championship leader Mir. Given the history of Honda winners at this circuit, Nakagami should hopefully be able to bounce back and show us what he’s really capable of.
Neither of these men are title contenders, however. The Suzuki team comes to Valencia with two potential champions, with Mir leading the points standings and Rins officially back in the mix after taking 45 points in the Aragon double header. Suzuki aren’t known for incredible form at this particular circuit, but Rins did put the bike on the podium in the wet in 2018, and if the weather continues to be as unpredictable as it has been recently we may be in for a wet race on Sunday as well. In addition, the flowing nature of the circuit should theoretically compliment the Suzuki, and now that they have two confident, talented and hungry riders on board, perhaps this year we will see the podium painted blue.
Speaking of blue, the Yamaha riders will be breathing a sigh of relief this weekend after none of them were docked points in the rider’s championship despite the FIM penalising the Japanese manufacturer in all other standings. It has come to light that Yamaha failed to comply with the engine restrictions in Jerez and Austria, and so the FIM have punished them by taking away 50 points from their total in the manufacturer’s championship, as well as 20 from Monster Yamaha and 37 from Petronas Yamaha in the team’s championship. While it was likely never going to be the case that the penalties would hit the riders themselves, it is a relief from a championship perspective, as three of the four Yamaha riders are currently in the mix for the championship fight, and a loss of points would have pushed several of them way out of the competition.
The Yamaha riders shouldn’t be too hasty to count their blessings, however. Though Vinales and Quartararo are still in the hunt for the title, both riders deeply underperformed in all three races held in October, and allowed Mir to ease his way out to a comfortable lead in the championship standings. Valencia may have yielded a podium for Quartararo last year, and the Frenchman certainly seems confident he can repeat that success in 2020, but the warning signs indicate that the Yamaha riders are struggling to make it to the end of this marathon of a season. They will need to re-focus their energies over the coming weeks if any of them want to mount a serious challenge against Mir and Suzuki.
Ducati and KTM will be hoping to bounce back from a relatively quiet double header in Aragon, though KTM did manage a stronger race two than Ducati did. KTM’s consistent work ethic and quietly confident line-up of young, talented riders have helped them to a lot of surprise success over the last few months, and they now find themselves at the track where they took their first ever MotoGP podium in 2018 in wet conditions. Espargaro will be wanting to repeat that success in his final weeks on a KTM machine, and Binder and Oliveira will be hoping to put themselves back on the podium for the first time in some races (Binder’s only podium was his win in the Czech Republic, Oliveira’s was in Styria). Unfortunately, Lecuona will not be joining his KTM compatriots this weekend as a positive COVID test for his brother has forced him to self-isolate for this weekend and most of next week. Yet another reminder that nothing in 2020 is a given.
As for the Ducati riders, they have perhaps the most catching up to do here in Valencia out of all the manufacturers. Dovizioso returns to the scene of his 2017 defeat to Marc Marquez after a disastrous week in Aragon where he managed a total of 12 points over two races, and lost ground to all of his title competitors. If Dovi cannot turn his form around this weekend, he may just be written out of the title fight, which would be a cruel end to what may be his last season in MotoGP. His fellow Ducati members will be looking for some similar levels of vindication, with Bagnaia hoping to recover some of his form he showed immediately after his return from injury, and Miller hoping his race will last more than two corners this time around.
The championship will not be decided this weekend, but the contenders should all view this as the beginning of the end for their title charges. After this weekend there will be just two races and 50 points left for 2020’s MotoGP season, so it’s time to begin that final push, and race not just for the win, but for the title of World Champion.
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