2020 MotoGP Round Seven – Misano

After a two tough weekends at the Red Bull Ring, Friday saw a change of fortunes for Yamaha at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli with a 1-2-3. It was Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who took to the top by the end of play, the Frenchman turning the tables on Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) who had blitzed FP1. The gap though was tiny and third went the way of Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT).

Valentino Rossi made it four Yamahas in the top six, while KTM showed their recent form is no flash in the pan with all four RC16 machines in the top nine.

FP1

The first premier class session of the day most definitely belonged to one man: Viñales. The Spaniard set a blistering 1:32.198 to head the timesheets by over half a second in the morning, beating his own 2019 pole position time and going over a second quicker than FP1 last year. Quartararo was the rear gunner for Top Gun in second, ahead of an impressive session for Aprilia in third. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completed the top three for the Noale factory, the Spaniard 0.751 adrift of the top… but that translating into a deficit of just two tenths to Quartararo given Viñales’ margin.

Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) was fourth quickest in FP1, ahead of a second Noale machine as Bradley Smith (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) locked out the top five.

Things got lively in the latter stages of the session on fresh rubber, with a few putting in time attacks. Viñales hit first to oust Quartararo from the top in the final two minutes, with Zarco and the Aprilias striking next. Viñales had the last word though, slamming in that stunning last lap to extend his advantage to over half a second. No one crashed in the session.

FP2

The tables were turned in the afternoon as Quartararo took over at the top, getting the better of team-mate Morbidelli by 0.178 in a Petronas Yamaha SRT 1-2. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was third, ahead of a stunning session for rookie Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) in P4. Local legend Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) completed the top five in FP2, just ahead of Viñales.

In the early stages, Quartararo led the way from Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Viñales, with Lecuona impressing early on to sit inside the top five. Viñales was down to serious business, however, working on the medium front and hard rear Michelin tyres. The Spaniard looked like he was on rails, consistently setting personal bests. The Team Suzuki Ecstar machines of Alex Rins and Joan Mir were also going well in FP2 to both share a period at the top of the timesheets, but the Hamamatsu factory wouldn’t stay there by the end of the day.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder then took a tumble at Turn 6, but the South African went to the top of the time-sheets not long after as the riders pushed for that one-lap time attack in the final few minutes. Morbidelli, who was 12th in FP1, was next to take over at the top, before teammate Quartararo snatched it back to have the final say on Friday’s fastest.

Overall, that lap was enough to secure fastest overall on the combined timesheets for ‘El Diablo’, but when taking into account Viñales’ quickest from FP1, it’s not by much. Just 0.009 split the two at the top, with Morbidelli in third.

Pol Espargaro is therefore shuffled down to fourth overall, 0.297 off the top and with a couple of tenths in hand over Lecuona in P5. Rossi was next up to make it all four Yamahas in the top six, with Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) the first Borgo Panigale representative as he slotted into seventh overall.

Brad Binder is P8 after Day 1, with Styrian GP winner Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) just behind him… making it all four KTMs in the top ten and on for potential graduation to Q2. Aleix Espargaro was only 0.001 off the Portugese rider, however, completing the top ten for the Noale factory.

There’s one definite name missing there, and it’s the man second in the Championship: Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). The Italian was 11th on the combined timesheets by just 0.009, and he’ll be the first looking to move forward on Saturday. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), double podium finisher at the Red Bull Ring, was also down the order a little as the Aussie took P17 – a few hundredths ahead of team-mate Francesco Bagnaia as the latter returns from injury.

Rider Quotes

Fabio Quartararo – P1

“It feels really good after the difficult races in Austria. We’ve made a big improvement here; of course the track helps, as it is better for us. Those bad races have helped us learn to adapt quickly and helped us to become stronger. The two sessions today have been good, our pace in FP2 was great and the settings we have changed have really helped. With the new track surface there is more grip, but there are also more bumps, so will be interesting. I’m looking forward to tomorrow because I still feel like there is something more we can improve with the one lap pace.”

Maverick Vinales – P2

“The feelings were fantastic! In FP1 I did an amazing lap, and in FP2 I was focusing on the race rhythm. My rhythm is really good. I was able to set a very fast lap time at the end of the long run. For the time attack I rode with a used front tyre. I just tried a fresh soft rear tyre to see what the feeling is like, because tomorrow we‘re going to push. I‘m quite happy, I think we can do a good job here in Misano. It‘s important that we prepare well for the race, because it‘s going to be hard with many riders going very fast. But today I felt really good on the bike and like I had something more to give. We‘re going to start the race pushing hard from the beginning, and then we‘ll see. I will ride the race at the maximum at every corner on every lap.”

Franco Morbidelli – P3

“It was a wonderful Friday at my home GP today and it is nice to see some fans in the grandstands. We started with the right feeling and a good pace, we made some good lap times and I’m happy. I need to continue being focused as it is only Friday and nothing properly counts yet. We need to continue what we’ve been doing today on track on Sunday and then we can be even happier hopefully. I think Styria was tough for several reasons but with two weeks off I’ve been able to reset. Tomorrow we will try to improve the package further, try to make a good lap time and start from the first two rows.”

Iker Lecuona – P5

“For sure, I’m really happy! In FP1, I was struggling a little bit, but also because I didn’t change the tyres. I went out with a medium in the front and the soft one on the rear, but it didn’t work as planned. Anyway, I was working more on myself and we continued improving the base of the bike. Finally, we had a clean idea for FP2, exiting with a new tyre and a decent base. Already on the first run, I was really fast and consistent, riding alone and also on my fast lap, I was alone and managed to improve. This was my fastest lap time at this circuit and finishing inside the top 5 is a great start to the weekend. We just need to continue like this and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Valentino Rossi – P6

“Today was a good Friday. It looks like our bike is more competitive here, and we can be stronger. Especially in the afternoon I wasn’t so bad, also with the pace. We need to give the maximum, because we can fight for a good result. We have to improve in some places, but I feel good with my bike, and at the end I did a good time attack. The P5 I got in FP2 is a good position for the first day. It will be very important to stay inside the top 10 tomorrow morning, so this is our next target. Misano is always a bit tricky. They did a very good job with the new asphalt, because it has very good grip and there are less bumps, but there are some bad ones in some places. There were more bumps with the previous asphalt, but they were smaller. For me, Misano is always special, because it’s really my home Grand Prix. I live 10 kilometers from here. I grew up here in Misano. To have a small crowd at the track is very important, because it completely changes the atmosphere, and it’s a good step for the future, so we go back to the normal situation as soon as possible.”

Danilo Petrucci – P7

“It was a good day, and it’s always nice to be able to race at our home track. With the new asphalt, the track conditions have changed, and there is much more grip than last year. Unfortunately, there are several bumps and that have created some problems for us. We have worked hard today to try to fix this, and it seems that in the afternoon, we were able to find a solution. Now we’ll have to try to understand how the tyres work for the race.”

Miguel Oliveira – P9

“It was not our best Friday morning, but we managed to do a comeback in the second practice. We did stay maybe a little bit conservative in the first practice, we stuck a little bit with the Spielberg setting, but in the afternoon, we came back to a closer base to what we used during the test here. The feeling was immediately better, we tried different tyres, which was ok. Overall, it was positive work, we finished inside the top 10. For sure there is still a gap to improve, but we have that potential. So, tomorrow morning we are going to work hard to be inside the Q2 immediately.”

Aleix Espargaro – P10

“This was undoubtedly a positive Friday. I was able to stay in the top 10 without doing a time attack in the afternoon and that means that we’ve done a good job with the tyres. This weekend promises to be interesting. We have seen various riders select different tyre compounds, so it will be important to make the right choices. I’m pleased with our work today. I can’t way to try and improve in FP3 with a new tyre to confirm a spot in Q2.”

Andrea Dovizioso – P11

“It has been a very strange day. This morning I wasn’t able to take advantage of the full session, and I wasn’t able to find a good feeling with the bike. I think this is because of the conditions of the new asphalt; there is a lot of grip, but also several bumps and I always feel like I am slower than the lap times I am actually doing. Now we will work to come back stronger tomorrow. It will be crucial to be able to find positive sensations again to then focus on the final details for the race”.

Takaaki Nakagami – P12

“Today was a bit of a struggle and in FP1 and FP2 we tried many things to improve the feeling on the bike. Because of the new surface there was more grip, but also more bumps on the track and we struggled when we hit the bumps and the bike was getting a little nervous. But even so, we’re very close to the top 10 and tomorrow I feel there are many places where I can go faster than today. We’ll try to improve the bike and get in the top 10 in FP3 and then see what we can do in qualifying.”

Alex Rins – P13

“This first day has been OK, but I still want to make a few adjustments in order to feel a bit better on the front end. We are going to work on this and I’m sure we can find something. I did a lot of laps on used tyres in FP1, and also in FP2 I tried different tyre options, and this has helped us to collect information coming into tomorrow. We need to change some things but we’re prepared for Saturday’s sessions.”

Johann Zarco – P14

“Today was a good start, I had a good feeling, and I see that I can be fast. I got more pain on my right wrist, more than I expected, so that is why at the afternoon I took some anti-inflammatory and it was better in the afternoon about the pain. The track is good about the grip, because you can get a good confident with the tires, front and rear, to push. I hope I will feel better tomorrow because I feel I can go fastest but I can’t relax me.”

Joan Mir – P15

“At the moment we haven’t shown one lap pace to be at the top, but the truth is that my pace on a used tyre is actually pretty good – I feel comfortable and had great feeling. I had a moment when I tried to do a flying lap at the end of the session and I had to use my motocross skills in the gravel! But we’re ready for FP3 tomorrow morning and I’m confident that I can be strong.”

Bradley Smith – P16

“We started well this morning with fifth place, whereas our program in the afternoon was different. It’s true that after the tests we had an idea on how the tyres would work in the race, but we still need to test them again and get a better feel for how they’ll perform over the long distance. The bike seems to work well here, partly thanks to the good level of available grip. Tomorrow morning, we’ll obviously use the soft tyre, after testing a couple of changes.”

Jack Miller – P17

“It was not the beginning I had hoped for, I had some difficulties, especially in the afternoon session but the pace was good. My shoulder did not give me any problems and I am happy about that. We still have work to do, but I am very focused for tomorrow.”

Pecco Bagnaia – P18

“It was a good day, we were working a lot to find the confident with my bike. Today it was a very important day to understand how my leg reacted while I rode so I’m very satisfied with the work done at home. This morning I didn’t struggled instead during FP2 a little more, but it’s normal. Suring the afternoon I improved my best lap with old tyres and I’m very happy for this. Tomorrow we will made another step in front in anticipation of the race.”

Cal Crutchlow – P19

“As far as riding the bike goes, I felt more positive today and I was able to do some good runs. The pace was ok, the position was not great, but we didn’t put the new tyre on in FP2 to get a good lap time, so we tried to work on the setting of the bike and the feeling of the bike, which is a bit better at this track so far. With regards to my arm, at the moment I have a lot of liquid on my arm and a lot of problems with how swollen the arm is. Maybe it’s not fully recovered, but we’re speaking a lot with the doctors and taking their advice with regard to the best thing to do throughout the weekend and we’ll make a decision tomorrow morning on whether to continue and go session by session. But overall, today was a good day to be back on the bike in Misano.”

Stefan Bradl – P20

“We have been working on the setting of the bike today and we have been trying to find the balance. The circuit is quite bumpy, as we saw in the test. I think some other riders are finding it a bit difficult too, especially since the bumps are in a fast part of the track. I was able to improve my time a decent amount today so we will keep working tomorrow and see what comes.”

Alex Marquez – P21

“We knew that today would be a little difficult at the start as some others have done more testing here. In the end I don’t think we are too far and we need to keep improving as we have been previously. Over one lap still we are missing something, but our rhythm and overall feeling is a lot better than our position shows. Today we weren’t fully focused on one lap and when you combine all my sectors it is a 1’33.5. We are starting here with a better feeling than in Austria even with the bumps on the faster part of the circuit.”

Tito Rabat – P22

“It has been a difficult day, in which we finished +1.7 from the lead in a sunny day and testing the new asphalt. Tomorrow we will continue working”

Friday MotoGP Combined Practice Times

Moto2

Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team) took back to the top on Day 1 of the Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini, putting in a 1:36.933 to pip Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) to the honour by half a tenth. The top three was completed by last year’s winner and Lowes’ teammate Augusto Fernandez, with the Spaniard still within just over a tenth of the top. Bastianini also confirmed on Friday that he will move up to the premier MotoGP class in 2021 with Ducati.

FP1

A 1:37.245 in FP1 – 1.3 seconds faster than the quickest effort in FP1 last year – put Sam Lowes in P1 in the morning, with the Brit beating Championship leader and local hero Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) to the top by a couple of tenths. Marini’s teammate and Styrian GP winner Marco Bezzecchi was next up; another Italian in the top three and only another tenth in arrears.

Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) took fourth, just 0.088 ahead of the third home hero in the top five as Bastianini started his home GP off in P5 – with more to come…

Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) took a tumble at Turn 16, before Fernandez then went down at Turn 1. Schrötter also crashed, the German heading down at Turn 14, before Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) ran afoul of the same corner towards the end of the session.

FP2

In the afternoon, the ‘Beast’ struck back. Bastianini turned the tables to lead Lowes by 0.059 in the session, as well as beat the Brit’s fastest lap from the morning. Although the top six all managed that, too, as the times tumbled in FP2. Last year’s winner Fernandez was only another tiny margin behind, this time 0.056.

Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) moved up to fourth in the afternoon, with Marini taking the final place in the top five.

There were two crashes in FP2: Schrötter went down again, and again at Turn 14, before Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) took a tumble in the same place a few minutes later.

On the combined timesheets, it’s almost a mirror image of FP2 barring Jesko Raffin (NTS RW Racing GP) as the Swiss rider brought up the rear on his return from injury and was unable to improve in the afternoon. Bastianini leads Lowes, Fernandez, Bulega and Marini, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (+Ego Speed Up) in P6 as last year’s second place finisher got back on the pace – just 0.032 off Marini.

Hafizh Syahrin (Oceanica Aspar Team Moto2) impressed in seventh as he comes back from injuries sustained in the headline-making Austrian GP crash, the second Speed Up in the top ten, and Jorge Navarro (+Ego Speed Up) made it three for the factory as he took P9 overall. Schrötter completed the top ten despite his two offs on Friday.

Rookie Aron Canet (Oceanica Aspar Team Moto2) was only just off that top ten in P11, ahead of Tetsuta Nagashima (Red Bull KTM Ajo) as the Japanese rider was a more muted presence on Friday. Vierge and Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing) are currently the last two on to move directly to Q2, but everything can still change on Saturday. With Lowes starting from pitlane due to a penalty, it could essentially end up for a fight for the top 13 on the grid, too.

Friday Moto2 Combined Practice Times

Moto3

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Raul Fernandez is the man to beat after Day 1 at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with the Spaniard putting down an early marker in the Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini to head the timesheets from Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3). Third overall belonged to 2019 winner and home team hero Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse).

FP1

The Moto3 field were the first to taste a freshly resurfaced Misano on Friday morning, and Fernandez’ session-topping 1:42.501 was less than seven tenths adrift of the fastest-ever Moto3 lap, which is, for reference, the 1:41.823 set by Jorge Martin on his way to pole position in 2018. Gabriel Rodrigo was second in the session, a couple of tenths behind Fernandez, with Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) slotting into third and half a second off the top.

John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Styrian GP winner Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) were split by hundredths in P4 and P5 respectively, with the timesheets tightening up behind the top three.

Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) crashed, unhurt, in the early stages of FP1, before Filip Salač (Rivacold Snipers Team) became the second and final rider to take a tumble. The Czech rider was able to rejoin the action straight away though.

FP2

In the afternoon, 2019 winner Tatsuki Suzuki moved up the order to lead the way with a 1:42.783, the Japanese rider pipping Championship leader Albert Arenas (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) by just half a tenth. Third was even closer, however, as Fernandez ended the session just 0.021 in further arrears. Sky Racing Team VR46 duo Andrea Migno and Celestino Vietti completed the fastest five.

There were a number of crashers in the afternoon, starting with Carlos Tatay (Reale Avintia Moto3). Kaito Toba (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was next, before a rare crash for compatriot Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia), and Rodrigo then tangled with Barry Baltus (CarXpert PrüstelGP). The final incident was a technical issue for Alonso Lopez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team).

There were also a few penalties to be served. Jason Dupasquier (CarXpert PrüstelGP), Sergio Garcia (Estrella Galicia 0,0), Öncü and Toba were all suspended from the first 10 minutes of FP2 due to irresponsible riding in FP1, with Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team), Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing), Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing), Davide Pizzoli (BOE Skull Rider Facile Energy) and Ryusei Yamanaka (Estrella Galicia 0,0) all suspended from the first 15 minutes of FP2, as it was their second similar offence of the season…

Overall, it’s Fernandez who leads the way on Friday thanks to his FP1 time, just ahead of Rodrigo and the Argentine’s lap from the same session. Third is Suzuki as the Japanese rider’s FP2 best moves him up on the combined times, and he’s followed by a few names who were on his tail in FP2: Arenas fourth, Migno fifth and Vietti sixth. McPhee’s FP2 best puts him in seventh overall.

Ayumu Sasaki slots into P8 courtesy of his FP1 time, ahead of another train of names who put in their fastest efforts in the afternoon: Garcia in ninth, Masia 10th, his teammate Foggia in 11th, Salač in 12th, Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) in 13th and second in the Championship, Ai Ogura, down in P14. He’s currently the last of the provisional Q2 graduates… at the expense of Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) by just 0.004.

Friday Moto3 Combined Practice Times

MotoE

On Friday at Round 2 of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, the gap between the top two was 0.032. Fast forward to Round 3 and, incredibly, it’s exactly the same tiny margin. This time around it was Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) at the top, with home hero and 2019 winner at the track Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) the man on the chase. Third went the way of fellow home hero – although this time, Sammarinese rider – Alex de Angelis (Octo Pramac MotoE), with the veterans shining on Day 1 of the Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini.

Perfect sunshine greeted the grid for both sessions, although there were a few small hiccups to contend with. In FP1, both Ferrari and Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) suffered technical issues, and in FP2 there was a crash for points leader Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP). Nothing put too big a dent in the day’s proceedings, however, as Ferrari was second overall and Casadei P4 by the end of play. Aegerter? He still completed the top five first time out on the Energica at the venue.

Sixth went the way of Niki Tuuli (Avant Ajo MotoE) after some encouraging signs for the Finnish rider. A tougher start to the season compounded by a wrist fracture saw him off the pace we’d learned to expect from him early on in the 2019 edition of the Cup, but P6 as he returns from injury is an impressive showing in Round 3. Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) took seventh, less than a tenth off Tuuli, with LCR E-Team taking P8 and P9. It was Xavier Simeon who came out on top in that battle of the teammates, the Belgian pipping Niccolo Canepa by just 0.023. The gap to complete the top ten was similarly tight, with Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) only another 0.024 in arrears in tenth – denying fellow rookie Lukas Tulovic (Tech 3 E-Racing) by 0.016.

Josh Hook was 15th quickest, 1.5-seconds off the pace-setter’s benchmark. “Was a difficult day for us today, we didn’t improve like we wanted because we had some problems, we have some work to do for tomorrow. We will look at the data tonight and we will see tomorrow.”

Friday MotoE Combined Practice Times

2020 MotoGP Calendar

MotoGP World Championship Points

Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP has had a pretty amazing ride so far in regards to keeping the current plague out of the paddock since racing got back underway. An earlier scare with a member of the Dorna team testing positive after being swabbed at Brno was well contained, the same with a Red Bull Rookie that recorded a positive results.

However, it has been has been confirmed today that KTM Moto2 rider Jorge Martin has tested positive in the lead-up to this weekend’s Misano MotoGP World Championship round.

Under the Dorna protocol for such an event Martin can expect to sit out this weekend’s event unless his second swab returns a negative result.

Martin is currently in joint second place in the Moto2 World Championship, eight-points behind series leader Luca Marini.

The 22-year-old Spaniard is widely tipped to move to the premier MotoGP class with Ducati next season.

His positive test will make many in the paddock quite nervous, including those in the KTM MotoGP Teams that have regularly mixed with the Moto2 rider.

Dorna Statement

“Two individuals set to attend the Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini have tested positive for Covid-19.  As already confirmed by his team, one of the individuals is Moto2 rider Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo). There has also been one positive result returned for a mechanic from a different team. Both are asymptomatic and are now safely in isolation. They have not entered the paddock for the event and will not be able to attend the San Marino Grand Prix.

We wish them a speedy recovery, and hope to see them back in the MotoGP paddock soon. MotoGP has undertaken more than 14,000 tests for Covid-19 since before the Spanish Grand Prix and has safely detected and isolated each positive case diagnosed.”

Source: MCNews.com.au

MotoGP Statistics Update
September 10, 2020

Miguel Oliveira won the race leading only the last lap across the line, which is the first time this happened in MotoGP since Marc Marquez in Thailand last year.

With Miguel Oliveira in MotoGP, Marco Bezzecchi in Moto2 and Celestino Vietti in Moto3, this is the first time there were three first time winners in all three classes since Assen 2016 with Jack Miller, Takaaki Nakagami and Francesco Bagnaia.

With Fabio Quartararo in Spain and Andalucia, Brad Binder at Brno and Miguel Oliveira in Styria, this is only the third time since the first premier class race held in 1949 that there are three first time winners in the opening five races of a premier class season, along with the opening season in 1949 (Harold Daniell, Les Graham and Nello Pagani) and 1974 (Edmund Czihak, Gianfranco Bonera and Phil Carpenter).

This is the first time there are three (or more) first time winners in a single premier class season since 2016. The record of different first time winners in the premier class in a single season is four set, in 1949, 1974, 1976, 1982 and 2016.

Miguel Oliveira became the first Independent Team rider to win on a non-Japanese bike since the introduction of MotoGP in 2002. Before Styria, only Yamaha and Honda Independent Team riders had managed to win in the class.

With Fabio Quartararo (Spain, Andalucia) and Miguel Oliveira, this is the first time that riders from two different Independent Teams won a MotoGP race since 2016 with Jack Miller and Cal Crutchlow, who were both riding a Honda.

Jack Miller finished second at the Styrian GP as the top Ducati rider, which is the first time that Ducati failed to win at the Red Bull Ring since the track was introduced to the MotoGP calendar in 2016.

Over his eight MotoGP podiums so far, this is first time that Jack Miller finished in second. He finished third on six occasion and won once at the Dutch TT back in 2016. In addition, this is his first back-to-back podium finishes in MotoGP.

With seven podiums with Ducati in MotoGP, Miller is now tied with Andrea Iannone and Jorge Lorenzo on the list of Ducati riders with most podiums in the class, two less than Danilo Petrucci who sits in fourth place behind Casey Stoner (42 podiums), Dovizioso (40) and Loris Capirossi (23).

Polesitter for the first time in MotoGP, Pol Espargaro finished third in Styria, which is his second MotoGP podium so far along with Valencia in 2018 in wet-weather conditions.

With Miguel Oliveira, Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro on the podium, this is the first premier class podium without a single Japanese manufacturer since the 1973 Swedish GP with Phil Read (MV Agusta), Giacomo Agostini (MV Agusta) and Kim Newcombe (König).

11 different riders have stood on the podium since the opening race of the year in Spain, equalling the highest number of podium finishers after the opening five premier class races of a season from 1951, 1954, 1973 and 1974.

This is the fifth successive MotoGP race without a single Spanish winner, this is the longest sequence without a winner coming from Spain since Donington 2008 to Losail 2009, 12 races in a row.

Fabio Quartararo finished 13th at the Styrian GP, which is his worst result since his first MotoGP race in Qatar last year when he started from the pit-lane after stalling on the Warm Up lap.

Fabio Quartararo is still leading the MotoGP Championship standings with a score of 70 points, which is the lowest score for a Championship leader after the opening five races of a premier class season since the current point scoring systems was introduced in 1993.

Fabio Quartararo is now 55-points ahead of Alex Marquez who is sitting in 15th place; this is the closest top 15 after the opening five races of the season in the premier class since the current point scoring systems was introduced in 1993.

With Maverick Viñales crashing out and Alex Marquez in 16th place, only three riders have scored points in all five of the MotoGP races in 2020: Fabio Quartararo, Andrea Dovizioso and Takaaki Nakagami. Of them, only Nakagami has always finished within the top ten.

Since the opening race of the season in Jerez, no Honda riders have stood on the podium. This is the first time there is no Honda rider on the podium in five successive premier class races since Honda came back to the premier class of GP racing in 1982.

With Valentino Rossi crossing the line in ninth place as the highest-placed Yamaha rider, this is the worst result for the top Yamaha rider since Valencia 2007 with Sylvain Guintoli in 11th place.

Iker Lecuona finished in 10th in Styria, which is the second time he has scored points in MotoGP along with Austria when he crossed the line in ninth. With Miguel Oliveira, Pol Espargaro, Brad Binder (who finished eighth) and Lecuona, this is the first time there are four KTM riders inside the top 10 in a MotoGP race.

Only one of the three rookies in MotoGP this year has previously won a Grand Prix race in Misano in any of the smaller classes: Brad Binder (Moto3, 2016). Nonetheless, Alex Marquez has stood three times on the podium at the track, twice in Moto3 (2013, 2014) and once in Moto2 (2019).

Miguel Oliveira
The first Portuguese winner in the premier class

On what was his 150th GP start, Miguel Oliveira became the first Portuguese rider to win a premier class Grand Prix race, making Portugal the 20th nation to win at least once in the premier class. He was also the first Portuguese rider to stand on the podium in the premier class and the 270th different rider to do so in the premier class of GP racing.

Along with Brad Binder (South Africa), this is the fifth time in the history of the premier class that two nationalities have taken their maiden win in a single season, along with the opening season in 1949 (United Kingdom, Italy), 1953 (Rhodesia, Australia), 1973 (Finland, New Zealand) and 1977 (Netherlands, Venezuela).

In what was the 900th premier class race, Miguel Oliveira became the 112th different winner and the 27th since MotoGP was introduced in 2002.

Miguel Oliveira is the fourth rider to win a MotoGP race having previously won in both the Moto2 and Moto3 classes, along with Alex Rins, Maverick Viñales and Brad Binder.

Miguel Oliveira became the second rider who won in the premier class of Grand Prix racing after winning a race in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies along with Brad Binder.

Grand Prix Racing in Misano

This is the 24th time that Misano has hosted a Grand Prix since the first event to take place at the track in 1980. Then, the 500cc race was over 40 laps of the circuit that measured 3.448 km and ran in an anti-clockwise direction. It was won by Kenny Roberts.

The Misano circuit hosted a GP 10 times between 1980 and 1993, but then did not have an event for another 13 years following the accident that ended the career of Wayne Rainey in 1993. When Grand Prix racing returned to Misano in 2007, it was on a much revised 4.18 km circuit that runs in the opposite direction.

The MotoGP race last year in Misano was the 350th Grand Prix race in Italy since the first Nations Grand Prix held in 1949 at Monza.

There have been 22 previous San Marino Grand Prix events. The first San Marino Grand Prix was held at Imola in 1981. Three different circuits have hosted the San Marino Grand Prix: Imola twice (1981 & 1983), Mugello four times (1982, 84, 91 and 93) and Misano on 16 occasions (1985, 86, 87 and from 2007 onwards).

Yamaha’s last MotoGP win at Misano: Valentino Rossi in 2014. Yamaha is the most successful manufacturer with six wins: three with both Valentino Rossi (2008, 2009 and 2014) and Jorge Lorenzo (2011, 2012 and 2013). Maverick Viñales also qualified on pole last year.

Honda’s last MotoGP win at Misano: Marc Marquez in 2019. The win for Marc Marquez in 2015 was the first for Honda at Misano since 2010 and followed by four successive wins for Yamaha at the track.

Ducati’s last MotoGP win at Misano: Andrea Dovizioso in 2018. Dovizioso’s teammate at that time, Jorge Lorenzo, also qualified on pole position, which was the third pole for a Ducati rider at the track, along with Casey Stoner in 2007 and 2008.

Three Italian riders finished in the top five at Misano in 2017, all riding a Ducati, which was the first time that three Italian riders on Italian bikes finished in the top five in the premier class since Imola 1972 when Giacomo Agostini, on an MV Agusta, won from team-mate Alberto Pagani with Ducati rider Bruno Spaggiari completing the podium.

Suzuki has had two podium finishes in the MotoGP era at Misano circuit, both of which came in 2007 when Chris Vermeulen finished second and John Hopkins third (the only time two Suzuki riders stood on the podium since MotoGP was introduced in 2002). Since 2008, Rins’ fourthplace finish in 2018 was the best result for a Suzuki rider at Misano.

Aprilia’s best MotoGP result at Misano: Alvaro Bautista, 10th in 2016.

KTM’s best MotoGP result at Misano: Pol Espargaro, seventh in 2019. Espargaro also qualified in second place which was KTM’s best qualifying at that time in the class.

The most successful rider across all classes at Misano since Grand Prix racing returned to the circuit in 2007 is Marc Marquez with six wins (1 x 125cc, 2 x Moto2, 3 x MotoGP). Jorge Lorenzo is his closest rival with four (1 x 250cc, 3 x MotoGP).

Since 2007, only three riders have won the MotoGP race after qualifying on pole position: Casey Stoner (2007), Valentino Rossi (2009) and Dani Pedrosa (2010).

Most succesful riders at Misano

• Valentino Rossi – 3 (2008 / 2009 / 2014)
• Jorge Lorenzo – 3 (2011 / 2012 / 2013)
• Marc Marquez – 3 (2015 / 2017 / 2019)
• Dani Pedrosa – 2 (2010, 2016)
• Andrea Dovizioso – 1 (2018)
• Casey Stoner – 1 (2007)

Most succesful brands at Misano

• Yamaha – 6
• Honda – 5
• Ducati – 2

2020 MotoGP Calendar

MotoGP World Championship Points

Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Schedule

Source: MCNews.com.au