The MotoGP paddock had a rude awakening to the risks that coronavirus can pose in the 2020 season, not only to personal health but to the hopes of a championship, after the news on Thursday that Moto2 title fighter Jorge Martin would sit out this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix after testing positive, despite being asymptomatic for the coronavirus.
With an intense period of nine races in eleven weeks kicking off this weekend at Misano, the paddock’s top riders have admitted that the news has come as an additional alarm bell as they prepare themselves for racing.
“We’ve known since we started that one of the main things to enter the paddock is to be COVID-19 negative,” Styrian Grand Prix winner Miguel Oliveira told The Race.
“If we’re positive we can’t do our jobs and that’s the last thing we want.
“We know the virus is highly contagious and that is the main aspect of it. We can only come out of this pandemic situation when we find a vaccine, and in the meantime we have to be responsible and to do our part not only as a paddock but as members of society.”
That was echoed by championship leader Fabio Quartararo, who admitted that the current calendar means they have to be more careful than ever.
“I’m taking it really seriously and we need to be really careful, because the situation we’re in right now makes it even more important,” he said.
“For the safety of ourselves and those around us, we will not take any risk.”
While the vast majority of riders are taking exceptional precautions to limit their contact with others and to reduce their risk, Aleix Espargaro was also quick to point out that the past few months have highlighted just how easy it is to become sick with COVID-19.
“No one wants to lose any races, but I know sometimes you can do the maximum and still end up positive,” he said. “During the holidays, I didn’t see my friends or a big part of my family. I tried to limit the risk, and if I do the maximum I can it’s hard for me to test positive – but it can happen. That’s life, a lot of people have caught it and it was only a matter of time before a rider did.
“Unfortunately it was a good friend of mine, Jorge [Martin], who caught it, and I feel very bad for him. After the two rounds in Austria he was very close to leading the championship, and when he told me a couple of days ago I knew how disappointing it was for him.
“But it isn’t easy for a lot of people in the world right now and our sport is no different.”
Andorran resident Espargaro also admitted that he had a potentially close call of his own in the past days, too. A regular training partner and neighbour of Martin, he says that he too could easily be sitting out this weekend at home instead of lining up for Aprilia’s home race.
“I tried to be more alone during this vacation, and spent five days with my family on a boat. When I was training in Andorra, it was with professional cyclists who had already been tested and were green. Normally Jorge comes with me to train but thankfully that week he didn’t.
“We share a physical therapist and he was with him a couple of days before, so in the past few days I haven’t had any therapy or massages to avoid the risk. I’m doing my best to be as isolated as much as possible.”
