Rennie Scaysbrook | September 20, 2020
In a drama-packed race, Maverick Vinales notched his first win of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship at the 2020 Rimini MotoGP, staying the course when many challengers fell by the wayside.
Vinales qualified on pole and led the early laps before Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Ducati) charged through to take the lead, running a metronomic pace that had him on course for his first-ever MotoGP race win. Until seven laps from the finish.
Vinales kept his cool and finally came away with a win.
Coming into turn five, Bagnaia lost control of the Ducati early in the turn and slid into the gravel trap, capping off what was a bad day for the VR46 Academy with Valentino Rossi also crashing at turn four on lap three, remounting and finally retiring with 12 laps remaining.
Another crasher was Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM), who had made his way up to third place on lap two but threw it away at turn 14. He, too, remounted, only to crash terminally a few laps later at turn one.
Aleix Espargaro and Iker Lecuona were also crashers.
Jack Miller was a retiree, the Australian pulling into the pits with a mechanical gremlin that dealt his championship a huge blow.
Second in Misano was the brilliant Joan Mir. The Suzuki rider was fourth for much of the race before taking first Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM). Mir’s pace was equal to that of Vinales, but a low qualifying position once again held back his chances of victory.
Quartararo followed Mir past Espargaro late in the race but was handed a three second penalty for exceeding track limits, dropping him to fourth and handing a second KTM podium to Espargaro in third.
In the championship, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), eighth today, still leads on 84 points, one ahead of Quartararo and Vinales, with Mir fourth on 80 points.
2020 Rimini MotoGP Race
| 1 |
Maverick Vinales |
(Yam) |
41:55.846 |
| 2 |
Joan Mir |
(Suz) |
+2.425 |
| 3 |
Pol Espargaro |
(KTM) |
+4.528 |
| 4 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+6.419 |
| 5 |
Miguel Oliveira |
(KTM) |
+7.368 |
| 6 |
Takaaki Nakagami |
(Hon) |
+11.139 |
| 7 |
Alex Marquez |
(Hon) |
+11.929 |
| 8 |
Andrea Dovizioso |
(Duc) |
+13.113 |
| 9 |
Franco Morbidelli |
(Yam) |
+15.880 |
| 10 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Duc) |
+17.682 |
Moto2
Italtrans Racing Team’s Enea Bastianini clinched a vital victory in the Moto2 World Championship after rain heavily affected the Rimini Moto2 race. Red flags were brought out after just seven laps as the heavens opened but, from the restart, the ultra-aggressive Bastianini edged clear to take the win ahead of SKY Racing Team VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi and EG 0,0 Marc VDS’ Sam Lowes and in doing so cut Luca Marini’s title lead down to just five points.
Bastianini’s win closed the gap to Marini in the championship.
In the championship, Marini leads on 112 from Bastianini on 95 and Bezzecchi on 85.
2020 Rimini Moto2 Race
| 1 |
Enea Bastianini |
(Kal) |
9:50.709 |
| 2 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Kal) |
+ 0.720 |
| 3 |
Sam Lowes |
(Kal) |
+ 1.124 |
| 4 |
Luca Marini |
(Kal) |
+ 2.310 |
| 5 |
Marcel Schrötter |
(Kal) |
+ 4.123 |
| 6 |
Jake Dixon |
(Kal) |
+ 7.201 |
| 7 |
Jorge Navarro |
(Spe) |
+ 7.558 |
| 8 |
F. Di Giannantonio |
(Spe) |
+ 7.704 |
| 9 |
Tom Lüthi |
(Kal) |
+ 7.762 |
| 10 |
Hector Garzo |
(Kal) |
+ 8.249 |
Moto3
Sterilgarda Max Racing Team’s Romano Fenati won his first race since the 2019 Austrian GP after emerging victorious in another stunning Moto3 race. The Italian got the better of second-place Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) to make it an Italian 1-2 with Ai Ogura (Honda Team Asia) once again finishing on the podium to close down fourth place Albert Arenas (Gaviota Aspar Team Moto3) in the championship.
Fenati’s win was the first in Moto3 for Husqvarna.
Arenas leads the title on 119 from Ogura on 117 and John McPhee on 98.
2020 Rimini Moto3 Race
| 1 |
Romano Fenati |
(Hus) |
39:30.124 |
| 2 |
Celestino Vietti |
(Hon) |
+ 0.036 |
| 3 |
Ai Ogura |
(Hon) |
+ 0.121 |
| 4 |
Albert Arenas |
(KTM) |
+ 0.199 |
| 5 |
Jaume Masia |
(Hon) |
+ 0.280 |
| 6 |
Raul Fernandez |
(KTM) |
+ 0.439 |
| 7 |
Deniz Öncü |
(KTM) |
+ 0.678 |
| 8 |
Andrea Migno |
(KTM) |
+ 0.791 |
| 9 |
Kaito Toba |
(KTM) |
+ 0.939 |
| 10 |
John McPhee |
(Hon) |
+ 1.125 |
MotoE
Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) claimed his third Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli victory in two years in yet another dramatic FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup encounter. Completing the podium in Race 2 at Misano was Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) and Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) as former World Cup leader Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) is taken out on Lap 2.
Ferrari leads the title on 86 points to Aegerter’s 82 with Torres third on 79.
Ferrari’s win moved him into the championship lead.
2020 Rimini MotoE Results
| 1 |
Matteo Ferrari |
(Ene) |
12:11.053 |
| 2 |
Mattia Casadei |
(Ene) |
+ 0.996 |
| 3 |
Jordi Torres |
(Ene) |
+ 1.098 |
| 4 |
Niccolo Canepa |
(Ene) |
+ 3.907 |
| 5 |
Alessandro Zaccone |
(Ene) |
+ 4.619 |
| 6 |
Mike Di Meglio |
(Ene) |
+ 6.046 |
| 7 |
Eric Granado |
(Ene) |
+ 6.097 |
| 8 |
Alex de Angelis |
(Ene) |
+ 6.775 |
| 9 |
Alejandro Medina |
(Ene) |
+ 6.672* |
| 10 |
Xavi Cardelus |
(Ene) |
+ 7.042 |
*demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the last lap
2020 Rimini MotoGP Results—Saturday News
‘Unemployed Dovi’
You rather fancy as the season develops Andrea Dovizioso will slowly reveal more of the reasoning behind his decision to leave Ducati at the end of 2020. There were signs of his strained relationship with Claudio Domenicali on Thursday.
Still no word on Dovi’s 2021 future, but at least he has a sense of humor about it.
After the San Marino Grand Prix Ducati’s CEO sent out a tweet complimenting Francesco Bagnaia’s podium while at the same time criticizing Dovizioso’s repeated complaints of the Ducati’s turning deficiencies. “(Bagnaia’s) fantastic riding style, very off from the bike, helps a lot to be fast in cornering speed where we are often suffering.”
Asked for a reaction to this, Dovizioso simply stated: “I don’t think it’s a good idea for Domenicali to tweet on Twitter.”
The 34-year old then showed off his sense of humor on qualifying day. Leaving the garage in FP3, the text adorned across his lower back was not the usual ‘Undaunted Dovi’ but rather ‘Unemployed Dovi’, a reference to his situation in 2021. It was, he said, a consequence of a bet he made with friends.
“I was forced to put that because I bet with my friends. They said to me if you will be first in the championship after Misano 1, you have to put that on. And it happened. So I didn’t work that well to create that situation, because I finished seventh, but in the end, it happened and I had to put it on. If you bet something with your friends, you can’t go back. So, I was forced to, by my friends. But Fabio did it!”
Marini in the running for 2021 MotoGP seat?
Just when Ducati’s line up for 2021 appeared complete, a host of rumors linking Moto2 title leader Luca Marini to MotoGP emerged with some vigor on the eve of this grand prix.
Valentino Rossi was asked about the possibility of his younger half-brother joining him in the premier class next year. “We have spoken with Ducati to have the chance to arrive in MotoGP next year with Avintia,” he confirmed. “They also push for young riders, so if Luca is able to arrive in MotoGP and race with Ducati, it is very good for him.”
Ducati wants Marini for 2021, but don’t have anywhere to put him.
The only issue is space. Ducati has already signed Enea Bastianini for Esponsorama Racing for 2021. And Tito Rabat not only has a contract with that team for next year, but he brings in sponsorship that is crucial to the team’s survival.
It’s clear Ducati want Marini. But the team wants Rabat, currently, 20th in the World Championship, to remain for the financial benefits he brings. “They are burying me before I die,” said the Spaniard on Friday. “But you never know. Every day things change.”
Aprilia in the doldrums
Another home GP is close to passing without fanfare for Aprilia. Aleix Espargaro could qualify no higher than 16th six days on from a lowly 13th place finish at the San Marino Grand Prix. Wasn’t the 2020 RS-GP supposed to be a huge step up for the Noale factory?
It’s the same old story for Aprilia.
According to lead rider Espargaro it is. But it has one fatal flaw. “The bike is very good,” he said. “I’m happy with it and the set-up. I can stop the bike, I can have good corner speed and the traction is quite OK. But there is no engine at all. It’s the slowest engine in the grid in terms of acceleration and on this track you accelerate many times. I arrive very late in the braking and I can’t overtake them.
“I rode (in FP3) with the Suzuki, in FP4 behind my brother and the Aprilia is sincerely very, very good. It’s easy for me to follow them in the corners but the acceleration is really poor.”
MotoE
Dominque Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) emerged victorious from a last lap FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup battle in Race 1 at Misano. The Swiss rider beat title rivals Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) and Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) to the line, with Ferrari dropping one position to P3 after the race for exceeding track limits on the final lap.
2020 Rimini MotoE Results—Race One
| 1 |
Dominque Aegerter |
(Ene) |
|
| 2 |
Jordi Torres |
(Ene) |
+ 0.103 |
| 3 |
Matteo Ferrari |
(Ene) |
+ 0.075* |
| 4 |
Mattia Casadei |
(Ene) |
+ 2.531 |
| 5 |
Tommaso Marcon |
(Ene) |
+ 6.578 |
| 6 |
Niccolo Canepa |
(Ene) |
+ 7.695 |
| 7 |
Alejandro Medina |
(Ene) |
+ 8.277 |
| 8 |
Josh Hook |
(Ene) |
+ 8.336 |
| 9 |
Xavi Cardelus |
(Ene) |
+ 8.553 |
| 10 |
Alessandro Zaccone |
(Ene) |
+ 8.640 |
*One-place penalty
Saturday
For the third time in a row at Misano. Maverick Vinales took pole position in the MotoGP category with a new lap record of 1:31.077.
He’s the king of MotoGP Saturday’s right now, but can Vinales convert it into a race win?
The Monster Energy Yamaha rider actually looked set to start second on the grid as Pramac Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia was on a scorching, all-time best lap that would have seen in under the 1:31-second bracket, but he ran wide on the final corner and had his lap time canceled.
Vinales took the top spot ahead of Bagnaia’s teammate Jack Miller, who salvaged a front row start after having to come through the first qualifying session. Miller placed just ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), who completes the top three.
Fourth went to Pol Espargaro, the Red Bull KTM rider putting in a last-gasp lap that pushed Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha) off the top first two rows of the grid in seventh.
Bagnaia ended up in fifth, one place ahead of Espargaro’s teammate Brad Binder, in what has been a turn-around in form for the KTM factory.
Last week’s debut race winner, Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was eighth, the Italian feeling under the weather by battling stomach flu all week. Rounding out the top 10 are Ducati teamsters Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso.
2020 Rimini MotoGP Results—Q2
| 1 |
Maverick Vinales |
(Yam) |
1:31.077 |
| 2 |
Jack Miller |
(Duc) |
+ 0.076 |
| 3 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+ 0.145 |
| 4 |
Pol Espargaro |
(KTM) |
+ 0.231 |
| 5 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Duc) |
+ 0.236 |
| 6 |
Brad Binder |
(KTM) |
+ 0.312 |
| 7 |
Valentino Rossi |
(Yam) |
+ 0.359 |
| 8 |
Franco Morbidelli |
(Yam) |
+ 0.489 |
| 9 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Duc) |
+ 0.497 |
| 10 |
Andrea Dovizioso |
(Duc) |
+ 0.504 |
Moto2
A 1:35.271 for Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) handed the Italian a second consecutive pole position of the season as he leads teammate Marco Bezzecchi by 0.036 in Moto2 Q2. Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Xavi Vierge completed the front row, 0.348 off pole position.
Marini bagged another home GP pole position.
2020 Rimini Moto2 Results—Q2
| 1 |
Luca Marini |
(Kal) |
1:35.271 |
| 2 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Kal) |
+ 0.036 |
| 3 |
Xavi Vierge |
(Kal) |
+ 0.348 |
| 4 |
Sam Lowes |
(Kal) |
+ 0.469 |
| 5 |
Enea Bastianini |
(Kal) |
+ 0.518 |
| 6 |
Aron Canet |
(Spe) |
+ 0.532 |
| 7 |
Jake Dixon |
(Yam) |
+ 0.543 |
| 8 |
F. Di Giannantonio |
(Spe) |
+ 0.657 |
| 9 |
Jorge Navarro |
(Spe) |
+ 0.681 |
| 10 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Kal) |
+ 0.708 |
Moto3
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Raul Fernandez has clinched Moto3 pole position for the third time in 2020 but he left it late to get the job done at Misano. With just 30 seconds remaining on the clock, the Spaniard stole pole away from Tony Arbolino (Rivacold Snipers Team) with fellow Italian Andrea Migno (SKY Racing Team VR46) taking the final front row spot.
Another pole for youngster Fernandez.
2020 Rimini Moto3 Results—Q2
| 1 |
Raul Fernandez |
(KTM) |
1:41.705 |
| 2 |
Tony Arbolino |
(Hon) |
+ 0.088 |
| 3 |
Andrea Migno |
(KTM) |
+ 0.092 |
| 4 |
Albert Arenas |
(KTM) |
+ 0.146 |
| 5 |
Celestino Vietti |
(KTM) |
+ 0.168 |
| 6 |
Romano Fenati |
(Hus) |
+ 0.256 |
| 7 |
Kaito Toba |
(KTM) |
+ 0.258 |
| 8 |
Tatsuki Suzuki |
(Hon) |
+ 0.266 |
| 9 |
Jaume Masia |
(Hon) |
+ 0.339 |
| 10 |
Jeremy Alcoba |
(Hon) |
+ 0.424 |
2020 Rimini MotoGP Results—Friday News
Yamaha’s new parts of little use
Tuesday’s test at Misano offered factories the chance to test new parts ahead of the exhaustive run to the end of the year that sees riders race eight times in ten weekends. Yamaha had new parts for its riders to test, mainly a new, larger exhaust and a revamped carbon swingarm.
The new pipe might look flash, but it doesn’t do a lot.
Ultimately, however, the new parts offered no clear step forward to what the factory riders were using at the San Marino Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi explained, “Tuesday was an important test for us but unfortunately at the end we don’t find something that is clearly better. So we decided to work with the bike very similar to last week but with my team.”
Maverick Viñales, meanwhile, was completely lost on Friday, leading him to discard the new parts for the rest of the weekend. “On Tuesday everything was working, even if you put softer springs, harder springs, different swingarm, everything was working because there was grip on the track. So the bike was working well. But today without that kind of grip and on the race weekend where you have to push more, it seems complicated to use it. So I will go back to my standard bike and we will modify the front to try to understand how to gain grip in the front tire and how to improve the lap times.”
Honda claims another victim
First it was Marc Marquez. Then came Cal Crutchlow. On Friday the 2020 Honda RC213V claimed another victim with Marquez’s stand in Stefan Bradl withdrawing from the grand prix due to injury. The demands of the 2020 machine were such that HRC test rider was feeling numbness in his right hand. A small operation was performed on Tuesday to free up a nerve in his arm.
With Bradl out, things are looking very slim for HRC right now.
“In the little break between races in Austria I always had kind of a numb feeling when I woke up in the morning in these two fingers, but I didn’t think this was bad,” he explained. “So in the end, the process just kept going and I was coming here to this race last weekend, and I felt bad straight away from the beginning of the weekend, and during the race, I suffered a lot with a numb feeling and lost a little bit of feeling in the hand.
“We did a small surgery on Tuesday, just to clean and to shave and to give the nerve some more free play to work because it was pressed a little by the muscle. I’m not fully recovered from the surgery, my feeling is a little bit better, but I’m still a little bit blocked or not in a good shape to be riding the bike at 100%.”
Just two Honda riders remain on the grid.
Gardner on KTM’s radar
Remy Gardner has set his sights on winning the Moto2 World Championship in 2021 after it was confirmed the Australian would be moving at the end of this year to the Red Bull KTM Ajo squad, the outfit that propelled Johann Zarco, Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder to title challenges in the past.
Gardner is on the path to MotoGP, should his results next year with KTM warrant the move.
The 22-year old from Sydney also revealed to AMCN he has signed a deal with an option to step up to the MotoGP class in 2022 with KTM should performances next year be up to scratch. As well as highly influential team boss Aki Ajo, Gardner has an admirer in KTM Motorsports Director Pit Beirer. “I’m really pleased that Remy is coming under our umbrella,” the German said.
“There is definitely an option there with KTM to step up (to MotoGP),” Gardner revealed. “They said they really believe in me and that’s where they’d like to see me. But first the work has to be done in Moto2. We need to show some good results and not just have the MotoGP thing handed to me on a platter.”
Friday
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took Friday combined times honors for the 2020 Rimini MotoGP at Misano, thanks to a 1:31.628 in FP2. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu was 0.002 seconds behind the South African on an opening day at that saw the top five finish within a tenth of each other. Third place went the way of FP1 pacesetter Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), the 21-year-old 0.016 off the pace of Binder.
Binder sat behind Vinales to steal provisional pole at the end of Q2.
Fourth overall on combined times was the previous round pole sitter Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) from Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM), the top five all registering laps in the 1:31.6-second region.
2020 Rimini MotoGP Results—Friday combined
| 1 |
Brad Binder |
(KTM) |
1:31.628 |
| 2 |
Takaaki Nakagami |
(Hon) |
+ 0.002 |
| 3 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Yam) |
+ 0.016 |
| 4 |
Maverick Vinales |
(Yam) |
+ 0.041 |
| 5 |
Pol Espargaro |
(KTM) |
+ 0.071 |
| 6 |
Franco Morbidelli |
(Yam) |
+ 0.183 |
| 7 |
Joan Mir |
(Suz) |
+ 0.298 |
| 8 |
Miguel Oliveira |
(KTM) |
+ 0.337 |
| 9 |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Duc) |
+ 0.345 |
| 10 |
Johann Zarco |
(Duc) |
+ 0.444 |
Moto2
Last round’s winner Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Kalex) again set the fastest time in the Moto2 class, his 1:35.956 in the second session putting him on top in the combined times.
Marini is looking mighty comfortable at the front of Moto2 and went fastest again on Friday.
Marini headed Spaniard Aron Canet (Inde Aspar Team Moto2 Speed Up) and German Marcel Schrotter (Liqui Moly Intact GP Kalex).
Fourth went to Briton Sam Lowes (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex), with American Joe Roberts (Tennor American Racing Kalex) jumping up from 20th to fifth late in the session thanks to a 1:36.251.
2020 Rimini Moto2 Results—Friday combined
| 1 |
Luca Marini |
(Kal) |
1:35.956 |
| 2 |
Aron Canet |
(Spe) |
1:36.046 |
| 3 |
Marcel Schrotter |
(Kal) |
1:36.157 |
| 4 |
Sam Lowes |
(Kal) |
1:36.161 |
| 5 |
Joe Roberts |
(Kal) |
1:36.251 |
| 6 |
Enea Bastianini |
(Kal) |
1:36.262 |
| 7 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Kal) |
1:36.284 |
| 8 |
Xavi Vierge |
(Kal) |
1:36.317 |
| 9 |
Tom Luthi |
(Kal) |
1:36.433 |
| 10 |
Jorge Navarro |
(Spe) |
1:36.467 |
Moto3
Leopard Racing’s Jaume Masia set a new outright lap record in FP2 in the Moto3 class top to the combined times. With less than two minutes to go on the Free Practice 2 clock, the Spaniard put in a 1.41.663 to go one better than Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in FP1, breaking the previous lap record.
A new lap record for Masia (5) put him fastest on Friday.
It means Masia now tops the combined times in the lightweight class, with Fernandez just behind him as he continued his impressive work on Friday afternoon, despite highsiding at Turn 6 earlier in the session where he was fortunate to walk away unscathed.
Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) will hope to put last weekend’s disappointing early race retirement behind him and he showed encouraging signs in FP2, just three tenths of a second behind the pacesetter, a marked improvement from the morning session.
2020 Rimini Moto3 Results—Friday combined
| 1 |
Jaume Masia |
(Hon) |
1:41.663 |
| 2 |
Raul Fernandez |
(KTM) |
+ 0.299 |
| 3 |
Celestino Vietti |
(KTM) |
+ 0.320 |
| 4 |
Tatsuki Suzuki |
(Hon) |
+ 0.412 |
| 5 |
Andrea Migno |
(KTM) |
+ 0.426 |
| 6 |
Jeremy Alcoba |
(Hon) |
+ 0.463 |
| 7 |
Filip Salac |
(KTM) |
+ 0.470 |
| 8 |
Dennis Foggia |
(Hon) |
+ 0.489 |
| 9 |
Gabriel Rodrigo |
(Hon) |
+ 0.549 |
| 10 |
Stefano Nepa |
(KTM) |
+ 0.564 |
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