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Joan Mir, Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales and Álex Rins, four riders for a generational change in MotoGP
Joan Mir, Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales and Álex Rins, four riders for a generational change in MotoGP

Video: Joan Mir, Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales and Álex Rins, four riders for a generational change in MotoGP

Video: Joan Mir, Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales and Álex Rins, four riders for a generational change in MotoGP
Video: MotoGP™ Full Race | 2019 #ThaiGP 🇹🇭 2024, March
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The next time MotoGP takes to the track it will already be in free practice for the Qatar Grand Prix. The preseason ended in Losail with a very accentuated change of cycle sensations. Suzuki and Yamaha suddenly seem to be at the front of the grid, while Ducati and Honda have been in a nobody's zone.

The new Michelin tires have taken a radical turn on the grid. Now the dominant paradigm is cornering, not acceleration and top speed, so Suzuki and Yamaha have come out stronger. Still, we are facing the least important preseason in history. It is difficult to extrapolate what is happening in February to what may happen in eight months in Cheste.

Suzuki's second virtual victory in preseason

Rins Qatar Motogp 2020
Rins Qatar Motogp 2020

But right now things are as they are. If in Sepang it was Álex Rins who had a devastating race pace, in Losail has been his teammate, Joan Mir. Be careful with the former Moto3 champion because he has been very seriously uncovered in Qatar, perhaps spurred on by Rins's statements in which he said he was not a strong teammate.

If this weekend a race had been held in Losail, Joan Mir would have been the winner. It is what is obtained by analyzing the rhythms of the race. The Spanish rider does not even admit comparison with his rivals, he has been as overwhelming as Rins was in Sepang. Be careful, because we are facing Suzuki's second virtual victory. Now the real ones are missing.

Vinales Qatar Motogp 2020
Vinales Qatar Motogp 2020

The only one with a rhythm comparable to Mir in Losail has been Fabio Quartararo. The Petronas driver has not looked as good as other times on a lap, but in return he has strengthened one of his weak points in 2019: the pace of the race. Quartararo has been relatively close to Mir and consistently ahead of the rest of the Yamaha. We could award you second place.

And from behind, a fierce fight between Maverick Viñales and Álex Rins for third place. The leading theorists at Yamaha and Suzuki have been more discreet at Losail, but that doesn't mean anything. When push comes to shove, hopefully these two will step up and the battle will get even tighter.

Quartararo Qatar Motogp 2020
Quartararo Qatar Motogp 2020

With which, we are left with an exciting panorama for the Qatar Grand Prix. There are four drivers who are indisputably in a position to fight for victory. Mir, Quartararo, Viñales and Rins, for the moment in this order, are the big favorites for victory. A new generation ready to break through.

Franco Morbidelli could be added to this quartet, although his race pace has already been a little further. Even so, the Italian was the seventh best and his fastest lap was brilliant, about to end the preseason with the best time in the tests. With these five pilots the chapter of those who have no doubts after the preseason could be closed.

The pace of Valentino Rossi is very poor, very far from the other Yamaha

Rossi Qatar Motogp 2020
Rossi Qatar Motogp 2020

Five riders who together have not even ten MotoGP victories. Where are the big names in the category then? Well back and with problems. To close the Yamaha chapter, we will start with Valentino Rossi. Something strange is happening to 'Il Dottore'. He insists that he continues with the grip problems of 2019, although it is clear that none of his teammates suffer from them.

He finished the tests with a very ugly crash from the front, but the most worrying thing is that his times are not at all flattering, neither in fast lap nor, of course, in race pace. In fact there Rossi is in the stratosphere. It's not that it's far from the other Yamaha, it's that he has no rhythm even to be in the chasing group. At least for the moment.

Dovizioso Qatar Motogp 2020
Dovizioso Qatar Motogp 2020

At Ducati they don't have them all with them either. They are testing the 'holeshot' already throughout the lap, and it seems that it helps them, but it is not enough. Only the rhythm of Danilo Petrucci gives him a halo of hope, but the Desmosedici GP20 at the moment is very far on a circuit that is conducive to it.

Jack Miller was quite fast on one lap, but his pace was lousy, and Andrea Dovizioso is in no-man's-land. Yes, the world runner-up is a racing driver so hopefully he can do on Grand Prix Sunday what Petrucci is doing now, but If even in Losail times are easy for Ducati, bad business.

Marc Márquez improved at the last minute … with the 2019 Honda

Marquez Qatar Motogp 2020
Marquez Qatar Motogp 2020

A separate case is the Honda issue. Marc Márquez dedicated the last day of testing to testing a hybrid motorcycle with parts from 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. And it is not even ruled out to advance something from 2021. The fact is that such a desperate measure seems to have helped the team. At least now they know where the problem of the 2020 motorcycle is, in the cycle part.

What's more, Marquez's pace wasn't that bad under the circumstances. In fact it was the fifth best, practically tied with Morbidelli. Yes, far from the fastest four, but ahead, for example, of Andrea Dovizioso, who has been his great rival in recent years. And that with shoulder problems, with a hybrid motorcycle and on a circuit that, according to Márquez, does not suit Honda.

Crutchlow Qatar Motogp 2020
Crutchlow Qatar Motogp 2020

But let the adventures of a genius like Márquez not prevent us from seeing reality. The Honda is still a mess. Álex Márquez and Cal Crutchlow are unable to pilot it. The two pilots, with proven talent, have always been among the worst five in each of the sessions. The 2020 bike is intractable.

The proof of this is that with the 2019 Márquez he has returned to be very stable, even with shoulder problems, and Takaaki Nakagami has been constantly setting Honda's best times. Yesterday the champion stole the bike from the Japanese for much of the day, but Nakagami still managed to finish eighth. And his running pace is acceptable.

Braking to the illusions of Aprilia and KTM

Espargaro Qatar Motogp 2020
Espargaro Qatar Motogp 2020

Losail has been a major slowdown in the aspirations of the two brands that were most excited after the Sepang tests. Aprilia and KTM have returned to harsh reality, although the Italians console themselves with the acceptable rhythm of Aleix Espargaró. But nothing on podiums, the fight will be to be in the top ten.

What's more, at Aprilia they have a problem with Bradley Smith. The Brit is incapable of being competitive with the RS-GP 2020. He was last in all sessions. Right now Aprilia needs Andrea Iannone whatever. As for KTM, right now they seem the worst, both in pace and speed on a lap. At least Brad Binder took a turn that will give him confidence.

Michelin tires have only compounded recurring woes at Honda and Ducati

Rins Marquez Qatar Motogp 2020
Rins Marquez Qatar Motogp 2020

It seems that 2020 could mean a change of cycle in MotoGP. Not because Marc Márquez is not going to win, because obviously he is still the favorite, but in general the panorama and the colors can change a lot. Ducati's project with the Desmosedici is in serious danger of running out, while Suzuki aspires to take its place.

As a backdrop, the much vaunted Michelin tire change. Now everything is justified with the tires, but the most honest, once again, was Alberto Puig when he came out to take stock of the Honda disaster: "They have done a good job because it has more grip and that is what we all asked for. Now we have to adapt"said the Spanish.

Lecuona Qatar Motogp 2020
Lecuona Qatar Motogp 2020

Because yes, it is clear that Michelin tires harm Ducati and Honda, but it is also true that the Desmosedici project of the Italians had already been overtaken in the second half of 2019 by Yamaha, and with other tires. And Michelin cannot be blamed for the fact that no one except Marc Márquez can drive the Honda.. They are only recurring ills that have been aggravated.

Now all the tests are done and the next thing will be live fire. The most important is not giving more importance than it deserves to a fifteen-day preseason which precedes the longest season in history, with its 20 races and almost eight months to go. It will be there, in the evolution and the constancy, where it is decided who will be the MotoGP world champion in 2020.

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