Tomorrow’s European Grand Prix could well be one of the most decisive days of the 2020 MotoGP world championship so far, thanks to the complications and challenges presented so far this weekend by the Valencian weather.
The weekend’s action so far at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo has been rain-struck since it got underway on Friday.
That’s left title contenders Fabio Quartararo and Andrea Dovizioso far back on the grid while championship leader Joan Mir secured one of his best qualifying performances of the year in fifth.
“The bike is totally different from last year – I’ve never really felt like it’s mine” :: Fabio Quartararo
Combined with Maverick Vinales’ pitlane start for using a sixth engine, one more than the allowed allocation of five, it means that Mir has his first chance of 2020 to score a decisive match point when action gets underway.
Quartararo will start tomorrow’s race from 11th, one place ahead of Dovizioso, in what is his worst MotoGP qualifying position ever. That comes after he has spent the entire weekend struggling to find any sort of feeling from his Petronas SRT Yamaha M1.
He admitted that the only hope he has tomorrow in the forecast dry conditions will be to take huge risks as soon as the flag drops, and that could well be a recipe for disaster if a strong start from Mir piles the pressure onto the young Frenchman’s shoulders.
“We have zero feeling on the bike, none at all,” Quartararo admitted after a difficult day.
“For the first two laps, I’m not too bad, and then all the others take a step of about two seconds and we’re lost.
“I’m really disappointed, because last year [at Valencia] the feeling with the bike was great and this year it’s really bad.
“The bike is totally different from last year – I’ve never really felt like it’s mine.
“Even when we’ve achieved great things, it never felt like last year. We need to see why, like we have tried since the first moment, but something is missing and I’m not feeling comfortable.
“Honestly with the position I have tomorrow I have nothing to lose.
“My goal is to win the championship, and if I don’t take big risks tomorrow then it’s over.
“I know I need to be really aggressive, and if I crash or something it’ll be for a good reason.”
Things are even worse for Quartararo’s fellow Yamaha rider Vinales, with his pitlane penalty all but ending any hopes he has of fighting for the title even before tomorrow’s race starts.
Concerned about the amount of grip that the Valencia circuit offered in yesterday’s second practice session, the driest of the weekend so far, he all but ruled himself out of being competitive should it be similar conditions for the race.
“The grip was very low, and I was in a lot of trouble with the bike,” said Vinales.
“We haven’t had a lot of time with the bike, and I just want to start the race happy and calm and see what happens.”
While his championship pursuers might be stressing about what tomorrow will bring, title leader Mir couldn’t have appeared any more relaxed on Saturday evening.
Though a little concerned about the lack of dry track time so far this weekend, he’s adamant that right now the pressure isn’t getting to him at all.
“You have to know how to be a leader, how to be in this position” :: Joan Mir
“So far I’m happy in all conditions,” the Suzuki rider admitted.
“We’ll start from the second row which means we did a great job, but tomorrow will be a difficult day.
“No one knows the bike in dry conditions, and warm-up will be important to find the right settings and the right tyres to use.
“The other contenders will start further back, and this is the positive thing.
“Every race now is more important than the one before, and it’s important to be in good shape, to be on the podium, to be fighting for the win.
“If I do that, then for sure some of them can be on the podium with me – but not all of them.
“I’m the leader, and I should have the most pressure.
“But you have to know how to be a leader, how to be in this position.
“It’s important to not think so much about it, because it can change in two races and maybe in three races I won’t even be in the top five!
“I have to continue to be in good shape and to not care about the others, and then we’ll see where we are in the last race.
“I think that maybe some contenders are starting to think too much about the others and then things don’t work so well for them.”
