MotoGP

Red Bull KTM have renewed contracts with former Grand Prix winners Dani Pedrosa and Mika Kallio to form the backbone of the MotoGP™ testing team for 2021 and continue work evolving the promising KTM RC16. 38-year old Kallio has been a key part of the MotoGP development crew for half a decade. The Fin debuted the KTM RC16 at the 2016 Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana and has completed wild-card appearances and substitute racing duties since 2017; notably contesting six rounds with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2019 and the final round of the 2020 campaign for Red Bull KTM Tech3. 35-year old Pedrosa joined the KTM team upon his retirement in 2018 and as one of the most decorated MotoGP racers of the modern era. The Spaniard brought 13 years of top-flight experience in the premier class to the KTM MotoGP project. The work of both Kallio and Pedrosa and the testing squad helped KTM to win three Grands Prix with two different riders in 2020 and register eight podium finishes thanks to the advancement and potential of the KTM RC16. “KTM is very keen to keep improving and I’m only too happy to keep working with them and helping their riders onto bigger goals. I want to thank Pit Beirer, Stefan Pierer and Red Bull for all their trust in me,” Dani Pedrosa commented.

At the end of another stunning season, the riders with the most pole positions in each class(MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3) this season were presented with the coveted TISSOT Pole of Poles award at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Awarded by the Official Timekeeper of MotoGP™, TISSOT, the incredible limited edition 2020 prizes were handed to each winner by Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta in a special ceremony on the Saturday evening. In MotoGP, the winner was Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Fabio Quartararo as the Frenchman took four pole positions in 2020 and was the man with both the most pole positions and best qualifying record overall in the premier class. Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) took the award in Moto2, with the Brit having taken three pole positions in 2020. It wasn’t as easy as that after an incredibly tight year in the intermediate class, however, and the ultimate winner was decided on front row starts as well – since Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) also took an impressive three Moto2 pole positions this season. Moto3 saw Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) pick up the award after raking in an incredible total of six pole positions in 2020. That’s the most of any of the three Pole of Pole winners and saw him start from the front for more than a third of the races this year.

Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team (SRT) will be taking part in two winter season tests in February and March before facing the 2021 MotoGP World Championship in Losail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar from March 26 to 28 2021. Team principal, Datuk Razlan Razali said the two winter season tests are at Sepang International Circuit from Feb 19 to 21 and Losail International Circuit from March 10 to 12. In this regard, Petronas Sprinta Racing Moto2 and Moto3 riders under the team would have a pre-season practice at Jerez Circuit in Spain from March 16-18. “Considering that most of our racers have wide experience, we do not need to monitor the off- season performance of riders such as Darryn Binder and John McPhee, what’s more with Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi,” he told Bernama recently. In this regard, Razlan announced Petronas Sprinta Racing Moto2 rider, Jake Dixon of United Kingdom is still undergoing treatment and is expected to back in action in the opening round in Qatar. He said Dixon has began fitness activities such as running and cycling while still going through physiotherapy for his right wrist. “We are confident he would be able to ride motorcycle as normal and would be ready for his maiden appearance in Qatar,” added Razlan. Dixon fractured his right wrist during the second free practice at the Valencia Grand Prix early last month before deciding to go for a surgery in England. Seven-time MotoGP world champion, Valentino Rossi of Italy, would be partnering compatriot, Franco Morbideli in MotoGP class for the team. Petronas Sprinta Racing is also retaining Spanish rider, Xavi Vierge and Dixon for Moto2, but dropped national Moto3 racer, Khairul Idham Pawi who would be replaced by South African rider, Darryn Binder who would joining McPhee in Moto3.

Gresini Racing has announced it will cease to operate Aprilia’s factory MotoGP entry from 2022 onwards, and will instead race in the premier class as an independent. The news is consistent with long-standing rumours that Aprilia was looking to take its MotoGP operation more in house. Aprilia has been a quasi-independent entry due to its Gresini partnership since it returned to the grid in 2015. “We’re happy to announce this agreement with IRTA [MotoGP’s teams’ association], which will see us in MotoGP for five years starting from 2022,” team manager Fausto Gresini said. “We will not be representing Aprilia as a factory team anymore, so we will continue as an Independent Team, doing so with as much will and commitment. “There’s a lot of work to do and many things to define and communicate. Obviously we’re already working on this huge project, and we will reveal the details little by little. Stay tuned!” Prior to its Aprilia link-up, Gresini had served as a Honda satellite team and was a genuine frontrunner at the start of the century. It is not currently clear whether Gresini would look to remain with Aprilia and becomes its satellite team or join forces with another manufacturer. MotoGP is believed to be targeting a 24-bike grid for 2022, which would be a two-entry increase compared to next year, and is thought to want a system in which each of its six manufacturers is supported by a single satellite operation. Currently, Honda, KTM and Yamaha have one satellite team each, but Ducati has Avintia/Esponsorama in addition to Pramac, while Suzuki and Aprilia are limited to factory bikes only. Gresini is also represented in Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE (where it won the inaugural title in 2019) in addition to the premier class. Its 2021 Moto2 line-up comprises Italian duo Nicolo Bulega and Fabio Di Giannantonio, and the latter has been rumoured to have a MotoGP 2022 clause in what is a two-year deal with Gresini.

The first-ever VR46 team livery on a MotoGP bike, which Valentino Rossi protégé Luca Marini will race with in 2021 aboard the Esponsorama Racing Ducati, has been revealed. Ducati confirmed last month it had secured the signatures of 2020 Moto2 world champion Enea Bastianini and Moto2 runner-up Marini to join the Esponsorama squad (formally Avintia). As part of Marini’s deal, close ties have been forged between the VR46 team – for whom Marini races in Moto2 – and Esponsorama Racing, with the Sky-backed VR46 livery appearing on the Italian’s bike. VR46 Moto2 team boss Pablo Nieto will also have a senior role within the Esponsorama team, while some of Marini’s crew from Moto2 will step up with him. Revealed on Italy’s version of the talent show X-Factor on Thursday evening, the liveries for Marini’s MotoGP bike as well as the squad’s Moto2 effort – which remain almost identical to what was raced in Moto2 and Moto3 in 2020 – were unveiled. The Esponsorama squad is unlikely to remain in MotoGP beyond the 2021 season, with rumours emerging in the latter stages of the current campaign that VR46 could take over the grid slots as early as next year. Team owner Raul Romero put those rumours on ice, but Esponsorama’s link-up with VR46 points towards MotoGP legend Rossi’s team stepping up properly in 2022 in the slots vacated by Esponsorama. MotoGP’s current agreement with the independent teams comes to an end at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign, making a move for Rossi’s team full-time into the premier class much easier as it wouldn’t have to buy out a team’s slot. Marini’s step up to the premier class means Rossi will be racing with three of his Academy riders alongside Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia and his Petronas SRT team-mate Franco Morbidelli. With VR46’s first steps into the premier class, the team’s Moto3 outfit has been shelved for 2021, with Celestino Vietti stepping up to Moto2 alongside Marco Bezzecchi. Bezzecchi was offered a deal to join Aprilia in MotoGP for 2021, but VR46 didn’t green light the move and he will remain with the squad in the intermediate category.

Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has admitted his attempts to return to action at Jerez just days after surgery on a broken right arm at the start of the season was “a mistake”. Marquez crashed heavily in the closing stages of the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, breaking the humerus bone in his right arm which required an operation to have a plate fitted. The Honda rider tried to return for the following week’s Andalusian GP at the same track, having been cleared to do so by doctors. But he had to abort his comeback after encountering problems in his right arm after qualifying, with the stresses of that weekend ultimately weakening the plate to where it broke as he attempted to open a door at his home. Having had a second operation to fix this, Marquez wouldn’t race again in 2020, with a slower-than-expected recovery forcing him to have a third operation on Thursday in Madrid. The bone graft operation took eight hours, and though a recovery time is unknown at this stage, Marquez faces a six-month period of rehabilitation – casting his participation in the start of the 2021 season into doubt. Speaking to Spanish broadcaster DAZN, Marquez commented on his Jerez return attempt, stating: “This year has taught me many things. “The first, that the attempt to return after the injury was hasty. My plate broke at home, opening a sliding door that I have to go out to the garden. But the plate did not break there, it did so as a result of all the stress that was created in Jerez. “Trying to return to Jerez was a mistake. I’ve learned that the riders have a virtue and a defect, which is that the riders do not see fear, so they [doctors] have to make us see it. “After the first operation, the first question of every rider is: when can I get back on the bike? And it is the doctor who has to know how to stop you, he is the one who has to be realistic. I went to Jerez with the peace of mind that the plate held because they told me so. “I am brave but not unconscious. If they tell me that the plate can break, I would not have gotten on a 300km/h motorcycle.”

Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has undergone a third operation on his right arm in Madrid and likely faces a six-month recovery period. The Honda rider broke his right arm in a heavy crash during the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on 19 July. Marquez had an operation immediately afterwards to have metalwork inserted to fix the bone and attempted a comeback just days later at Jerez for the Andalusian GP. But he had to abort this, with the energy exerted on his arm ultimately leading to the metal plate breaking and requiring a second operation. With recovery from this being slower than expected, Marquez never raced again in 2020, with Honda test rider Stefan Bradl deputising in his absence. Reports in the Spanish press last month suggested Marquez would need a third operation owing to the healing process taking longer than hoped, with Marquez consulting numerous surgeons in recent weeks to determine the best course of action. Marquez went to Madrid on Thursday for further consultation, with Spain’s Antena 3 first reporting the Spaniard had an 11-hour operation on his arm. Motorsport.com can confirm the surgery did take place, with Honda’s own statement issued late on Thursday night noting the “uneventful” operation took eight hours. The surgery involved bone being taken from his hip, which is high in red blood cells, and grafted onto the humerus area on his right arm where a new plate was also inserted. Marquez’s recovery is expected to take up to six months, which will rule him out of the start of the 2021 season – due to begin on 28 March with the Qatar Grand Prix. Honda has yet to comment on recovery time. The full statement from Honda read: “Marc Marquez has undergone a new operation on his right arm as a result of the slow healing of the humerus bone, which has not improved with specific shock wave treatment. “Today the rider has undergone surgery at the Hospital Ruber Internacional, in Madrid, for a pseudarthrosis of the right humerus. “The surgery, carried out by a team made up of doctors Samuel Antuna, Ignacio Roger de Ona, Juan de Miguel, Aitor Ibarzabal and Andrea Garcia Villanueva, consisted of the removal of the previous plate and the placement of a new plate with the addition of an iliac crest bone graft with a corticoperiosteal free flap. “The surgical procedure lasted for eight hours and was uneventful.” Should Marquez be unable to race for part of 2021, this leaves the door open for Andrea Dovizioso to make a surprise return to MotoGP action. Dovizioso opted to take a sabbatical after quitting Ducati at the end of the 2020 season, with no test rider roles offered to him for 2021 which gave him a clear path back onto the MotoGP grid for 2022. Free of any ties to teams in MotoGP, Honda could reasonably call on Dovizioso to fill in for Marquez should the Spaniard have to miss more races. Dovizioso made his MotoGP debut in 2008 on the JiR Honda, before moving to the factory squad, with whom he raced from 2009 to the end of 2011 – scoring his first MotoGP victory with the marque at Donington in 2009.

Monster Energy will have ‘an impactful presence’ on the 2021 Suzuki GSX-RRs of new world champion Joan Mir and team-mate Alex Rins. A ‘multi-year agreement’ has been reached which will see the energy drink company, already title sponsor of the Factory Yamaha team, also become an ‘official sponsor’ of Team Suzuki Ecstar. “We started negotiating before the beginning of the year and we are very proud to have Monster Energy branding on our bike for the years to come,” said team manager Davide Brivio. “Monster was already a partner of our two riders so we look forward to working with them much more closely, and we’ll try to give our best contribution to their marketing activities. I believe both brands will benefit a lot from this partnership.” Rodney Sacks, chairman and CEO of Monster Energy Company, said: “Having spent the last two years supporting both Alex and Joan as they raced for the team with great success, it is a very natural progression to come on board as an official partner. “2020 has been an exceptional year for everyone connected with the team and we’re looking forward to continuing the astonishing journey that Suzuki and their riders have already taken fans on in MotoGP. “The 2021 MotoGP season can’t come soon enough for any of us.” Mir won this year’s world championship, the first for Suzuki since 2000, by 13 points over Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) with Rins in third place. Monster has backed two MotoGP teams before (albeit of the same brand), being title sponsor of Tech 3 Yamaha and also official sponsor of the factory Yamaha team. When Tech3 then switched to KTM (and Red Bull) in 2019, Monster took over from Movistar as title sponsor of the official M1 team. While the Monster-Yamaha deal is, like the new Suzuki agreement, of undisclosed length, the team is still titled as ‘Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’ on the provisional 2021 entry list.

Factory Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales calls 2020 ‘worst season of my career’, makes clear Yamaha needs a big step with its Factory-spec M1 MotoGP machine over the winter; ‘Right now, our potential is to be top ten’. Sixth place in this year’s MotoGP World Championship means the lowest Maverick Vinales has been ranked since his rookie 2015 season, at Suzuki. But the Spaniard himself rates it as the ‘worst season of his career’, with hopes of inheriting Marc Marquez’s crown disappearing with just one win and three podiums from the 14 rounds. Vinales did salvage the honour of being the top Factory-spec M1 rider but that was of little consolation, especially with Franco Morbidelli sweeping to second overall behind Suzuki’s world champion Joan Mir on the ‘lower’ A-spec machine. “At least I won this little championship,” Vinales said of fending-off future team-mate Fabio Quartararo by five points. “It’s something positive. But obviously, it has been a totally disastrous season. The worst season of my career. It’s hard to take that. “But anyway, now it’s time to go home, stay calm, and it’s up to others to worry, I will work on myself.” The hero-or-zero form of the grip-sensitive Factory M1 saw Vinales’ race results swing between 1st and 14th place finishes. Vinales had been just one point from the title lead after victory in Misano but didn’t even stand on the podium in the seven races that followed, managing just 49 out of a possible 175 points, not helped by a pit-lane start for an extra engine at Valencia. Valve problems from the Jerez season-opener forced all of the Yamaha riders to spend much of the season on just 2-3 engines, hurting their top speed. Cornering advantages, when grip was available, helped patch the gap in qualifying, but overtaking was often a gruelling task and it was no coincidence that many of Yamaha’s seven wins were lights-to-flag affairs. “If we started first or second, for sure it’s a totally different race,” Vinales said of his eleventh-place finish at the Portimao finale, just ahead of team-mate Valentino Rossi, with Quartararo in 14th. “Because when I was alone, I was able to do the rhythm that Jack and Frankie were riding [second and third]. “The problem is that when you get involved in the middle [of the pack], you are done. They overtake you on the straight, you have to brake very hard, the front starts to give up, so it’s everything in trouble. “As we always say, we have to start first and push. If you don’t do that, you are in trouble, you go backwards. “Honestly, I just want to say that for sure it has been four or five races which have been a complete disaster for us. So we will see [for next year]. Right now, our potential is to be top ten. So it changes the movie quite a lot.” Vinales had gone into the final round holding fourth in the world championship and as one of six riders in with a chance of claiming second place.

Jack Miller has paid tribute to Pramac Racing for bringing out the best in him over the past three seasons and spurring him on to what will be a team leader factory Ducati Corse role in the 2021 MotoGP World Championship. The rider says it is down to Pramac Racing that he has flourished from a MotoGP ‘question mark’ to a fully-fledged team leader at Ducati for the 2021 MotoGP season. Though Miller wasn’t able to score the much desired first win in Pramac colours this season among the nine podiums he has otherwise achieved since 2018, seventh overall – seven points shy of third – marked his best overall finish in the standings since making his debut in 2015. Prior to joining Pramac Racing, Miller was considered something of an unknown quantity at MotoGP level following three years (one on the CRT LCR Honda and two with Marc VDS Honda) in which his headline grabbing maiden win in the wet at Assen in 2016 was interspersed with less notable results. However, Miller has flourished in the Italian team and, as he points out, the 2020 season could have gone very differenlyt had he not suffered four DNFs; one crash, two because of technical issues and another freak incident when his Ducati shut off after sucking up an errant visor tear-off from Fabio Quartararo ahead. Describing himself as a ‘question mark’ when he first arrived at Pramac, he says it is testament to the ‘life lessons’ he learned from them that he was able to ‘close a few mouths’. “I can’t thank Paolo Campinotti and Francesco Guidotti, all the guys over there at Pramac, for what they have done in these three years. First, I have never been in a team for more than two years, so to be here for three years feels like a lifetime. “The lessons they have taught me on and off track, they are life lessons I will never forget and I am forever grateful to them for this. When I arrived there I was a ‘question mark’, let’s say and I feel like we proved a few people wrong and closed a few mouths along the way. Hopefully we can keep that ball rolling.”

A premiere for the iconic BMW M Award: in the 2020 season, Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was the fastest qualifier in MotoGP™, which saw him added to the list of winners of the BMW M Award for the first time. His reward for his performances is the winner’s car for 2020: the new BMW M2 CS. The car was presented during the MotoGP™ season finale at the weekend as Portimão in Portugal hosted Grand Prix motorcycle racing for the first time. Quartararo claimed pole position four times in 2020, more than any of his rivals, and picked up a total of 225 points for the BMW M Award classification, his lead over his closest rival being 13 points. Quartararo’s BMW M Award victory in the 2020 season ended the impressive record streak of Spain’s Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who won the BMW M Award seven years in a row between 2013 and 2019. However, this year Marquez missed much of the season due to injury. After the final qualifying session of the season on Saturday, winner Quartararo was presented with his new BMW M2 CS. In attendance at the award ceremony was Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports. Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW M GmbH, abstained from travelling to Portugal due to the current coronavirus situation, but followed the final from Munich. “First of all, I would like to thank Dorna for managing to organise an exciting MotoGP season with 15 Grands Prix against all odds in this difficult year globally. It wasn’t an easy task, but Dorna made it possible,” said Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW M GmbH. “It meant we were able to appear as title sponsor for the first time at the ‘BMW M Grand Prix of Styria’ at Spielberg as part of our involvement as the ‘Official Car of MotoGP’. We were also able to continue the BMW M Award tradition and present it for the 18th time this year.” “Congratulations to Fabio Quartararo, who more than deserves this prize with four pole positions and a total of nine front rows. We selected the BMW M2 CS for the winner’s car this year, our limited special edition, with which we bring many components from racing onto the road. We hope Fabio has a lot of fun with his new high-performance car!” Quartararo was also happy he received the award, “What a crazy, exciting season, I’m delighted to have won the race for the BMW M Award. It’s great that BMW M GmbH has been acknowledging our performances in qualifying with this special prize for so many years. Many thanks for this recognition.” “I’m already really looking forward to taking my new BMW M2 CS for a spin. It looks like a racing car for the road and is no doubt a lot of fun. Huge thanks to BMW M GmbH!”

Aprilia has named three riders for its 2021 MotoGP line-up, but only Aleix Espargaro remains confirmed while one of Lorenzo Savadori and Bradley Smith will be his teammate. Aprilia has been forced into finding a replacement for Andrea Iannone for 2021 when the one-time MotoGP race winner had his doping ban upped to four years earlier this month. Favourite options in Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow never came to fruition, with the former opting for a sabbatical in 2021 and Crutchlow joining Yamaha as its official test rider. Aprilia courted Moto2 frontrunner Marco Bezzecchi for next year, but the VR46 team he races for in Moto2 blocked this move. The marque has confirmed three young riders were offered the opportunity to step up to MotoGP – the other two thought to be Joe Roberts and Fabio Di Giannantonio – but claims they didn’t feel ready to make the jump. Earlier on Monday the official provisional entry list for the 2021 season revealed Savadori as a race rider alongside the already confirmed Espargaro. Savadori replaced fellow test rider Smith on the RS-GP for the final three rounds of the season, though Aprilia insisted the latter was still part of the team. Aprilia has now confirmed both Savadori and Smith will be with it next year and a decision on who will be the second racer and who will remain test rider will be taken after winter testing has concluded. “It’s no secret that we offered three young riders an opportunity because we felt that our project could be very interesting for talented young riders, but they did not yet feel ready for the leap and, at the same time, the teams that have already signed them for the 2021 season preferred to keep them,” CEO Massimo Rivola said. “We respectfully acknowledge their decision. We prefer to continue with our riders, rather than choosing solutions that are still open but about which we are not entirely convinced. “Even in the difficult conditions of this season, particularly penalising for a fledgling project, the bike improved greatly and significantly reduced the gaps both in the races and in practice on basically all the circuits. “Aleix finished on a high note and, even in the race yesterday, was lapping with the same times as the leaders. “Lorenzo has also shown significant progress in just three races and we know that we can count on Bradley’s professionalism and experience. “Aleix will obviously be our top rider. The roles of second rider and test rider will be decided at the end of the winter test schedule.” Last month three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo confirmed he had an option with Aprilia to be its test rider in 2021, though this link has gone quiet recently.

Jack Miller has paid tribute to his friend and rival Cal Crutchlow as the LCR Honda rider prepares to start his last MotoGP race as a full-time competitor in the Portuguese MotoGP at Portimao. A fitting location for Crutchlow to call time on racing before he settles into a new role as Yamaha test rider for 2021, it is in Portimao where he wrapped up his WorldSSP title back in 2009. Since then Crutchlow has firmly established himself as a stalwart of the MotoGP paddock with a 10-year tenure that took in stints with Tech 3 Yamaha, Ducati Corse and LCR Honda, the latter with which he’d go on to achieve three career wins. Though it remains unclear whether Crutchlow will be back on the grid in 2021 as a wild-card, the Briton is nonetheless content with deciding to end his full-time career now. “I have been privileged to work with some great people, great teams, great bikes and been here for 10 years riding some of the best bikes in the world. It is a privilege to be able to do that.” “Ten years ago I didn’t think I’d do what I have done, so I have exceeded my own expectations but working with great people and great crews, I don’t think I have left any garage without getting on with people and relationships so it is nice it has come full circle.” “The best win has to be Brno because it was my first one and i was so far back at the start but managed to come through. I’ll take that one.” In that time Crutchlow has also forged a ‘bromance’ with Pramac Ducati’s Miller, who duly paid tribute to his friend by saying he has had to work harder than most to prove people wrong having followed an alternative path to MotoGP via Superbikes rather than GP. “I think on behalf of myself and everybody, all we can say is thank you to Cal for everything he has done on and off the track, I think he has been a great ambassador for the sport. He has been one of the hardest working guys I have seen in the paddock.” “A lot of the times I feel he was doubted more than other riders too but every time he was doubted or people wrote him off, he was able to come back and prove them all wrong.” “The best thing about him is he is never shy to tell you he’s proved you wrong, so we will miss him dearly but he’s a bad smell, he won’t go all away.” In return, Crutchlow – known for his honest appraisals – says he will ‘pass on the baton’ for political incorrectness to Miller… “I am going to pass the baton to Jack to not be political and be yourself, I think he is learning that and does a good job. At the end of the day, I have no regrets about anything I have said or done, but I think I am being truthful, honest and sincere. Other riders are too but they may say it in a different way to me.”

Moto2 World Championship candidate Marco Bezzecchi has revealed he turned down the offer of moving into MotoGP for the 2021 season as a replacement for the suspended Andrea Iannone. The Italian racer who is one of four riders in contention for this year’s intermediate crown – emerged as a potential target for Aprilia once it was confirmed Iannone would not be competing next season in the wake of his ban for a positive drugs test. Though Aprilia has been frozen out of the rider market by the late call and its primary target of Andrea Dovizioso has been scuppered, it has instead turned to Moto2 for options with both Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio being identified in speculation. However, while Bezzecchi confirms talks took place and an offer was on the table, he says he decided to walk away from it in favour of sticking with his Sky Racing Italia VR46 team for a tilt at the 2021 Moto2 title instead. “Aprilia came to me and they were pretty convinced about myself and this was very nice for me because I didn’t expect a MotoGP offer from anyone,” he told selected media in an interview arranged after winning the Triumph Triple Trophy as sponsored by the British marque in honour of its role as the control Moto2 engine supplier. “We were close, but in the end I thought a lot in these days. We [would have] had to make some work to go to MotoGP, it was not an easy choice. “So I thought about it a lot in these days and in Valencia I was still thinking about it because I didn’t know what to do. “But at the end I thought it was better to stay one more year in Moto2 because I enjoy riding the bike and I feel good. Also, I think I staying one more year with the same team and the same bike is a chance to grow. “I would like to stay one more year, try to make a good year and then if you get results then the opportunity for MotoGP comes. “I am sorry for Aprilia because if they came a little earlier, the result could be different but in the end it is like this.” Bezzecchi rejection gives Aprilia another headache as it considers who to target to join Aleix Espargaro for the 2021 MotoGP season. Beyond Bezzecchi, three of the top five in Moto2 are confirmed to be stepping up to MotoGP in 2021 – Enea Bastianini, Luca Marini and Jorge Martin – with the other, Sam Lowes, candidly laughing off any prospect of returning to the manufacturer he endured a terrible season with in 2017, saying he ‘definitely wouldn’t ride an Aprilia again’ in the pre-event press conference. As such, Aprilia’s Massimo Rivola has hinted he could look towards WorldSBK for options with Chaz Davies, Loris Baz and Eugene Laverty all having MotoGP experience but remain without deals for 2021. Bezzecchi’s prize for winning the Triumph Triple Trophy – which bases its points on wins, fastest laps and pole positions – was a specially liveried Triumph Street Triple RS road bike which uses the same foundation of the 765cc engine as found in the Moto2 machines.

Fabio Quartararo says it’s more important to improve himself than his Petronas SRT Yamaha in the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix after a difficult recent run of races. The SRT rider’s championship challenge has crumbled dramatically since his Catalan GP win at the end of September, with the Frenchman fully surrendering his hopes last week in Valencia with a crash as Suzuki’s Joan Mir wrapped up the title. Quartararo comes into this weekend’s maiden MotoGP outing at the Algarve Circuit fifth in the standings, 27 points behind SRT stablemate Franco Morbidelli on a 2019-spec Yamaha M1. Like all 2020 Yamaha riders, Quartararo has been critical of the latest bike, but plans to focus on improving his own “negative” points rather than doing anything particular to the bike with a view to 2021. When asked if he viewed this weekend as partly a test session, Quartararo said: “Not really a base set-up because all the races we have been fast we had more or less the same thing. “We have it but I just want to improve on all the things that I saw negative from myself, trying to be on the track and say, ‘okay, what’s my negative points since the beginning of the season? Okay, it’s that, so for this GP I want to change everything and try to work in a really good way and see how it feels’. “I think it’s more about myself than the bike. But for sure we’ll try tests, we will try settings tomorrow that are important for the future. “Because at the end, we have 70 minutes in FP1 and 70 minutes in FP2 tomorrow. “will be a really important day for us.” Maverick Vinales is just a further two points clear of Quartararo in the standings after a similarly difficult time aboard his factory Yamaha. The Spaniard says his focus is no longer on where he finishes in the championship, and believes it’s more important to try and have fun on the bike this weekend as things can’t get “worse” for Yamaha right now. When asked if he would be approaching the weekend as a test or simply to have fun, he said: “I think more the second part. This is a track to enjoy, honestly, it’s a totally different track. It seems that it’s a very enjoyable track.” “I ride it with the R1 and it was amazing. I think with the MotoGP it will be very demanding, because you are all the time wheelying.” “But it’s a fantastic track. We will try to adapt as fast as we can, but come one, we’ve had many bad races.” “It’s time to get a good one and make a perfect race. My mindset and our mindset is positive because it’s difficult to get worse.” “It’s the last race, I want to enjoy, to have good moments.”