Barcelona Catalunya, Spain, and a legendary raceway for both two and four wheeled vehicles, is the site of the ninth race of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship. We are ready for launch. Stand by, as the green flag is waving. We are set for the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Catalunya, to give this motorcycle race it's official title. Revs up. Red lights, on. Red lights, out! Away we go! Franco Morbidelli has a good start while Valentino Rossi, the legend, bogs down on his Yamaha, bike #46. It's Morbidelli into the lead as we have 24 laps on the board in this race. Franco Morbidelli definitely got the hole shot and the Ducati riders, at least some of them, are mixing it up early already as well, look.
Morbidelli, meanwhile, leads into the first corner ahead of Jack Miller and Fabio Quartararo. It's the two Petronas SRT Yamaha YZR M1's split by the #43 Pramac Ducati Desmosedici GP20. To quote MotoGP color analyst Matt Birt, "Morbidelli absolutely smashed it right off the line", and jeepers creepers, did he ever! A spot of bother for Valentino Rossi, and Johann Zarco has gone down, and guess who he takes out? Our world championship leader, Andrea Dovizioso on the factory Ducati, it's game over! Unbelievable! Dovizioso came into this race with the championship lead, but it's all gone down the drain now. Dovizioso's lead is gone!
MotoGP in 2020 has been crazy! Dovizioso is fuming at Johann Zarco. Probably, some of the things he's saying to the Frenchman just cannot be repeated here. We are a family audience, folks. But, Dovizioso has every right to be angry about his championship going up in a plume of sand. Joan Mir on the Suzuki is bish bash boshing it and is up to fifth place as we speak! Zarco is supposed to sign with Pramac Ducati, one of the factory teams, for next year. I don't think he's considering pulling his pen out right now though. Zarco of course, is riding currently for the Reale Avintia Ducati satellite team headquartered in Spain.
Dovizioso, over and out, at the second corner on the race track. Points as of now (and these are not official, so, no, yours truly doesn't like them, but we must broadcast them anyway). We have Fabio Quartararo leading on 96 points, followed by Joan Mir five markers behind on 91. Third is Franco Morbidelli with 89 points, eleven behind the leader, and Maverick Vinales on 85. That's only 11 points among the top four riders in the world championship! Mama Mia! That's close! Morbidelli and Rossi are first and second. Miller, Quartararo, and Mir complete the top five. Alex Rins, too, is making his move early in this motorcycle race.
Rins is sixth, right ahead of Pol Espargaro. Andrea Dovizioso is walking back to the pits. He cannot believe what has just happened to him. Another quote from commentator Matt Birt. "He's gone from undaunted to unimpressed." He looks back at Johann Zarco, his rival, thinking, "dude, I ought to give you a piece of my mind!" Zarco must be equally upset. But, it's like the old phrase, "Johann, you got some 'splainin' to do!" Let's see what exactly happened headed into turn two.
Maverick Vinales, at first glance, got a horrible start. He didn't launch off the line correctly. But, closer inspection reveals that it's Danilo Petrucci, and Danilo Petrucci lost control of his factory Ducati and it made Zarco check up. All apologies to Johann Zarco. It was Danilo Petrucci who caused this melee. Petrucci is the rider of the sister Ducati factory bike. The top five, meanwhile, on lap four, have all cleared away from Johann Zarco. Franco Morbidelli leads Valentino Rossi and Fabio Quartararo followed by Jack Miller and Joan Mir.
Espargaro is in a battle with Alex Rins. Those two are running in the 1:40.9 range. Lap five, and soon, we will see the cream rise to the top when the tires begin to go away. Fabio Quartararo, the young charger, he is right in the slipstream of the multiple world champion. Quartararo holds on, beating Rossi into the corner. "The Doctor" gets a taste of his own medicine through the first turn. This is one of the few times since both Morbidelli and Quartararo arrived as team mates at Petronas Yamaha SRT, that they've actually raced each other, heads up.
In 2019, Fabio was faster than Franco. Meanwhile, Maverick Vinales on the factory Yamaha, the second factory Yamaha is trapped in 15th spot. He said on Saturday "it is very tough to overtake on the Yamaha", and unfortunately for Vinales, those words are ringing true. In replay, we watch Quartararo moving around Rossi, again, with ease. Rossi and Miller are staying right in the wheel tracks of the top three as it's early doors yet, and we are only on lap seven. Quartararo puts himself in the slipstream of Franco Morbidelli. Quartararo moves into the lead of this motorcycle race.
Lap nine, and will Morbidelli or Rossi respond? Will Quartararo begin whistling off into the distance? Manage the gap, and do this even when the tires begin to fall off, when they begin to lose whatever sweet spot they're in at the moment. Quartararo fell off his motorcycle in morning warmup here in Barcelona this morning. He does not want to repeat that mishap. Some smoke there, look, from Quartararo's rear tire. The tires are beginning to drop off a cliff, as there's a king size scrap for seventh spot between Danilo Petrucci on the factory Ducati and Pol Espargaro on the factory KTM.
Joan Mir on the Suzuki also needs to pick up the pace as we are a lap away from the halfway mark in this race. The gap is 3/10ths of a second between Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli. Then, it's five tenths between Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi. In the meantime, Cal Cruchlow is closing up on Aleix Espargaro. It's Crutchlow on the Castrol LCR Honda RC213V #35 vs. Aleix Espargaro aboard the factory Red Bull KTM RC16, bike #44.
We have Maverick Vinales lapping the circuit in the 1:41.3 bracket as well. We are now into the second half of this motorcycle race in Barcelona. Alex Rins has run the fastest lap so far but we do not know the lap time he registered. Oh dear! I hear that nasty sound of a motorcycle scraping along the pavement. Someone has gone down. Someone has ditched their bike. Pol Espargaro has crashed out of his home Grand Prix. So, that's one of the factory Red Bull KTM riders over and out. He just went around Danilo Petrucci but leans too hard into turn one and falls over, dropping the motorcycle.
Quartararo's rear tire may be giving out as Joan Mir is the shark and Jack Miller is definitely the minnow. He is being gobbled up by the Spaniard. Franco Morbidelli runs wide into turn one and almost goes down! He saves it! That was into the first corner, the same place where Pol Espargaro crashed as he was trying to go by Danilo Petrucci. Blimey! Morbidelli did a whale of a job to keep that motorcycle upright. Joan Mir is chasing Jack Miller. Also, give a call to Takaaki Nakagami. The Japanese rider is up to ninth place aboard his #30 Idemitsu sponsored LCR Honda RC213V.
With eight laps left on the board, on lap 16, Maverick Vinales is way down in 14th spot. Miller hangs on but another rider, as we can tell by a decelerating engine and scraping on the pavement, has hit the deck. It's "The Doctor"! Valentino Rossi is down and out! The dream is over of trying to win the 2020 MotoGP World Championship. Rossi is a seven time champion, including five straight titles. But, the dream of an eighth title will not materialize for "The Doctor" in 2020. His 200th podium also disappears as he is obviously shaken after falling off the motorcycle and into the gravel trap.
He's on the brakes itno turn one, the right hander, and he went to change direction and the front end of the motorcycle washes out. From there, Rossi is a passenger and gets pitched off the seat. The bike rumbles to a stop, on it's side, in the gravel trap. Game over for Rossi. Iker Lecuona is also down and out. The Spanish rider for Red Bull KTM Tech3 has actually crashed four times this weekend. It's been a pear shaped weekend for him all around and one to erase from his memory bank. Correction. Right nation, but wrong rider. That is Miguel Oliveira whose race has gone pear shaped. He's fallen off the sister Tech3 KTM, bike #88.
Tire temperatures are on a knife edge and the two turns we've seen here today in Barcelona that are "calamity corner(s)" have been turn two and turn five. Alex Rins, meanwhile, is pouring on the steam, making inroads on Jack Miller. Miller is very close to putting his Ducati on the podium. Two laps left in this motorcycle race now, as we see Joan Mir in the slipstream of Franco Morbidelli. Morbidelli tries to defend, but it ain't workin'. He's having to give way to the Suzuki man. Alex Rins is also all over Morbidelli like el cheapo suito here. The Suzuki's have a late turn of speed here in Barcelona.
Tire durability is paramount and the Suzuki boys are very good at nursing tires because their motorcycles are easy on the Michelin rubber. They just don't overexert their tires. Suzuki can get the durability out of their tires. Now, Franco Morbidelli could be on for a podium. Points as they run, sees Fabio Quartararo extending his lead by eight points over Joan Mir, 108-100. Third spot belongs to Maverick Vinales, 19 markers behind on 89 points, and in fourth place, Andrea Dovizioso will have to dig himself out of a hole. He's 24 points behind Quartararo with 84. Morbidelli is desperate to hang onto the podium.
It's the final lap. Lap 24. Half a lap remains here at Barcelona. Fabio Quartararo is desperate for the checkered flag. He has fallen off a bit. The virtual fan wall, is here, as fans watrch from home. Fabio Quartararo won his first Grand Prix two years ago and got his first podium a year ago. Fabio Quartararo wins at Catalunya ahead of the Suzuki's of Mir and Rins. Morbidelli will be gutted, losing a podium. Quartararo wins ahead of Joan Mir and Alex Rins. Morbidelli is fourth. Jack Miller completes the top five. Sixth through tenth sees Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia, followed by Takaaki Nakagami, Danilo Petrucci, Maverick Vinales, and Cal Crutchlow.
#20 Fabio Quartararo FRA. Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha YZR M1
Two weeks from now, it's the French motorcycle Grand Prix from Le Mans, France, and the Bugatti circuit for motorcycles. We'll see you there for more MotoGP racing as the we are into the second half of this truncated 2020 MotoGP season. Adios, from Barcelona.
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