This is the final instalment of my four-part series reviewing the events of the 2020 MotoGP season. This article will cover the Valencian double header and the season finale in Portimao; if you’re interested in the events of the remainder of the season you should check out parts 1-3. Hope you all enjoy!
The stage was set, the battle lines drawn. Just three races remained in our compressed 2020 season, and while mathematically there were still 15 riders with a chance at the title, in reality it seemed it would come down to six. The Suzuki team of Mir and Rins, Petronas Yamaha’s Quartararo and Morbidelli, Maverick Vinales and his factory M1, and the ever-present Dovizioso representing Ducati. Valencia would normally be the site of the final showdown, but this time around we would be treated to two races at the Spanish circuit followed by the conclusion to this weird and wonderful year of racing in Portugal.
M1raculous Mir
And so the first weekend in Valencia began. Poor weather meant that practice sessions on Friday and Saturday were difficult to judge, with both FP1 and FP3 being essentially a wash out. A somewhat drier track for FP2 led to a time-attack for the whole field as everyone tried desperately to get themselves into Q2. Rins, Mir, Quartararo, Morbidelli and Dovi all made it in; Vinales failed to make the cut, and was hamstrung further by being forced to open a new engine, putting him over the limit for the season and relegating him to a pitlane start. Rossi finally made his return after being away due to contracting Covid-19, but missing out on the first day of practice meant he was also out of Q2 and would need to push through Q1.
The weather remained wet for qualifying on Saturday, with times sitting around ten seconds slower than dry pace. Big names struggled with getting through Q1, with both the factory Yamaha and Honda teams failing to put either of their riders through. Q2 was an incredible showdown as the riders pushed their wet weather times lower and lower with each minute that passed, and many riders looked set for a front row start one minute only to lose out the next. In the end it was Pol Espargaro on the KTM that nailed the top spot, with Rins and Nakagami joining him on the front row. The two main men in the championship, Mir and Quartararo, lined up fifth and eleventh respectively. How would they find the nerves come Sunday?
We got our answer fairly quickly. Quartararo crashed out on the opening lap, falling at turn 8 in a tandem crash with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, and rejoined the race way back in last place. Mir and Rins, on the other hand, scythed their way to the front and began pushing to break up the pack. Espargaro gave chase to the Suzukis up ahead, with Nakagami, Oliveira and Miller keeping close behind. A technical issue for Rossi forced him to retire, while Vinales’ pit lane start and Quartararo’s crash compounded a miserable weekend for Yamaha. Rins made a small error at the front, allowing Mir to take the lead, and from that moment Mir was able to control the race and keep a cool head with his teammate losing touch behind.
Espargaro held his ground for third, while a fierce battle developed behind him between Miller and Nakagami. Binder made a resurgent fight through the field, and his goal of rookie of the year got closer with his rival Alex Marquez crashing out. In the end, none of them had anything for the Suzuki men at the front, and Mir took his first MotoGP win ahead of Rins and Espargaro. With Morbidelli 11th, Vinales 13th and Quartararo 14th, Mir was able to push his championship lead up to 37 points, putting him well within reach of the title on the following weekend. Could Mir become the first Suzuki champion in twenty years?
Give us a good show while we’re here
The second round at Valencia started off with some great news: the weather would be clear and sunny all weekend, giving riders enough time in dry conditions to properly prepare their setups. Riders got to work immediately, using what little information they got from the Sunday before and pushing lap times down from the get-go. Mir kept his cool and nabbed seventh in the combined standings to ensure his spot in Q2, and his rivals were scattered in comparison. While Morbidelli was able to smash the top time and Vinales managed a top five, Dovi, Quartararo and Rins were all relegated to Q1. Given that only two riders progress to the second stage of qualifying, this was music to the championship leader’s ears.
When qualifying did get underway, Quartararo quickly got to work and outpaced his rivals to ensure a spot in Q2. Binder continued his recent good form to take the other position, forcing Dovi and Rins to start in the back half of the field. Morbidelli and Miller, who had shown great pace all weekend, stole the spotlight to take the first two grid positions, with Nakagami taking his third front row start in a row. Incredibly, both Quartararo and Mir were off the pace in the final session and ended up with a disconsolate 11th and 12th as their starting positions for Sunday’s race. Mir could still win the title if he finished well, but he needed to lose as few points to the likes of Rins, Quartararo and Morbidelli as possible. The big question on everyone’s minds – could he handle the pressure?
Morbidelli got off the line best, making a getaway at the front with Miller and Espargaro in pursuit. Rins and Mir both made up places, but Quartararo was sent backwards by an incident on the first lap, and his race – and championship hopes – ended on lap 8 with a disastrous crash. Morbidelli kept the pace up at the front, making a decent lead, but Miller slowly ate away at it. Zarco crashed out while pushing with the front group, and Nakagami bit the dust while chasing Espargaro for third. All the while, Morbidelli and Miller continued to barrel away at the front, while Rins found his hands full with Binder and Oliveira in the battle for fourth.
Miller finally made an attack on Morbidelli at the beginning of the final lap, using great drive and the brute horsepower of his Ducati to pass him into turn one, but Morbidelli retaliated immediately. Miller tried again at turn four, cleaner this time, and it looked like a solid overtake, but Morbidelli once again passed back immediately. Miller never found another opportunity, and after a brilliant dogfight Morbidelli was able to score his third win of the season ahead of Miller and Espargaro. And as for Mir? Seventh place ended up being enough to secure him the title with one race left to go. Joan Mir was officially the champion of the world.
Go on then, one more
Despite the championship being wrapped up already, the MotoGP field were intent on giving us a good show for the final race of the season. The Portimao circuit was completely new territory for most riders, and though the likes of Oliveira (who is Portugese, and trains regularly at the track) had a small leg-up to start, everyone adapted quickly to the unusual layout of the circuit. Miller, Rins and Nakagami were all looking good, though Oliveira remained the most consistent during practice sessions. And as for the newly crowned champion Mir? He couldn’t get it going and found himself fifteenth and headed to Q1.
It didn’t get much better in qualifying, either. Held back by an electronics issue, Mir found himself mired back in 20th place, facing the biggest uphill fight of his season. Crutchlow and Morbidelli made the Q2 cut, costing Binder a chance to do battle with his KTM allies; meanwhile, things refused to get better for Rossi who ended up in 17th. When it came time for Q2, Oliveira put on a show at his home circuit, setting a blistering time and becoming one of just two riders to make it into the 1:38s, the other being Morbidelli. Miller would join them on the front row, looking to replicate his success from Valencia, while Crutchlow and Dovi made it P4 and P12 respectively for their final races in the premier class.
When the race did get started, it became clear just how Portimao earned the name “the rollercoaster”. Oliveira got the holeshot, and began clicking into rhythm immediately in an attempt to disappear at the front. Morbidelli and Miller both tried to follow him, with a chain of riders following close behind. Binder crashed out, though it wouldn’t end up costing him rookie of the year; Mir collided with Bagnaia and Zarco in two separate early incidents and ended up having to retire from his first race as champion. Quartararo found himself going backwards in yet another miserable finish for the once-championship leader, and Rossi and Vinales met similar fates, but the biggest surprise was Alex Rins, who plumeted down to outside the points and struggled to find any kind of form.
Oliveira continued to check out at the front, as Miller and Morbidelli engaged in a repeat of their previous weekend’s showdown. Miller would end up on top this time out, taking a nice double podium in his final races with Pramac Ducati, but no-one had anything for the local hero, and Oliveira scorched home for his second win of the season. Morbidelli retained third, Pol Espargaro finished his time with KTM in fourth, and Dovizioso said goodbye to Ducati with a decent sixth place result. A rather unusual race capping off a rather unusual season.
That’s that
And that just about wraps up 2020. Obviously I didn’t cover every individual story from the year, but there were so many of them that it would’ve dragged this series out forever. All we can do now is look forward to 2021, which will introduce a number of exciting new changes. Three new rookies step up from Moto2; The season will kick off with a double-header in Qatar; many riders are changing teams and manufacturers for 2021, including Pol Espargaro, Alex Marquez, Quartararo, Rossi, Miller, Bagnaia and more; and we will likely see the return of the absent champion Marc Marquez.
I do want to once again congratulate Joan Mir on his championship win in 2020. He truly had a remarkable season, taking more podiums than anyone else and being by far the most consistent rider in the field, and I thoroughly look forward to his title defence this year. Whatever happens in the forthcoming season, I only hope it can match the drama that 2020 gave us.
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