Joy and sorrow often lie together. Or you could also say – To win today’s race in Barcelona, the tires were crucial. The right questions had to be answered. Is the left side of the tire well warmed up? Will the tires last until the end? Is the grip sufficient? These are the questions that decided the joys and sorrows today. Many were in promising positions today. Many failed today. It was a race that tore at the material.
The first one to get it was Andrea Dovizioso. Last week he was the leader and today, in curve two, he was taken out of the race. Without making a mistake. It was the mistake of someone else. Dovizioso is the one who was most often involved in accidents that were not his fault. He has already been taken out of the race nine times by another driver. This time it was the left side of Johan Zarco’s tire, which was too cold, that decided the end of Andrea Dovizioso’s race.
Then there is an “old man” 😉 Valentino Rossi contested his 350th Grand Prix in the premier class in Barcelona and started from the Front Row for the first time this MotoGP season. The Yamaha factory rider showed a strong race from the start and was in second place with good prospects. Yes, until the tire question arose for him as well. On lap 16 Rossi also took his leave in turn two in the gravel bed. The left side of the tire was also the problem of the old champion. For the Yamha driver the race was over. The chance for the World Championship 2020? I don’t want to deny it to Valentino Rossi yet. The 2020 MotoGP season is too tight, too much has happened so far that nobody expected.
Fabio Quartararo had to deal with another tire issue. Namely whether his tires will hold. You could watch how the tire was deteriorating from lap to lap. The longer the race lasted the worse it got. The Petronas driver would have to work hard in the last laps to avoid crashing. Quartararo managed to cross the finish line with a lead of 0.928 seconds. Had the Barcelona GP gone two laps longer, the Suzuki riders Mir and Rins would have caught up with the Frenchman.
Today the tires contributed a big part to the result. Let’s see what will be the deciding factor in the next race.
Your Miss MotoGP
Photo by Lucie Eleanor Maack