Aleix Espargaro sets the fastest ever lap of Portimão on Day 1

Aprilia reign the first day of action on the Algarve as MotoGP™ gets a taste of the rollercoaster

Wednesday, 07 October 2020

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro set the fastest ever lap – on two wheels – of the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on Day 1 of testing, the Spaniard’s impressive 1:40.170 under Jonathan Rea’s fastest WorldSBK Superpole record, which was a 1:40.372 set in 2019. Aleix Espargaro wasted no time in getting down to very respectable lap times on the opening day as he and teammate Bradley Smith were the only current full-time MotoGP™ riders lapping on their premier class machines – concession rules allowing Aprilia to do so – and Smith was second quickest but a second down.

For the rest of the current MotoGP™ riders present, it was street machinery and track familiarisation, with factory test riders taking on the task of starting to dial in each machine ready for November. The general feeling from most? A tough track, but a great circuit. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) said the circuit was “sweet” but “scary”, and teammate Maverick Viñales particularly liked the fast, flowing final corner. Second in the Championship Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) said the wheelies will be a challenge on MotoGP™ bikes. Many said point blank that they expect Yamaha to start the race weekend as favourites, with the track seemingly suiting the YZR-M1’s characteristics….

On the other hand, the Ducati riders seemed a little more reserved about tackling the venue on their MotoGP™ machinery. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team), Pecco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing), Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) and Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing) all attacked the layout on superbikes as they focused on familiarisation, with test rider Michele Pirro putting in the laps on the GP20 to get the Borgo Panigale factory some data for the Portuguese Grand Prix. Pirro’s fastest time on Wednesday was a 1:41.654.

Back at the now-anointed “favourites” Yamaha, Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Franco Morbidelli was also on track alongside the aforementioned Viñales and Rossi, meaning Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was the only Yamaha absentee on Wednesday as the Championship leader focuses on his upcoming home GP. Viñales’ R1 superbike was only one of three street machines fitted with transponders, with his 1:43.699 enough to see him end the day over a second quicker than the other two whose laptimes we know: Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), respectively. Viñales completed 41 laps in the afternoon session.

Also on Yamaha business was test rider Jorge Lorenzo, who enjoyed his first time on a MotoGP™ bike for the first time since February’s Sepang Test. The five-time World Champion set a best time of a 1:44.910 as he got reacquainted with the Yamaha and ‘The Spartan’ will be back on track on Thursday to continue his and Yamaha’s work on tyres, the gearbox and general base settings for the Grand Prix at the venue,

KTM’s Dani Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Pirro, Suzuki’s Sylvain Guintoli and Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori will be lapping Portimao on Thursday as the respective factory test riders continue to gather useful data, with everyone else heading to Le Mans for the French GP. Quartararo, Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) were the only full-time riders not in attendance at the Algarve layout, but we’ll see them all in action this weekend at Le Mans!

More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:

FACTORY YAMAHA RIDERS COMPLETE PORTIMÃO MOTOGP OFFICIAL TEST DAY

Portimão (Portugal), 7th October 2020

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were like kids in a candy store today at the Portimão MotoGP Official Test. The pair had a blast riding YZF-R1 bikes to get familiar with the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP test rider Jorge Lorenzo also attended today‘s sessions, riding the YZR-M1. His mission is to collect valuable MotoGP data ahead of the Grande Prémio de Portugal, held from 20 – 22 November.

Today‘s Portimão MotoGP Official Test was a special outing for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi. Both riding Yamaha YZF-R1s, the team-mates used two sessions from 09:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:00 to get familiar with the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.

Their main goal today was to get acquainted with the unique lay-out of the Portuguese track, ahead of the Grande Prémio de Portugal, the final round of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship, held from 20-22 November. The circuit has 15 corners overall (nine right, six left) and is characterised by many elevation changes and is therefore often referred to as a ’high-speed roller coaster‘, which is both thrilling for the riders and a technical challenge for the mechanics.

Today the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP duo were joined on track by Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team‘s Jorge Lorenzo, who was riding the YZR-M1. His mission is to collect MotoGP data for the Factory Team, so they can hit the ground running when they start the final MotoGP round on 20 November 2020.

Lorenzo will continue his testing programme tomorrow on the second day of the Portimão MotoGP Official Test, whilst Viñales and Rossi will now travel to Le Mans for the Grand Prix de France, held this weekend.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

The track is different from what we are used to, because of the changes in elevation, and most of the corners have blind entries. But overall I felt really good. It‘s the kind of track that I like, because you need a lot of flow and corner speed. I already had a good feeling with my standard street bike and I think it will be even better when I‘ll ride with the MotoGP bike, I’ll be even faster. The track looks amazing and it‘s a lot of fun to ride. The biggest challenge here are wheelies. We will have to work hard on this because there‘s a lot of changes in elevation and we need front contact, so we will have to change the bike a bit, for sure. The last corner here is amazing, I love it. I expected the track to be longer, it‘s actually quite short, but I like it.

VALENTINO ROSSI

Riding here is very interesting, because the track is beautiful and technically quite difficult. It‘s a very strange track because of the many elevation changes. But it‘s beautiful and the asphalt is good, it has good grip. You can enjoy it a lot when you‘re riding here. It looked more difficult on television, a bit more tricky, but in real life it‘s good. There are three or four points that are a bit scary, because you have big jumps. It will be difficult to keep a MotoGP bike in contact with the ground there, but in general it‘s a very sweet track to ride, so I like it. It was also a good day for a test here, because we had good conditions, which is important when you‘re getting familiar with a new track.

JORGE LORENZO

YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEST RIDER

Of course it’s not easy to start riding a MotoGP bike again after a nine-month break. Tomorrow we are going to play with the settings some more to see if we can improve and make a big step. The track is wonderful. It’s unique, compared to other tracks it has a lot of elevation changes, and that’s a lot of fun to ride. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a good feeling, and we can get more work done.

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Marquez and Bradl complete first day in Portimao

Stefan Bradl was joined by Alex Marquez in Portugal for the first MotoGP test at the Portimao circuit, both riders familiarizing themselves with the new track.

The Algarve International Circuit will debut on the 2020 MotoGP World Championship calendar as the final round of the series, November 20 to 22. Ahead of its debut, MotoGP test riders are running across two days to sample the new circuit on MotoGP machines. Stefan Bradl has previous experience of the track, having raced the Honda CBR1000RR in World Superbikes there in 2017 but today offered a first chance to ride the Honda RC213V at the Portuguese venue. The test provided Bradl a chance to refresh his memory of the track and begin to work on finding a base setting for the RC213V ahead of the season finale. Stefan ended the day with a best time of 1’41.726.

Alex Marquez joined Bradl on track, riding the Honda RC213V-S, to familiarize himself with the layout of the demanding circuit. The laps completed by Alex will help to give the rookie an initial direction to follow with bike setup and allow him to spend more time refining the setting of his Repsol Honda RC213V when the race weekend begins. After enjoying the dramatic elevation changes and a roller coaster layout of the track, Alex now turns his attention back to racing.

Bradl will spend another day with the RC213V at the Portuguese track before heading to Le Mans for round 10 of the MotoGP World Championship. Alex is already on his way to Le Mans, motivated to continue adapting to the MotoGP class.

Alex Marquez

“It was a good day, good weather at a nice track with a good layout and new tarmac – it was nice to try it. The Honda RC213V-S was really nice to ride, everything was nice! The layout is quite difficult, but I think the rider will be able to make a lot of difference here. I’m looking forward to returning here on the MotoGP bike at the end of the year, I think it will be an interesting race. But right now, my attention is back fully on Le Mans.”
Stefan Bradl

“It was a great day today with the weather, pretty much perfect conditions. We followed our test plan after the track condition improved. This was an advantage to having a lot of riders there, the circuit was cleaned quite fast. The circuit is a great challenge, but you can really enjoy it with a MotoGP bike, the elevation changes are great. We were fast and completed our test plan for today and have a few runs tomorrow before heading to Le Mans.”

The Ducati Team is ready to resume action this weekend at Le Mans for the French GP

The ninth round of the 2020 MotoGP season will be held this weekend on the historic Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, which, unlike in recent years, will host the French GP in October.

The French track, which is present on the calendar continuously since 2000, is known thanks to the famous car race of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, that it uses only a small part of the track on which MotoGP competes. After Sachsenring (Germany) and Valencia (Spain) Le Mans is the shortest circuit in the calendar and even its straight, of only 450 meters, is one of the shortest in the championship.

Following a challenging weekend at Montmeló, where an accident in the race forced him to retire after only two corners, Andrea Dovizioso is determined to redeem himself in France. On the Trans-Alpine track, the rider from Forlì has always finished in the top five with Ducati, achieving his best result last year, with a second-place on the podium.

Danilo Petrucci also has excellent memories of the French track, where he finished on the podium in the last two editions of the Grand Prix. In 2018 he took the second place with the Desmosedici GP bike of the Pramac Racing Team, while last year he finished third behind Dovizioso, taking his first podium of the season.

After the first eight events of the 2020 season, Dovizioso is fourth in the overall standings, while Petrucci occupies the fourteenth position. Ducati is second in the manufacturers’ standings with 126 points, while the Ducati Team occupies fourth place in the teams’ classification.

Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 4th (84 points)

“After the frustrating race at Montmeló, it was definitely good to have a week to recover not only physically, but also mentally. I am eager to get back on track at Le Mans, for two main reasons: first of all, I hope to finally redeem myself after the disappointment of the last race. Moreover, we will race on a track of which I have good memories from last year. I try to see every GP as a new opportunity, confident that I can be competitive again. At Le Mans, we will have to deal with the uncertain weather, a factor that will certainly affect the weekend a lot. In any case, we are ready to fight to the end.”

Danilo Petrucci (#9 Ducati Team) – 14th (39 points)

“In the last two races we have managed to improve our performance, but I think there is still room for improvement. Every Grand Prix is different, and Le Mans is a unique track, where last year we managed to get a double podium with Andrea. The low temperatures and the rain, which will probably disturb us over the weekend, are two factors that will affect the Grand Prix and besides, it will be the first time that we race on this track in October. Once again, it will be crucial to be able to qualify well to fight for a satisfactory result in the race.”

Before taking to the track on Friday, 9th October, starting from 9:55 local time (GMT +2.00) for the first free practices of Le Mans, on Wednesday 7th October Dovizioso and Petrucci will be at the Autodromo do Algarve in Portimao aboard two Ducati Superleggera V4 bikes, to familiarise themselves with the Portuguese track that will host the last race of the season on 29th November.

TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR READY TO LIGHT UP LE MANS

After a triple-header of races which saw Team Suzuki Ecstar rocket up the rankings, culminating in a superb double podium last time out in Catalunya, the MotoGP paddock now moves on to a classic track in the form of Le Mans in France.

Built in 1965 around the famous 24hrs circuit, the current layout of Le Mans – known as the Bugatti circuit – is a challenging one. Tight and twisty with low-speed corners, those who are able to be late on the brakes and early on the throttle tend to do well. Usually held in May, this year’s race in early October will prove extra challenging with low temperatures and rain expected to feature on the agenda.

Joan Mir heads to France on a high after a run of three podium finishes which puts him second in the championship – just eight points from the title lead. Le Mans has been a happy hunting ground for the Mallorcan rider in previous years, as he took victory there in 2017 and second place in 2018.

Alex Rins enjoyed a much needed boost when he was back on the podium last time out in Barcelona and although Le Mans hasn’t been a favoured track for him in the past, with this year’s well-balanced GSX-RR he is feeling confident of a good result.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager:

“The double podium we achieved with our riders in Catalunya was fantastic for all the team and a nice reward for the hard work of everyone involved in this project. Alex and Joan are feeling confident with their bikes and they are on a good path, which is a positive thing when arriving at such a demanding track as Le Mans. The GSX-RR is a well-balanced bike that has improved a lot as well, we saw it already at some other races where on paper we were perhaps expecting to struggle a bit and in the end we could fight in the top positions. Hopefully Le Mans will be another similar one with a positive result, although we must take the weather into consideration as it usually plays a big part in France.”

Joan Mir:

“My mind at the moment is focused only on continuing getting the best positions I can and trying to build points. I’m really pleased with how the last few weeks have gone, and Le Mans is a track I quite like, although with the weather it could be tough for everyone this year! I’m ready to get back on track and see what we can do.”

Alex Rins:

“Getting a podium last time out at my home race was such a great feeling, and I’m certainly aiming to stand on the box again as soon as possible. Le Mans is not the best track for me, but my GSX-RR feels good in almost every circuit this year so I’m keen to get riding and see what’s possible.”

Press Conference kicks off the Portimão Test

Lorenzo, Pirro, Guintoli, Pedrosa, Bradl and Savadori talk to the media ahead of MotoGP™’s first taste of the Portuguese venue

Tuesday, 06 October 2020

The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve will host the 2020 FIM MotoGP™ World Championship season finale, so to gather some data and provide a little experience of the new track ahead of its debut, a two-day test of the venue is taking place on Wednesday and Thursday.

The factories are represented at the test by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), Michele Pirro (Ducati), Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki), Dani Pedrosa (KTM), Stefan Bradl (Honda) and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia), and on Wednesday a number of current MotoGP™ riders will also be on track on street machinery in order to familiarise themselves with the venue. Aprilia Racing Team Gresini riders Aleix Espargaro and teammate Bradley Smith will also test on Wednesday.

Riders on street machinery on Day 1:

Joan Mir and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar)

Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP)

Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team)

Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing)

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu)

Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3)

Brad Binder and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)

Johann Zarco and Tito Rabat (Esponsorama Racing)

Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)

Before we take to the track, however, a Press Conference set proceedings in gear as the test riders sat down to answer some questions from the media. Here are a few highlights, from the venue in question to the incredibly tight fight for the 2020 crown and more:

Jorge Lorenzo: “I’m really excited to come back again to ride the Yamaha M1, because it’s been nine months, almost a year without riding and I’ve never been so long without riding, so for sure it will be quite difficult to adapt again to these speeds and bikes! But we have two days on a new track, that’s also important because it’s not only new but also especially with the up and down here, it’ll be important not to make silly mistakes at the beginning, do kilometres and try to give maximum information to Yamaha for the official riders.

“If I understand well, we’ll be on the same bike as Sepang, we weren’t able to bring the new bike so we’ll use this test especially to get the best gear box for the official riders and to test the tyres, to understand in these conditions with this tarmac, which are the best for time attack and race distance. This is the main target, and probably also to play a bit with the set up, I will have the 2019 bike and the setup is a bit different so that’s a little less important than gear box and tyres.

“It’s a very tough Championship, very equal, now Joan Mir and Fabio opened a little gap to the others but till the last race there were 4 riders, 6 or 7 with real options for fighting for the title. Now looks like the strongest will be Fabio and Joan. It’s interesting as there are a few races to the end and I’m having a lot of fun watching the races on TV!”

Michele Pirro: “I’m curious to try the track with a MotoGP bike because before I was on a 600 Supersport machine ten year ago. It’s a beautiful track but I don’t know with MotoGP. I’m curious because MotoGP is very fast. And anyway, this circuit is up and down. Tomorrow and Thursday I’m curious to try and help the official riders have a good base for the race with the gearbox, tyres and new asphalt… and to try the bike here!

“It depends on the view, for Bagania the tyre helps a lot. For Dovi, it’s the opposite. This is the problem at the moment, this new Michelin tyre is difficult to understand especially for Dovi because Dovi is very fast in the braking, at the moment it’s impossible to use this weapon to go fast. Pecco last year had a very difficult time because the tyre didn’t help in braking but at the moment Pecco uses the bike very well, like Jack, and Dovi struggles but the championship isn’t over and we continue to do work to go fast every race and it’s possible to still battle for the Championship.”

Sylvain Guintoli: “It’s a great track here, I’ve been here quite a few times with WorldSBK and it’s one of the best tracks, really, really nice. I’m looking forward to experiencing the new track surface because that was the only problem before, it was quite bumpy. Now hopefully this is better, so it’s a great track and I think it will be a good track for us with the flowing line. I think the riders will have a lot of fun here, it’s like a rollercoaster. It’s really nice to ride, lots of blind spots, fast, very interesting track; very technical.

“It’s difficult to predict MotoGP this year! It’s been unbelievable so far, and the Suzukis are doing great! Alex unfortunately was badly injured and he was very brave at the start of the season but it took him some time to get going, and Joan is now is a real force in the Championship. For us it’s going really good. It would be great to get a victory but I think that’s coming soon. So it’s a very exciting time because it’s so tight, everyone can have a chance, and I think it’s going to be an exciting end of the season.

“I think the Suzuki is a very, very good bike this year. It was good already but this year with the new chassis and engine we’ve made another step forward so the bike is now very good at many different tracks – even in Austria which on paper was supposed to be the worst track, it was very good there; performed really well. With the flowing line 100% we’ll have a small deficit in engine power so when we use high gears especially, we’ll have a small disadvantage there and we understand that, but the bike has qualities that are able to shine, and this year the new tyre seems to gel really well with our bike as well. All that together plus Alex and Joan being very strong riders as well, it’s really exciting for us. The bike looks good and not just in pictures! On the track it’s really fast.”

Dani Pedrosa: “It’s my first time here, of course the key tomorrow is try to learn the track, get a bit of feeling on the corners and how to learn the blind spots of this track cause there is a lot of elevation change, in many points you won’t see the corners, so you learn how to approach them and where to brake etc, you need some laps. At the same time we’ll be trying the tyres and we have some different tyres, today and the race in November will be different conditions but we have to try different tyres. See the speeds, to sort the gear box and get the feeling on the first day… and from there, reset again for the second day!

“I think KTM is very happy with the progress from last year, it was really positive to see the step. The key I think it’s a more settled package on the bike, a little more confidence with the bike for the riders and also the championship is… one race you can be on top and the next struggling, this also affects the results for everyone. So far it’s good for KTM, this step from last year, and I see that maybe now the Championship will be more stable towards the end, so let’s see how it’ll look at the end…

“Every race we see a lot of change in the performance of the riders and bikes, I think from now on it’ll be a bit more stable especially the guys who see their chance closer to finish well. Maybe from now on we can guess the results a bit more. So far it’s been so unpredictable that it’s hard to say!”

Stefan Bradl: “2020 is busy so far! I’m fine again after small surgery, I’m back to a good level and feeling good, and ready for this test! But I think I won’t have the chance to do two full days because I have to travel to France and arrive in time for FP1.

“I think it will be the same as the others adapting – getting first impressions tomorrow, fundamental things first and there will be a lot we need for the gearbox, electronics and tyres, it’s not going to be things to test even if we wanted to use it. But trying to – like the others said – step by step get the first information, this is true. The Honda isn’t the easiest bike at the moment, and all manufacturers are competitive and even hundredths can make a big difference. We’re not so far so small things can make a big difference.”

Lorenzo Savadori: “This bike has improved a lot, it’s a step forward compared to the old one but we need to do more kilometers. The bike is completely different and a very good step forward.

“Aleix is a very fast rider and knows very well what we need in the bike, and Aprilia works hard every day to try and help him and Bradley. Step by step we’ve started to improve the level of the bike but we need a little bit more time.

“I rode here two years ago with WorldSBK, I like the track a lot and can’t wait to try it on a MotoGP bike. I think the bike has a good engine and is good mid corner. I think Aprilia have made a good step and we need to try and make the best of that here.”

Stay tuned for more over the next two days as MotoGP™ gets out on track in Portugal for the first time since 2012.

PETRONAS Yamaha SRT head to Quartararo’s home GP

MotoGP riders Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli tackle French GP this weekend

PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s riders Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli are motivated to continue their 2020 MotoGP success this weekend, as they tackle Quartararo’s home race: the Grand Prix de France, held at Le Mans – the first event in the penultimate triple-header of the season.

Home-hero Quartararo, who will be able to enjoy the sight of a few lucky fans in grandstands, heads into the ninth race of the season with increased confidence, after winning last time out and moving himself back into the lead of the riders’ championship. Although he didn’t manage a podium finish at home last year, he did set the fastest lap around the 4.2km long circuit. This year, Fabio will be hoping to become the first Frenchman in premier class history to stand on the top step of the podium at the Le Mans circuit.

Team-mate Morbidelli will also be hoping to maintain the good form from Barcelona, after taking his maiden MotoGP pole position at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Italian has a history of good results at Le Mans; claiming his first world championship top-ten finish there in 2014 and a Moto2 win in 2017, and will be looking to add another great result to the tally this weekend.

Track action will begin for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT, the current leaders in the teams’ championship, at 9.55am local time (3.55pm MYT) on Friday. The 27-lap MotoGP race will get underway on Sunday at the slightly earlier time of 1pm local time (7pm MYT).

Fabio Quartararo

I’m really happy to be able to have a home GP this year and it’s a special feeling to go there as championship leader. Le Mans is a track that I really like. It is going to be important for us to fight for the victory and score as many points as possible. Normally it is a track that I do well at, I did finish eighth there last year but it was a really fast-paced race and I’m hoping to continue the good form from the Barcelona weekend. I just hope the fans that are allowed to come bring warm conditions with them because it is quite cold at the moment! I’m just really happy to have a home GP, as there are not a lot of races this year.

Franco Morbidelli

Le Mans is a good track and I like it a lot. It’s a track that I have had some decent races there past and had some strong results: I had my first top-ten finish in 2014 and I won there in 2017. I’m feeling great, both physically and mentally, so I’m in a good shape to go into these next races. With this third triple-header we start the second half of the 2020 season, my best MotoGP season so far. Now, I’m looking forward to being back racing again after this very small break, we will try to be fast again and I’m ready to see what we can do in Le Mans, before we go to Aragon.