San Marino GP
Bagnaia and Mir will try to reduce leader Quartararo’s solid cushion
The San Marino Grand Prix weekend arrives with a clear Italian accent in MotoGP. On paper, this appointment should have been that of the last appearance of the star Valentino Rossi in Italy on a MotoGP, which generated high expectations (the 25,000 tickets that were put on sale were sold out), although in mid-August the International Motorcycling Federation published a modification of the calendar by which the Malaysian Grand Prix was suspended, which was replaced by a second event in Misano from October 22 to 24, which will already be the last chance to see Rossi in action.
Despite this, the one in Tavullia (a town 13 kilometers from the circuit) will once again be one of the centers of attention for a weekend with other transalpine pilots as protagonists. On the one hand, Franco Morbidelli, winner of the first of the two races held on the Adriatic track in 2020, who has not taken part in the last five grands prix due to a serious knee injury, and who returns this Friday to the competition although wearing other colors, and promoted: the 2017 Moto2 champion raced for the last time at Sachsenring as a rider of the Petronas SRT, Yamaha’s satellite team, and this time he will take to the track as a teammate of leader Fabio Quartararo in the official structure, one of the consequences of the ‘Maverick Viñales affair’. Another of the effects of this earthquake puts another Italian protagonist, Andrea Dovizioso, on the table.
Marc Márquez’s main rival in 2017, 2018 and 2019 was left without a place on the grid for this year due to his disagreements with Ducati, and after not finishing moving his chips well, and after a stint as an Aprilia test driver that He did not bear fruit in his jump to MotoGP with the Italian motorcycle (that place has ended up being for Viñales), he has ended up taking Morbidelli’s place as Rossi’s partner with a contract until the end of this campaign and that lasts until the end of 2022, also due to the need of the Yamaha B team to have an Italian for their new sports project.
Main actors
Rossi, Morbidelli and Dovizioso will be three of the names at the start of the grand prix, waiting to understand if they can also say something interesting on the track. “On paper I can go stronger in Misano, Aragon was difficult for us although that is one of the worst circuits of the season for me. And usually in Misano I go better. Last year I did well here, especially in the first race. It was a great race, because I was in the leading group. Unfortunately, I lost the podium on the last lap, although this weekend I’m going to give it my all, “said Rossi, who crossed the finish line fourth after losing a heads-up with Joan Mir, third that day behind the aforementioned Morbidelli and Pecco Bagnaia.
The latter is one of the great Italian names in the Grand Prix, for several reasons: because he debuted at the top of a MotoGP podium last Sunday at the Motorland in Aragón, because that placed him as second overall, and because he was one of the fastest in Misano in 2020 (that second place in the first test and fall in the second with seven laps to go when he was running first).
The World Cup faces the first of the two visits planned at the Marco Simoncelli circuit after the triumph of Pecco Bagnaia in Aragon and with the returns of Franco Morbidelli and Andrea Dovizioso to the competition
“I think Pecco is the favorite, I was with him two months ago here with the street Ducati (NdR: the Panigale) and it was incredible to see how fast he could be with that bike on this circuit,” explained one of his teammates. , Jorge Martín from Madrid. Bagnaia reaches 53 points behind Quartararo in the general standings and as his most immediate pursuer, in a scenario in which the Frenchman is also very fast, in addition to being able to play with a solid margin in the standings.
These two will center the important fight, that of the title, together with Mir, third at 57 points, and who in 2020 was third and second in the two races at Misano. This, as always, with the presence of MotoGP actors who will fight for victory, starting with Marc Márquez, second in Aragon, in a year in which, with five appointments remaining, eight different winners have already been seen in thirteen tests: Márquez himself, Quartararo, Bagnaia, Martín, Viñales (winner of the second of 2020), Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder and Jack Miller.
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