Bike India

Two Suzukis and a Marquez

We head to Aragon for another round of magical motorcycle racing during the 2020 MotoGP season

-

Report:

Zal Cursetji

ThE RacE in aRagon would have a Frenchman at the helm before the race, but a Spanish trio would have their say too. We would also be missing The Doctor, Valentino Rossi of Monster Energy Yamaha MotogP, who, unfortunat­ely, tested positive for coViD-19. We wish him a speedy recovery. however, the racing continues and this is how it unfolded.

MotoGP

Fabio Quartararo on the Petronas Yamaha SRT bike would have a horrid day on race day, finishing in 18th position in the race. This meant the young Frenchman gave up his championsh­ip lead to the Team Suzuki Ecstar rider, Joan Mir, who finished in third position. The young Spaniard, Mir, has been continuous­ly finishing

races in favourable positions, allowing him to be the new favourite for the championsh­ip.

However, the win would be fought between two other riders and even though both struggled with tyre-wear towards the end of the race, they continued to clock impressive laptimes. The two in question were Team Suzuki Ecstar rider Alex Rins and the reigning world champion’s brother, Alex

Championsh­ip Standings

Marques, on the Repsol Honda Team bike. Both Alexes fought their way to the front with Rins making up a large number of positions at the lights and Marquez fighting his way up to second position in a steady manner.

The championsh­ip is now split wide open with Mir leading the way, followed by Quartararo and the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider, Maverick Viñales. Viñales scored valuable points in the race with a fourth-place finish bringing him closer to the two riders above. Additional­ly, fourth in the championsh­ip is Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati Team who finished seventh in Aragon. Thus, the old horse still has a chance of finally winning a world championsh­ip. Other notable riders were Cal Crutchlow of LCR Honda Castrol, who, after struggling with

MotoGP

POS. RIDER recovery from injury, made himself felt on the grid. However, it would be the Japanese rider, Takaaki Nakagami on the LCR Honda Idemitsu motorcycle, who once again scored a fifth-place finish. He is also fifth in the championsh­ip standings. Nakagami has a chance at the title considerin­g the way this season has been going. However, we have not seen the return of the Number 93 yet and when that happens, we can be assured of much higher levels of excitement.

Moto2

Aragon would turn the Moto2 season on its head with the championsh­ip now being blown wide open with the top three riders separated by just five points.

The championsh­ip leader, Luca Marini of Sky Racing Team VR46, took a tumble in the opening stages of the race, setting up a golden opportunit­y to his championsh­ip rivals. These rivals were

Sam Lowes on the Marc VDS machine,

Enea Bastianini on the Italtrans Racing

Team bike, and Marini’s Sky Racing Team VR46 teammate, Marco Bezzecchi.

The race got under way with Bezzecchi taking the lead and holding firm throughout. Marco was challenged close to the end by the second-placed rider, Fabio Di Giannanton­io on the MB Conveyors Speed Up motorcycle. However, Fabio, after taking the lead, crashed soon after ending his race. Marco was once again in the lead, championsh­ip rival Sam Lowes following close in second, and the Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin of Red Bull KTM Ajo. The pressure finally did get to Marco. With two laps to go, the Italian rider crashed out, bringing to an end a terrible day for the Sky Racing Team VR46 team. At the finish-line, it was Sam Lowes who claimed a consecutiv­e victory, followed by Bastianini in second and Jorge Martin in third. The champion now has Bastianini leading with Lowes in second and Marini in third, all three separated by just five points.

Moto2

POS. RIDER

TIMING

 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India