MotoGP

Monster Energy Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi’s test for Covid-19 has turned out positive again, this situation has put his participation in the European MotoGP in jeopardy. This is after the nine-time world champion missed the Aragon and the Teruel MotoGP after testing positive for Covid-19 prior to the Motorland double header in which he had hoped to test negative and get into the Valencia action. Despite being fully fit for racing, the 41-year-old rider still tested positive for the virus on Tuesday as it is required for him to post a negative result on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the race, as WorldSBK champion Garett Gerloff is set to replace the Italian’s Yamaha M1. “This virus is very complicated and serious,” said the 41-year-old. “I felt bad for two days, then in a few days I came back to being fully fit, at my 100%. I self-isolated at home all the time and I followed the medical advice closely. It‘s a very sad and difficult situation, but that‘s the way it is. “Unfortunately, yesterday (Tuesday 3rd November), I had another test and it came back positive again, like all previous ones. Luckily I still have two more chances to be back on track on Friday or Saturday. I am very sad because I am feeling well, and I can‘t wait to be back aboard my M1 and be reunited with my team. I really hope the next PCR test result will be negative because missing two races was already two too many.”

Maverick Vinales leads a Yamaha 1-2-3 lockout in a potentially crucial Aragon MotoGP FP2 as Ducati fumbles well outside the top ten. Maverick Vinales led an almost identical Yamaha 1-2-3 lockout in FP2 as the Iwata manufacturer sent a warning signal to its rivals by revelling in the blustery conditions at Motorland Aragon. Having prevailed in bitterly cold conditions in FP1, Vinales was markedly quicker this time around, taking a full two seconds off the erstwhile benchmark with a 1m 47.771secs to head off M1 counterparts Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli. FP2 could prove a critical session for the riders as very cold conditions are forecast for tomorrow’s Q2-deciding FP3 session. Though organisers have pushed it back 30mins – as they did this morning – the huge difference in times between FP1 and FP2 suggest it will be difficult for riders outside the top ten right now to get close to the times they’d need to guarantee a Q2 spot. That was of little concern to Vinales though, who comfortably got the gauntlet down to head series leader Quartararo by three tenths of a second, providing a sure reminder that at 19 points off the top overall, he is far from out of this title fight. Quartararo and Morbidelli bounced back from their FP1 tumbles to look assured in second and third, the result no doubt adding to Valentino Rossi’s frustration in the wake of his COVID-19 enforced absence. Given cool conditions hampered Suzuki last week, Joan Mir will take fourth as a very good indication of a competitive weekend, while Cal Crutchlow and Aleix Espargaro brought some smiles to the Honda and Aprilias camps with a solid fifth and sixth respectively. Pol Espargaro brought KTM into the mix with the seventh best time, while Alex Marquez could be looking at his first Q2 entry of the year with a confident run to eighth, just ahead of Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Rins on the second Suzuki. The only manufacturer that will be poring intensely over data this evening, however, will be Ducati as not one of its six entries cracked the top ten with Andrea Dovizioso down in 13th, Jack Miller 14th, Danilo Petrucci 15th and Pecco Bagnaia 16th.

Valentino Rossi became the first MotoGP rider to test positive for Covid-19 as he will be missing in this weekend’s Aragon MotoGP and most probably next week’s Teruel GP. This comes as MotoGP has been operating under very tight restrictions to tame the spread of Covid-19, however several cases from the paddock members have been reported including Moto2 rider Jorge Martin who had to miss the double header races at Misano last month. Through his Instagram handle, Valentino Rossi said that he was not feeling well as he was waking up at Aragon and immediately underwent a test for Covid-19 which came back negative. However, a second test turned out to be positive which means that he will be missing in action at the Aragon MotoGP and most probably the second Aragon event next week. The 9-time world champion had been self isolating since his arrival at Aragon and he expressed his disappointment having done his best to respect the given protocols. “Unfortunately this morning I woke up and I was not feeling good,” Rossi posted on social media. “My bones were sore and I had a slight fever, so I immediately called the doctor who tested me twice.” “The ‘quick PCR test’ result was negative, just like the test I underwent on Tuesday. But the second one, of which the result was sent to me at 4pm this afternoon, was unfortunately positive.” “I am so disappointed that I will have to miss the race at Aragon. I’d like to be optimistic and confident, but I expect the second round in Aragon to be a no go for me as well.” “I am sad and angry because I did my best to respect the protocol, and although the test I had on Tuesday was negative, I self-isolated since my arrival from Le Mans.” “Anyway, this is the way it is and I can’t do anything to change the situation. I will now follow the medical advice and I just hope I will be feeling well soon.” The news comes a week after six Yamaha engineers tested positive for Covid-19 and were forced to remain in Andorra. “This is very bad news for Valentino and very bad news for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team and for all MotoGP fans around the world. First and foremost we hope Valentino will not suffer too much in the coming days and will recover fully in the shortest time possible.”Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis added. “It comes as a second blow for our MotoGP operations having faced the absence of Project Leader Sumi-san and five YMC engineers at the Le Mans race after one member tested positive – despite being fortunately totally asymptomatic. “These two incidents remind us that no matter how careful you are, the risk is always present – as we see with the rising numbers of infections in Europe at this time. “We have checked with the Italian health authorities and we have been advised that any member of our team that was in contact with Valentino up until Monday is excluded from direct risk. “Nevertheless, we will be even more attentive from now on to minimise the chance for any future issues.” Yamaha has made no mention of fielding a stand-in yet, though this could open the door for test rider Jorge Lorenzo to make a shock MotoGP return this season. Lorenzo was due to make an appearance at the Catalan GP before the original calendar was scrapped owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The three-time world champion rode the 2019 M1 at Algarve last week, though hasn’t had any time on the 2020 Yamaha this year and has only completed four days on a MotoGP bike since February.

Factory Honda MotoGP outfit is set to hold talks on an agreement for a new two-year title sponsorship deal with Spanish oil magnate, Repsol as Racetrackmasters.com has learnt. Repsol became title sponsor to the works Honda outfit back in 1995, beginning one of the most enduring partnerships in MotoGP and yielding 15 riders’ world titles spread between Mick Doohan, Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner and Marc Marquez. Rumours in recent weeks emerged from the paddock suggesting Repsol could be set to end its association with Honda in 2021. It was said energy drinks giant Red Bull would take over as a title sponsor, though the company’s branding already features prominently on the RC213V as a secondary partner. Red Bull is also currently the title sponsor of the factory KTM squad, and counts Marquez as one of its most high-profile athletes. All of this made the Red Bull rumours suspect. We can now confirm Honda and Repsol are set to continue their partnership, with a new two-year deal to run through to the end of 2022 imminently. Honda has endured a tough 2020 campaign, with reigning world champion Marquez out of action since the Spanish Grand Prix owing to an arm injury. Marquez will continue to watch from the sidelines at this weekend’s Aragon GP, with HRC test rider Stefan Bradl to deputise once more. Though his chances were remote should he have staged a comeback this weekend, Marquez’s continued absence means he now mathematically cannot win the 2020 MotoGP title. Honda’s first podium of the campaign came last weekend at the French GP when Marc’s rookie brother Alex Marquez guided his RC213V to second having started 18th. HRC’s top runner is currently LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami on the year-old Honda in fifth in the standings, 34 points off the championship lead. In other sponsorship news, the Tech 3 squad is set to lose its Red Bull sponsorship for the 2021 season. Herve Poncharal’s outfit took on the Austrian brand when it became KTM’s satellite squad, having previously been backed by Monster Energy when it ran Yamaha machinery. Tech 3 will continue to field KTMs next year, though it is unclear if this loss in sponsor ship will force the team to look tying up with another manufacturer in 2022.

Valentino Rossi “didn’t understand” why he crashed on the opening lap of the MotoGP French Grand Prix and called his third-successive non-finish a “great shame”. The Yamaha rider started from 10th and was in the middle of the pack on the run up to the Dunlop chicane on the opening lap of Sunday’s Le Mans race when the rear of his M1 swung round on him. His crash forced Yamaha teammate Maverick Vinales, Suzuki’s Joan Mir and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro to take avoiding action and run through the chicane, while Rossi was unable to rejoin. It marked his third DNF in three races, having crashed out of second in the Catalan GP and retired from the Emilia Romagna GP at Misano following an early fall. “I’m very sad, crashing like this at the first corner is a bad thing,” Rossi said. “I had a good start and I was already in pretty good shape after the bend. In the first corner on the left we all entered very calmly, because the conditions were very difficult due to the cold.” “I also entered very slowly, but it started behind me and we honestly didn’t understand what happened. It is a period that I am also quite unlucky I must say, because I have not been able to collect even a point in the last three races even though my performance was not bad, because in practice I have always been quite competitive.” Rossi added. Rossi wasn’t the only rider who suffered a fall which left them perplexed, as Suzuki’s Alex Rins crashed from second on lap 20. Rins had come from 16th on the grid running the medium rear tyre as opposed to the soft the leaders were using, and by lap 11 was into the podium battle. Having taken second when Pramac’s Jack Miller’s bike expired on lap 19, Rins had a “totally unexpected” tumble at the Dunlop chicane on the following tour. “It was a shame; even before the crash it was a great race,” said the Suzuki rider. “It was difficult for the tyres to warm up, it was difficult but we handled it well, I gained several positions and we moved forward.” “I had a good feeling with the front tyre, we fought a lot with Dovizioso and Miller,” added the 9-time world champion. “Petrucci escaped and when Miller’s engine broke, I went forward and I was catching Petrux , just when I fell. I was riding well, braking on the spot, it was totally unexpected.”

Ducatti rider Danilo Petrucci won a dramatic French MotoGP ahead of Alex Marquez who is a Repsol Honda rookie, while the title contenders Fabio Quartararo and Suzuki’s Joan Mir struggled throughout the race. There was a brief delay before the race could officialy start due to a very heavy downpour at the Le Mans, the race was declared wet for the first time since the Valencia GP back in 2018. The race started as LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow held the lead very briefly on the run up the hill to the dunlop chicane but was immediately overtaken by Pramac’s Jack Miller who took the lead at Turn 3. Moments later, Valentino Rossi on his Monster Yamaha crashed forcing his teammate Maverick Vinales, Joan Mir(Suzuki) and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro to take avoiding action through the first chicane. This put Vinales and Mir off the points in the race. In the middle of Rossi’s chaos, Andrea Dovizioso and Petrucci on the works Ducatti moved in behind Jack Miller, with Fabio Quartararo who was in the pole position dropped to fourth but soon faced immense pressure from the riders behind him as he struggled on his Petronas Yamaha, this being his first wet race. Petrucci found his way around Miller at the blue esses towards the completion of the first lap as Dovizioso quickly followed him through. The 3 Ducatti riders made a buffer to hold off the following riders as Suzuki’s Alex Rins made it to the fourth position after improving from 16th as lap four approached once his medium tyres were up to temperarture. Rins continued chasing after the Ducatti’s and by lap 11 his efforts paid off as he was under a second behind Miller. Dovizioso, on lap 18 made a move to take the lead on Petrucci on the first corner and later resisted a counterattack at the Garage Vert. The two Ducattis fought side by side as the ran through the double right-hander side as they made contact at the following corner while Rins overtook Dovizioso from the inside and took the second position behind Petrucci. Miller’s Pramac GP20 later failed him on the following lap as Rins crashed out of the second place at Turn 3 on the following hour. Petrucci was now 2.7 seconds ahead of the second placed Dovizioso, though the teammate quicky narrowed the gap while Marquez in his first wet race closed in on the leading pack. Petrucci’s lead narrowed further to 1.2 seconds on lap 23 but Dovizioso immediately started suffering from lack of rear grip and could not help it as Marquez passed him at the La Chapelle. Petrucci maintained his lead up to the final lap as the rider made it across the finish line first making this his second victory in the 2020 MotoGP Season also being the 7th different winner this season. Rookie Marquez gave Honda the first podium victory by finishing second having started on 18th place. KTM’s Pol Espargaro finished third after taking on Dovizioso later in the race. Dovizioso managed to finish fourth despite his fading rear tyre as Johann Zarco finished fifth on his Avintia Ducatti, he was on his home ground. Tech 3’s Miguel Oliveira finished 6th ahead of Takaaki Nakagami on his LCR Honda, factory Honda rider Stefan Bradl finished in 8th place while Quartararo was able to hold off Vinales and Mir taking the 9th place. Fabio Quartararo still extends his lead with over 10 points on Joan Mir, Dovizioso on the other hand is 18 points adrift the championship leader and just a point clear of Vinales. Brad Binder finished his first wet race in 12th place on his KTM as Francesco Bagnaia couldn’t keep up with his Ducatti counterparts as he finished 13th on his Pramac GP20. Aleix Espargaro and Tech3’s Iker Lecuona rounded out the points for the race. Petronas Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli crashed and later retired from the race after lagging behind throughout the race as Crutchlow, Aprilia’s Bradley Smith and Avintia’s Tito Rabat fell of from the race.

Fabio Quartararo beat Jack Miller to MotoGP pole in a dramatic French Grand Prix qualifying, with Joan Mir only 14th after failing to get out of Q1. Qualifying was delayed owing to an oil spill caused by Miguel Oliveira’s Tech 3 KTM expiring 13 minutes into FP4. When Q2 finally got under way, Yamaha took charge of the top of the timesheets as they did in FP3 and FP4, with Catalunya poleman Franco Morbidelli setting the early pace with a 1m32.393s. His Petronas teammate Quartararo beat this just a moment later with a 1m31.679s, which he improved to a 1m31.665s on the following tour. Pramac’s Francesco Bagnaia split the Yamaha’s on the provisional front row in second having come through Q1 alongside fellow Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci. Quartararo’s 1m31.665s came under immense threat as the session ticked into its final two minutes, with Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso jumping up to second before the injured Cal Crutchlow missed out by just 0.021 seconds. Jack Miller toppled Quartararo’s time with a 1m31.537s on his final lap, but Quartararo was lighting up the timing screens on his last effort. Under a tenth up as he entered the third sector, home hero Quartararo monstered the final split to produce a 1m31.315s to claim his first pole since the Andalusian GP in July by 0.222s. Miller held onto second ahead of Petrucci, who secured his first front row start since the 2019 Italian GP weekend. Crutchlow will head the second row on his LCR Honda despite still suffering with complications from surgery on his right arm in August, while Maverick Vinales on the Yamaha and Dovizioso line up alongside. Bagnaia was shuffled back to seventh in the end ahead of Pol Espargaro’s KTM and Johann Zarco on the Avintia Ducati. Valentino Rossi put in a charge for pole late on, but could only manage 10th on his Yamaha ahead of early pacesetter Morbidelli and Oliveira. Mir’s difficult Saturday continued into qualifying, after a crash in FP3 left him stranded in Q1. The Suzuki rider did hold a Q2 place in the closing stages of Q1, but his 1m32.187s wasn’t good enough to stop Pramac’s Bagnaia from demoting him, with LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami worsening the situation by jumping up to 13th. Mir’s 14th is his worst qualifying of the year and he will be joined on the fifth row by Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, with the sister Suzuki of Alex Rins only 16th after suffering another crash in FP4. A late crash for Brad Binder at the Musee left-hander stopped him advancing on 17th on the KTM, with Alex Marquez shuffled back to 18th on the Honda after an early stint in the top two. Bradley Smith on the sister Aprilia, Tech 3’s Iker Lecuona, Honda’s Stefan Bradl and the Avintia Ducati of Tito Rabat complete the field.

Jack Miller slides his way to the top of the timesheets in second free practice for the French MotoGP at Le Mans, +0.7s up on Takaaki Nakagami and Johann Zarco. Jack Miller climbed to the top of the timesheets in second free practice for the 2020 French MotoGP at Le Mans as tricky, slippery track conditions continued to persist into the afternoon. After Bradley Smith emerged as the surprise pace setter in FP1 on an evolving circuit, the conditions for FP2 were much the same as riders contended with a surface that dried enough to allow a brave run on slick tyres. Australian Miller took up the challenge and duly emerged out front with a timesheet-topping 1m 34.133s lap in the closing stages of the session, the Pramac Ducati rider – who will step up to the factory team next season -a full seven tenths faster than second place man Takaaki Nakagami. Takaaki Nakagami had looked on course for the fastest time before being usurped by Miller, though the Japanese rider was denied the chance to respond when he fell in the closing stages, one of a small handful of riders to do so as they found the limit of the track. Johann Zarco endured an unusual session as he appeared to suffer with electrical issues on the Avintia Ducati, forcing him to come to a brief stop before rejoining the circuit and powering on to third quickest. Valentino Rossi was fourth best on the quickest of the Yamahas, with Danilo Petrucci and Maverick Vinales following up in fifth and sixth positions. Briton Cal Crutchlow turned in the seventh best time from Honda counterpart Alex Marquex, while Franco Morbidelli and Pol Espargaro completed the top ten runners. Further down the order, with both Fabio Quartararo and Joan Mir yet to start a wet weather race since moving to MotoGP, the chance to run in these conditions could prove invaluable in their brewing title fight should Sunday’s race prove similarly damp. There was bad fortune for Andrea Dovizioso as he suffered a lowside, albeit seemingly without consequence, while Brad Binder and Aleix Espargaro also came down from their respective KTM and Aprilia machines. However, it was Smith that suffered the most spectacular incident with a high-side from his RS-GP that left him limping away from the wreckage.

Bradley Smith topped a wet first practice for the MotoGP French Grand Prix on the Aprilia ahead of home hero Johann Zarco on the Avintia Ducati.Smith’s future beyond this weekend is uncertain as Andrea Iannone’s appeal to have his 18-month doping ban overturned will be heard on Thursday and could be in a position to return for the Aragon Grand Prix next weekend. Despite a spate of crashes in the preceding Moto3 session, riders were quick to start learning the conditions when the first premier class outing of the weekend got under way. MotoGP’s last full wet race was the 2018 Valencia Grand Prix, which was won by Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso and featured Pol Espargaro on the KTM on the podium. Both traded top spot in the early part of FP1 at Le Mans, with the Ducati taking the advantage briefly with a 1m45.785s with around 28 minutes to go. Moments later, Ducati stablemates Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia on the Pramac GP20 would demote him, before Danilo Petrucci on the sister works team Desmosedici took over top spot with a 1m45.326s. Petrucci – who was on the podium in the dry at Le Mans last year – was shuffled back by Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales with a 1m45.121s, though the Ducati rider ensured this was short-lived when he posted a 1m44.931s. With eight minutes to go, Miller returned to the top of the timesheets with a 1m44.735s, which soon came under threat as lap times continued to drop as the session drew to a close. Petrucci toppled Miller’s time with a 1m44.409s, though the Australian retaliated with a 1m44.346s, before Vinales guided the factory M1 to a 1m44.180s. As the chequered flag came out, Smith was hooking together a lap threatening top spot on the Aprilia and produced a 1m43.804s to end FP1 fastest of all by 0.154 seconds. Zarco leaped up to second on his final lap on his GP19, with Petrucci holding onto the top three ahead of Miller and Dovizioso, with Vinales completing the top six. Morbidelli was shuffled back to seventh ahead of Valentino Rossi on the works team Yamaha, while LCR’s Cal Crutchlow – who admitted on Thursday his right arm is “not in a great situation” still – was ninth on the Honda and ahead of KTM’s Espargaro. The Suzuki duo of Alex Rins and Joan Mir were 11th and 12th, while championship leader Fabio Quartararo was some 2.6s off the pace down in 18th. With weather forecasts predicting drier conditions across the weekend, the need to push in FP1 came with little reward and likely influenced Quartararo’s caution. Stefan Bradl didn’t set a time on the factory Honda, though has spent the last two days at the Algarve circuit in Portugal testing the RC213V.

LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow admits that his arm is not yet in a good situation ahead of the French MotoGP a month after arm pump surgery. Cal Crutchlow underwent a surgery to correct arm pump following the Styrian Grand Prix back in August but was forced to miss the two Misano rounds after developing complications from the surgery. He is continuing to battle with his swollen arm as he raced in the Catalan MotoGP and finished 10th and now its down to 10 days since the event and his arm has not gotten any better. “I spent 10 days at home, 10 days in hospital seeing surgeons, MRI scans, etc,” Crutchlow said when asked about his physical condition. “Just another week in the life of ‘if it was easy everyone would be doing it’. My arm’s not in a great situation at the moment, honestly speaking.” “It’s one of the reasons why I didn’t ride at Portimao [in Wednesday’s test], I didn’t want to use the arm. So, again, I will ride this weekend and then I will go and see Dr Mir again and consult with him as to what the best option is to do because the arm still has some fluid, the arm is very swollen, the flexor muscle is very, very hard for some reason.” “And the skin is completely stuck to the muscle and the tendons and we can’t get it off. Whatever happens, you can’t get it off. Physiotherapy, massage, you can do whatever you want but it’s like super glue. So, as you can imagine there’s no fascia in there now, so the scar tissue normally would stick to the fascia, but there’s no fascia there so it’s stuck to the muscle.” “So, it’s not a great situation.” The LCR Honda rider is not concerned about the long term situation of his arm but is very focussed on managing it over the next seven weeks remaining on the 2020 MotoGP Season with only six races to go. Crutchlow is also unsure if he has to miss any of the rounds as a result of his swollen arm. “I don’t know if I’ll have to sit any out, but I believe that most people wouldn’t ride or be able to ride,” he added. “But that’s not something to be proud of, to be honest. I wish I wasn’t in this situation, of course.” “But, I’ll continue to do my job, I love my job, I still want to be out there. That’s the reason I am. The good thing is there’s no real safety concern for anybody else on track, it’s more of a concern for me with my arm.” “It’s not going to heal over these next weeks, there’s no doubt about that. I’m not concerned for the arm long-term. I think the arm will settle down once I get to the bottom of the problem and once I can have that fixed.” “Problem is, we don’t really know what it is at the moment, but I believe if I continue to race next year and if I have the winter off, the arm will be fine next year. That’s not a concern at all. The concern is these six races in a row, it’s going to be difficult.”

Six engineers from the Monster Energy Yamaha team will miss the French MotoGP which will be held this weekend at Le Mans. This comes after one of the engineers tested positive for the disease as the team confirmed on Thursday. In a statement, Yamaha said, “Yamaha Motor Co Ltd and Yamaha Motor Racing Srl regret to announce that six Yamaha MotoGP group engineers, including YZR-M1 project leader Takahiro Sumi, will be unable to attend this weekend’s Grand Prix de France.” According to the MotoGP outfit, Yamaha staff normally stay in Andorra – a small state near France and Spain – in between races, but one of the engineers contracted the virus, meaning they will miss the race in France. The engineer’s test was confirmed positive on the Tuesday, just before the team were due to make the trip to Le Mans. The factory team also said that the other engineers had tested negative and that another test was done 24 hours later to “double-check the first test results.” Arrangements for replacement engineers for the team are currently being made, whilst the six members will remain in contact with the team via a remote communications system, the team confirmed. The Japanese manufacturer has said that they will “review the situation next week” to find out if the engineers will be able to return at the race in Aragon on 18th October.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were like kids in a candy store today at the Portimão MotoGP Official Test. The pair had a blast riding YZF-R1 bikes to get familiar with the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP test rider Jorge Lorenzo also attended today’s sessions, riding the YZR-M1. His mission is to collect valuable MotoGP data ahead of the Grande Prémio de Portugal, held from 20 – 22 November. Today’s Portimão MotoGP Official Test was a special outing for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi. Both riding Yamaha YZF-R1s, the team-mates used two sessions from 09:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:00 to get familiar with the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Their main goal today was to get acquainted with the unique lay-out of the Portuguese track, ahead of the Grande Prémio de Portugal, the final round of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship, held from 20-22 November. The circuit has 15 corners overall (nine right, six left) and is characterised by many elevation changes and is therefore often referred to as a ‘high-speed roller coaster’, which is both thrilling for the riders and a technical challenge for the mechanics. “The track is different from what we are used to, because of the changes in elevation, and most of the corners have blind entries.” Maverick Vinales said. “But overall I felt really good. It’s the kind of track that I like, because you need a lot of flow and corner speed. I already had a good feeling with my standard street bike and I think it will be even better when I’ll ride with the MotoGP bike, I’ll be even faster.” “The track looks amazing and it’s a lot of fun to ride. The biggest challenge here are wheelies.” “We will have to work hard on this because there’s a lot of changes in elevation and we need front contact, so we will have to change the bike a bit, for sure. The last corner here is amazing, I love it. I expected the track to be longer, it’s actually quite short, but I like it.” he added. “Riding here is very interesting, because the track is beautiful and technically quite difficult. It’s a very strange track because of the many elevation changes.” 9-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi said. “But it’s beautiful and the asphalt is good, it has good grip. You can enjoy it a lot when you’re riding here. It looked more difficult on television, a bit more tricky, but in real life it’s good.” “There are three or four points that are a bit scary, because you have big jumps. It will be difficult to keep a MotoGP bike in contact with the ground there, but in general it’s a very sweet track to ride, so I like it.” the 41-year-old added, “It was also a good day for a test here, because we had good conditions, which is important when you’re getting familiar with a new track.” Today the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP duo were joined on track by Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team’s Jorge Lorenzo, who was riding the YZR-M1. His mission is to collect MotoGP data for the Factory Team, so they can hit the ground running when they start the final MotoGP round on 20 November 2020. “Of course it’s not easy to start riding a MotoGP bike again after a nine-month break. Tomorrow we are going to play with the settings some more to see if we can improve and make a big step. The track is wonderful. It’s unique, compared to other tracks it has a lot of elevation changes, and that’s a lot of fun to ride. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a good feeling, and we can get more work done.” Lorenzo said. Lorenzo will continue his testing programme tomorrow on the second day of the Portimão MotoGP Official Test, whilst Viñales and Rossi will now travel to Le Mans for the Grand Prix de France, held this weekend.

Stefan Bradl was joined by his teammate Alex Marquez in Portugal for the first MotoGP test at the Portimao circuit, both riders familiarizing themselves with the new track. The Algarve International Circuit will debut on the 2020 MotoGP World Championship calendar as the final round of the series, November 20 to 22. Ahead of its debut, MotoGP test riders are running across two days to sample the new circuit on MotoGP machines. Stefan Bradl has previous experience of the track, having raced the Honda CBR1000RR in World Superbikes there in 2017 but today offered a first chance to ride the Honda RC213V at the Portuguese venue. The test provided Bradl a chance to refresh his memory of the track and begin to work on finding a base setting for the RC213V ahead of the season finale. Stefan ended the day with a best time of 1’41.726. Alex Marquez joined Bradl on track, riding the Honda RC213V-S, to familiarize himself with the layout of the demanding circuit. The laps completed by Alex will help to give the rookie an initial direction to follow with bike setup and allow him to spend more time refining the setting of his Repsol Honda RC213V when the race weekend begins. After enjoying the dramatic elevation changes and a roller coaster layout of the track, Alex now turns his attention back to racing.  “It was a good day, good weather at a nice track with a good layout and new tarmac – it was nice to try it. The Honda RC213V-S was really nice to ride, everything was nice!” Marquez said. “The layout is quite difficult, but I think the rider will be able to make a lot of difference here. I’m looking forward to returning here on the MotoGP bike at the end of the year, I think it will be an interesting race.” “But right now, my attention is back fully on Le Mans.” he added. Bradl will spend another day with the RC213V at the Portuguese track before heading to Le Mans for round 10 of the MotoGP World Championship. Alex is already on his way to Le Mans, motivated to continue adapting to the MotoGP class. “It was a great day today with the weather, pretty much perfect conditions,” Stefan Bradl said. “We followed our test plan after the track condition improved. This was an advantage to having a lot of riders there, the circuit was cleaned quite fast. The circuit is a great challenge, but you can really enjoy it with a MotoGP bike, the elevation changes are great,” he added. “We were fast and completed our test plan for today and have a few runs tomorrow before heading to Le Mans.”

Petronas SRT rider Fabio Quartararo says he ‘can’t replace’ Valentino Rossi as he will be taking his current seat at Petronas SRT for the 2021 MotoGP season. Quartararo says that switching to Yamaha factory team in 2021 would simply mean he is taking Rossi’s bike. The 9-time world champion was announced to be joining the Malaysian outfit in a one-year deal, that was announced last weekend. Yamaha made a move to sign Quartararo as their vacant seat is getting very keen attention from Ducatti on the 2019 rookie sensation as Rossi’s original plans were to assess his performance in the opening rounds before making a decision on where to base his career in the future which triggered him being ruled out of the Ducatti works team. Quartararo’s deal with Yamaha to ride beside Maverick Vinales will last for two years, running through to 2022. In an interview Quartararo said that he was pleased with Yamaha for believing in him for its future back in January, but also feels that nobody can touch Rossi’s place. “I was quite surprised because we make the choice quite fast in the beginning of the year,” Quartararo said when asked if Yamaha signing him over Rossi was a boost to his confidence. “Even the end of last year. But it was good. I’m really happy that Yamaha believes in me for the two next years in their team…So, will feel strange to have the bike of Vale, not the place, the bike. “So, I’m really happy, but we need to keep focusing on this year to be in a position to face the grands prix. For me, I can’t replace him because Valentino is Valentino. I’m taking his bike, of course it will be a new bike.” “But I’m not taking his place. His place is still there because he made history with Yamaha. I think they spent close to 10 years together, So, for me, the place of Valentino nobody can touch it and I’m just taking his bike, and his place will be there forever.” Valentino Rossi will be receiving full factory support and also machine specifications with Quartararo and Vinales at Petronas SRT for the 2021 MotoGP season. He had also pushed to have his crew move with him to the new team but after holding several talks with the team, he will be only be able to move with crew chief David Munoz, rider coach Idalio Gavira and data analyst Matteo Flamigni. The 41-year-old’s deal with Petronas SRT will be lasting for only one year contrary to the 1+1 he had originally requested with Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis explaining last weekend that this was a result of technicality in that the Japanese outfit doesn’t have a deal in place with MotoGP or SRT past 2021.

Fransesco Bagnaia will be joining Jack Miller who is his current teammate at Pramac, at the Ducatti factory team for the 2021 MotoGP season. Bagnaia will be replacing Andrea Dovizioso for a year-long deal. Bagnaia has been in a race with Avintia’s Johann Zarco to secure the vacant Ducatti seat, after Dovizioso announced that he will be leaving the team at the Austrian MotoGP which was held last month. He is the 2018 winner of the Moto2 grand prix and has been impressing for the Ducatti satellite team, Pramac in this year’s MotoGP. 2019 was his debut year in the MotoGP series although he didn’t make his first appearance at the Andalucian MotoGP at Jerez after suffering an engine failure while he was running second in the final laps of the race. Bagnaia had also missed three races after he sustained a knee injury in the first practice for the Czech MotoGP, but he would later return and secure his first podium at the San Marino MotoGP. He would also dominate the Emilia Romagna MotoGP which followed the San Marino GP, but experienced a crash later on in the race. Ducatti had been making preliminary talks with the 2017 and 2018 rider Jorge Lorenzo but they later made it clear that they would be putting their main focus on hiring a young rider to complete their 2021 riders line-up. Bagnaia was the top choice for the spot over Johann Zarco, as his recent strong performance in MotoGP was very impressive. “My MotoGP debut was not easy, but at Ducati, they never questioned me: they gave me all the support and confidence that a rookie needs and they let me do experience in 2019,” said Francesco Bagnaia. “I listened to them, I trusted them, together we learned to know each other and understand each other, and now we form a great team. “They taught me a method of work that allowed us to take away some nice satisfactions and I think that’s just the beginning. “Today I am the happiest person in the world, for me, it is a dream come true: being an official Ducati rider has always been my ambition, and I succeeded together with all of those who had always believed in me even when things did not go well.” Johann Zarco, who had secured an impressive pole position and podium finnish on the Czech GP, riding on the 2019 based bike was also considered though as he secures one of the vacant seats at Pramac, and will be riding a new fully factory supported Ducatti Desmosedici GP21 for the next season. Joining him at Pramac will be current Moto2 KTM rider Jorge Martin , who is the 2017 Moto3 champion as he chose to leave the Austrian manufacturer to join Ducatti to chase his dream to race in the top class of motorbike racing. “Jack Miller and Pecco Bagnaia have shown this year that they can take advantage of the potential of our Desmosedici GP bike and have earned this opportunity,” added Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali. “Their transition to the official team from the Pramac Racing Team, where they both grew up, is proof of the efficient collaboration that binds us to the team of Paolo Campinoti, which I would like to thank. “I am sure that next year his team will be able to make the most of the talent of the two new riders Johann Zarco and Jorge Martín.” Enea Bastianini-who is battling for the ’20 Moto2 championship-looks to be heading to Avintia to replace Zarco, most likely on a GP20 after he confirmed several weeks ago that he had secured a move into the premier class with Ducati. His team-mate looks to be between either the incumbent Esteve Rabat-who has first dibs on the seat due to the funding he brings to the team-or intermediate class points leader Luca Marini, who has reportedly held talks with both Avintia and Ducati alongside half-brother Valentino Rossi.

Yamaha Factory racer and superstar Valentino Rossi admits that his chances for a MotoGP Championship win have already been closed after crashing in the Catalan Grand Prix. The 9-time championship winner was second before the crash happened. In the early phases of the race Valentino Rossi found himself second after Franco Morbidelli(SRT Petronas Yamaha) made a mistake at the first corner. His position would however not last for long as he crashed at Turn just two laps later. Rossi was only 26 points away from the championship lead ahead of the Catalan Grand Prix, but the rider is now 50 points further from the championship lead as he got a second consecutive DNF and the third in the 2020 MotoGP Season. “In order not to despair, we have to think that it was a good weekend anyway, that I rode well, that I enjoyed myself and I could play for the win,” Rossi reflected on the Catalan Grand Prix. “We are following a very interesting road with the setting of the bike, so even if the championship is closed for me, there are great reasons to be fast from now to the end of the year. “As long as the math doesn’t say it, it’s not over. But unfortunately, I have already made three zeroes and I fell twice in a row due to my mistakes. Then the bike broke down in the first race, so it’s difficult. “But there are still many races and we will have to try to be fast, if I can ride like this, I can go fast on all sides.” Rossi admitted that he made a mistake by not paying attention to the temperature on the left side of his front tyre as he went around Turn 2 and was instead focussed on reducing the gap to the Catalan MotoGP winner and Championship leader Fabio Quartararo. “We start very, very smooth at the beginning, we had a good pace and I tried to ride very sweet on the front tyre and rear tyre, because I know, like everybody, at the end of the race we will suffer,” he added. “But anyway, we had a very good pace and we stayed at front, but I don’t push too much there. “Franco did a mistake at Turn 1, so from that moment I push because I don’t want to take too much disadvantage to Fabio. “I wanted to try and stay close to him because I know especially Suzukis at the end are very strong. “But I did a mistake. Looking at the data it’s a really, really similar to the lap before but with this temperature I need to pay more attention on the left.”