Valencia GP – Valencia GP 2020: Joan Mir MotoGP world champion on Suzuki! – Used SUZUKI

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Valencia GP 2020: Joan Mir MotoGP world champion on Suzuki !

Valencia GP - Valencia GP 2020: Joan Mir MotoGP world champion on Suzuki! - Used SUZUKI

Author of his first MotoGP victory last weekend, Joan Mir secured a seventh place at the Valencia GP this Sunday to succeed Marc Marquez! Twenty years after Kenny Roberts Jr, a Suzuki rider wins the premier class. Account of a demonic race in the final between Morbidelli and Miller !

A week after the European GP, ​​the Riccardo Tormo circuit welcomes a second Grand Prix, that of Valencia which traditionally closes the season … But the year 2020 is exceptional from all points of view and its final will be contested next week in Portimao, Portugal !

For this second race in Valence, the pilots all selected the same rear tire: a medium compound … and naturally asymmetrical, for this layout which has many lefts and some vicious rights. Turn 4 in particular, because it comes after five lefts and the straight.

Up front, the majority of the field chose a hard tire. Only three drivers preferred to wear a medium tire: Maverick Viñales, Jack Miller and Lorenzo Savadori. On the grid, Fabio Quartararo and Stephan Bradl are added to this short list. No.12 and 20 Yamaha play big: they are still in contention for the world title !

Leader Joan Mir must finish ahead of his five rivals (Quartararo, Rins, Viñales, Morbidelli and Dovizioso) to clinch the world crown. Or get on an eighth podium this season … A formality for rider n ° 36 Suzuki? Starting from 12th place on this narrow circuit, surely not…

Departure : Jack Miller got off to a good start at the controls of his Ducati but widened in the first curve and saw Franco Morbidelli and Pol Espargaro pass with whom he shared the first row. Stuck at beautiful Ugly middle of the peloton, Quartararo slalomed so as not to hit anyone when braking on turn 2, then straight ahead … and heralds the end of his title hopes in 2020.

Fourth – as at the European GP -, Takaaki Nakagami is ahead of Miguel Oliveira, Johann Zarco, Aleix Espargaro, Alex Rins, Brad Binder … and Joan Mir 10th! Quartararo returns to the track in a desperate 19th place, ahead of Tito Rabat and Lorenzo Savadori.

Morbidelli completed the first lap in front of a very compact peloton made up of Miller, P. Espargaro, Nakagami, Oliveira, Zarco, Rins, Binder, A. Espargaro and Mir, always. The following laps go smoothly and the gaps are gradually widening. The leading trio in particular moved away from "Taka" who still leads the bulk of the troops..

Very clean, almost relaxed, "Frankie" sets the best time in the race on the 3rd lap but does not distance "Jackass" nor "Polyccio". Oliveira walks past Nakagami, as Rins threatens Zarco. Under pressure, our n ° 5 loses the front in the first curve of the 6th lap and must abandon the race…

At the back of the peloton, Joan Mir takes no risk: he occupies a wise ninth place behind Aleix Espargaro. A few lengths ahead, Binder and Rins get closer to Nakagami thanks to a small error from the Japanese … Oliveira continues to impress: the Tech3 rider gets closer to the official KTM n ° 44 !

Still in the lead, Morbidelli has three quarters of a second ahead of Miller and P. Espargaro. Still ninth, Mir has virtually 27 points more than the leader of the race, 34 more than Rins (sixth) and 43 more than Viñales (11th). Quartararo sinks to 18th place before falling on lap 9 in turn 6…

On the track, Oliveira slows down and is passed by Nakagami on the last braking – on the corner! – of the 10th round. Rins and his Suzuki No.42 find themselves in the wheel of the KTM Tech 3 No.88 and quickly overtake it, leaving the Portuguese to explain himself with his South African colleague Brad Binder.

As Dovizioso gradually approached him, Joan Mir decides to pass in front of Aleix Espargaro. The track is free in front of Aprilia n ° 41: it should allow Suzuki n ° 36 to run at its own pace and impatiently await the exit of the checkered flag. !

In front, Morbidelli has a big second ahead of Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro. Two seconds later, Nakagami, Rins, Oliveira and Binder compete for fourth place. A second and a half behind this entertaining quartet, Joan Mir is still in eighth place. Aleix Espargaro defends well against Dovizioso.

While the halfway mark has just been crossed, "Taka" posted his best time! The Japanese climbed very efficiently on Pol Espargaro, therefore on the third step of the podium! The Spanish driver is left behind by Miller who manages to grab a few tenths from the Italian-Brazilian leader…

In the 17th lap in particular, the Ducati Pramac n ° 43 completed the fastest lap of the race! The Yamaha n ° 21 therefore grows in its viewfinder! Not far behind, the KTM n ° 44 cannot prevent the rise of the Honda n ° 30…

Unfortunately, the Japanese rider who was still hunting – and will still hunt next weekend for the Portimao final – his first MotoGP podium, crashed in the last corner of the 19th lap. Taka asked too much of his front tire to try to put the brakes on Pol … who sees his rival and his RCV pass just in front of him! Hot.

Joan Mir gains a place (seventh therefore) and consolidates his lead in the provisional: the Suzuki rider n ° 36 has 29 points more than Morbidelli, his closest rival. If the title of MotoGP 2020 world champion seems played, it is not the victory of this GP of Valencia !

Warned of the return of his only rival on the track, Franco Morbidelli responded but that was not enough … Jack Miller could well see himself becoming the tenth winner of this breathtaking 2020 season after Quartararo (x3), Binder, Dovizioso, Oliveira, Morbidelli (x2 … soon 3?!), Viñales, Petrucci, Rins and Mir.

Five laps from the end, the gap between the two leading men fell under half a second. Some lengths that the Ducati can partially nibble at each passage in the short straight, but that the Yamaha recovers in the winding.

The remote duel lasts two turns, until Jack finally finds himself in Franco’s backsplash! The last loop is just started when Desmosedici n ° 43 projects itself in front of M1 n ° 21 at the end of the straight line. A little too strong, however: Miler pulls aside and leans on the next braking !

The two rivals cross swords – the carbon of their fairings … – in the following three bends! Morbidelli takes the lead at the exit of turn 5, but Miller maintains the pressure and scrutinizes the slightest opening … without finding it. Incredibly solid, the Italian stays ahead of the Australian, including in the final stretch !

With this third victory this season, Franco Morbidelli equals his teammate Fabio Quartararo in number of successes … and steals his second place in the provisional! The No.21 also gives Yamaha a seventh victory in thirteen races. You said paradoxical ?

MotoGP championship point (s)

For our tasty "20 French" unfortunately, this 2020 season is turning sour: counter stuck at 125 points, he is joined by Andrea Dovizioso … and doubled by Franco Morbidelli (142 points) but also Alex Rins (138) and Maverick Viñales (127) !

The unprecedented final of the MotoGP championship, which will take place in a short week on the sublime track of Portimao (Portugal), will certainly not lack spice since Pol Espargaro (122 points) can still mathematically win a silver or bronze medal. !

Cumulating – again because of his fall this Sunday – 71 points, Johann Zarco can no longer hope to climb into the World Top 10. The n ° 5 Ducati is 16 points behind Brad Binder (best rookie at the moment) and 7 behind Danilo Petrucci. Our double Moto2 champion has 4 points more than Alex Marquez (second rookie …) and 9 more than a certain Valentino Rossi…

Thanks to his seventh place at the end of this 2020 Valencia GP, Joan Mir wins the 2020 MotoGP World Championship! A well-deserved title: extremely consistent, the 2017 Moto3 champion proved last week at the same Valencia circuit that he was capable of beating all his opponents. All ?…

Certainly, the six-time world champion Marc Marquez has not scored a single point this season. But it is entirely his fault: the n ° 93 of the HRC was not accidentally mown down by a rival during the opening GP – four short months ago in Jerez – he himself fell to two occasions !

Joan Mir becomes the sixth Suzuki rider to win in the premier class: he joins Barry Sheene (1976 and 1977), Marco Lucchinelli (1981), Franco Uncini (1982), Kevin Shantz (1993) and Kenny Roberts Jr (2000). The Spanish n ° 36 was only 3 years old when the last one was crowned MotoGP champion … sorry, Grand Prix 500 !

Always very humble – during our interviews in particular – Sylvain Guintoli deserves to be congratulated for the success of Joan Mir … and that of Alex Rins, who posts his Suzuki in fourth place of this GP of Valencia in the wake of the KTM ° 44 and just in front of two other Katoche (33 and 88) !

The team championship is won by the Suzuki Ecstar team: its lead of 79 points is insurmountable for the (satellite!) Team of Yamaha Petronas SRT. Even an unprecedented double from Morbidelli and Quartararo next week (45 points) and an improbable double zero from Rins and Mir would change absolutely nothing…

Finally, in the constructors’ championship, Suzuki and Ducati both total 201 points: this third and final 2020 title will therefore be played on the "Russo-Portuguese mountains" of Portimao! Yamaha remains in contention with 188 points, but its chances are extremely low. KTM followed with 175 points, Honda 133 and Aprilia 43.

MotoGP results of the 2020 Valencia GP

Valencia GP - Valencia GP 2020: Joan Mir MotoGP world champion on Suzuki! - Used SUZUKI

MotoGP provisional classification after Valencia

  1. Joan MIR Suzuki SPA 171 points
  2. Franco MORBIDELLI Yamaha ITA 142 points
  3. Alex RINS Suzuki SPA 138 points
  4. Maverick VIÑALES Yamaha SPA 127 points
  5. Fabio QUARTARARO Yamaha FRA 125 points
  6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati ITA 125 points
  7. Pol ESPARGARO KTM SPA 122 points
  8. Jack MILLER Ducati AUS 112 points
  9. Takaaki NAKAGAMI Honda JPN 105 points
  10. Miguel OLIVEIRA KTM POR 100 points
  11. Brad BINDER KTM RSA 87 points
  12. Danilo PETRUCCI Ducati ITA 78 points
  13. Johann ZARCO Ducati FRA 71 points
  14. Alex MARQUEZ Honda SPA 67 points
  15. Valentino ROSSI Yamaha ITA 62 points
  16. Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati ITA 47 points
  17. Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia SPA 34 points
  18. Cal CRUTCHLOW Honda GBR 29 points
  19. Iker LECUONA KTM SPA 27 points
  20. Stefan BRADL Honda GER 18 points
  21. Bradley SMITH Aprilia GBR 12 points
  22. Tito RABAT Ducati SPA 10 points
  23. Michele PIRRO Ducati ITA 4 points
  24. Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia ITA 

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