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Franco Morbidelli has become the fifth different winner of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship with a tremendous head-to-head victory at the San Marino MotoGP in Misano, but it was a disaster for his former championship-leading teammate Fabio Quartararo, who crashed twice before retreating. .
Another totally unexpected result of the sixth MotoGP race of the season in what is turning out to be an almost completely unpredictable season, Morbidelli’s victory makes him the fourth first-time winner of 2020 alone.
While the result may not have been anticipated, it does not detract from the quality of the Italian’s performance, who took advantage of an excellent break from second on the grid to make the hole before protecting his lead to the flag.
With just three races after his first podium at Brno, Morbidelli’s success at home brings some joy to Yamaha on a day when the manufacturer came nowhere near maximizing his 1-2-3-4 chances at the grill.
Indeed, Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Vinales, the only rider to start on a hard rear tire, ruined their chances early on when they left Ducati’s Jack Miller between them and Morbidelli, plus Valentino Rossi in front.
With Viñales taking the time to get his tires working, Quartararo was trapped behind him initially, but eventually passed his stablemate in seven, dropping his Petronas SRT Yamaha as it opened at Turn 4. The French crestfallen soon entered the pits and returned to the track. , only to fall back almost immediately on cold tires on a true day to forget for the title contender.
Up front, Rossi followed Morbidelli through the opening laps, but a new lap record from the 2017 Moto2 champion allowed him to put in the air he needed to start moving forward.
In contrast, Rossi found himself being swallowed by Alex Rins and Pecco Bagnaia behind, the pair had relieved Vinales earlier before quickly catching and dispatching a vanishing Miller in front of them.
However, a steely Rossi wouldn’t give up second without a fight, the fairly even Yamaha and Suzuki riders line up aft, but they never seem so prone to swapping positions. As such, Bagnaia, in his first race since breaking his leg at Brno, would wait no longer as he raced inside Rins at fast Turn 11 to move into third with eight laps remaining.
Unlike the more hesitant Rins, Bagnaia wasted no time beating Rossi, his VR46 driver academy mentor, repeating the same move at Turn 11 on the next lap to bring the Pramac Racing Ducati into second place. .
Their fight would allow Morbidelli, sometimes 3 seconds ahead of the rest, a chance to relax in the final stages, crossing the line for an emotional opening victory in his third season of MotoGP competition.
He joins teammate Quartararo, Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira to clinch maiden victories in just the six races of the 2020 MotoGP season.
Behind them, Bagnaia visibly faded as fatigue undoubtedly washed over him, but he did enough to clinch second place for his first MotoGP podium, doing so likely guaranteeing his promotion to the factory Ducati team in 2021.
However, adrift on the line was a brilliant Joan Mir, who after wasting time trying to overtake Miller, managed to catch the group competing on the podium before planting a superb pass to Rins at the first corner of the last. return.
With momentum on his side, Mir made Rins unable to cut through Rossi’s inside at Turn 5 in one of the season’s moves to snatch a brilliant third place. As a result, Rossi had to settle for fourth place, simply denying himself the chance of a 200th grand prix podium in his home race.
Rins came in fifth, no doubt frustrated at not taking advantage of his opportunities, while a stumped Viñales fell behind in sixth place, his hard tire only gaining strength at the end when he set his best time in the final laps.
With Quartararo down and out, it strangely means that Andrea Dovizioso is the new leader of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship despite barely showing up in the race and finishing well in seventh place, but scoring useful points towards what is becoming a unconventional title.
Takaaki Nakagami maintained his record as the only rider to finish all races this season within the top ten with a charge run from 14 to ninth, just behind a decaying Miller in eighth and ahead of Pol Espargaró, the best KTM. in tenth.
KTM riders Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder lagged behind in places 11 and 12, while Aleix Espargaró, Iker Lecuona and Johann Zarco completed the points-paying positions.
