The 2020 Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix (officially known as the Grande Prémio MEO de Portugal) was the fifteenth and final round of the 2020 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season and the fourteenth and final round of the 2020 MotoGP World Championship. It was held at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão on 22 November 2020.
Enea Bastianini and Albert Arenas clinched the world championship title in Moto2 and Moto3 category respectively after a dramatic finale in both classes. Both riders secured their respective first world championship title in their career on Grand Prix motorcycling level.
Background Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
The opening rounds of the 2020 championship have been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the opening round in Qatar was halted, prompting the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to draft a new calendar. A new calendar based exclusively in Europe was announced on 11 June. The Portuguese Grand Prix, absent from the calendar since 2012 (when it took place at the Autódromo do Estoril), was introduced as the last stage of the championship; this is the first time the season finale has not been held in Valencia since 2001. The race is held at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, which has served as MotoGP's reserve track since 2017; it is the first time that this circuit hosts a Grand Prix and is the seventy-third circuit which hosts a World Championship race.
MotoGP Championship standings before the race After having achieved the arithmetic certainty of winning the World Championship, Joan Mir leads the riders' standings with 171 points, 29 more than Franco Morbidelli who won the previous Grand Prix and gained three positions in the general classification. Álex Rins is third with 138 points, followed by Maverick Viñales and Fabio Quartararo with 127 and 125 points, respectively.
In the constructors' standings, Suzuki and Ducati are leading with 201 points, followed by Yamaha and KTM with 13 and 26 points behind. Honda is fifth at 133 points, while Aprilia closes the standings at 43 points.
In the team championship standings, Team Suzuki Ecstar took the title and leads with 309 points, 79 more than Petronas Yamaha SRT. KTM Factory Racing outstripped Ducati Team for third position (209 vs 203 points), with Monster Energy Yamaha fifth at 169 points.
Moto2 and Moto3 Championship riders' standings before the race In the intermediate class, four riders are still fighting for the title, with Enea Bastianini leading with 194 points, followed by Sam Lowes with 180 points. Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi are third and fourth at 176 and 171 points respectively.
In the lightweight class, there are still three drivers in the running with Albert Arenas first at 170 points, followed by Ai Ogura and Tony Arbolino with respectively 8 and 11 points behind.
MotoGP entrants
Stefan Bradl replaced Marc Márquez for the twelfth straight race while the latter recovered from injuries sustained in his opening round crash. Iker Lecuona, after having tested positive at the entrance to the Valencia paddock before the Valencian Community Grand Prix, is also forced to miss the Portuguese Grand Prix, being replaced by the official KTM test driver Mika Kallio.
Free practice MotoGP In the first session, home rider Miguel Oliveira was the fastest ahead of Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró. In the second session Johann Zarco took the lead, with Viñales and Espargaró confirming themselves as second and third. In the third session Jack Miller finished ahead of everyone, followed by Oliveira and Álex Rins. In the combined standings, the new world champion Joan Mir and the winner of the previous race Franco Morbidelli remain excluded from Q2.
Combined Free Practice 1-2-3 The top ten riders (written in bold) qualified in Q2.
BikersConstructorFP1FP2FP3143 Jack MillerDucati1:41.2711:39.820 1:39.205288 Miguel OliveiraKTM 1:40.1221:39.9461:39.330342 Álex RinsSuzuki1:40.9601:40.2131:39.35544 Andrea DoviziosoDucati1:40.9611:39.7411:39.404530 Takaaki NakagamiHonda1:40.8781:39.9391:39.41165 Johann ZarcoDucati1:41.181 1:39.4171:39.801720 Fabio QuartararoYamaha1:40.8771:39.6921:39.480844 Pol EspargaróKTM1:40.6801:39.7831:39.513912 Maverick ViñalesYamaha1:40.1621:39.5361:39.693106 Stefan BradlHonda1:40.9201:39.9091:39.5691121 Franco MorbidelliYamaha1:41.1671:39.8881:39.6191241 Aleix EspargaróAprilia1:40.2361:39.6451:39.7321333 Brad BinderKTM1:42.0821:39.6971:40.0301435 Cal CrutchlowHonda1:40.6951:39.9661:39.7171536 Joan MirSuzuki1:40.8561:39.7321:39.9511632 Lorenzo SavadoriAprilia1:40.2971:40.0851:39.9341763 Francesco BagnaiaDucati1:41.4331:39.9771:40.4481873 Álex MárquezHonda1:41.2281:40.3381:40.005199 Danilo PetrucciDucati1:41.9281:40.5471:40.4842046 Valentino RossiYamaha1:41.9461:41.2791:40.7222153 Tito RabatDucati1:43.1541:41.2561:41.2562282 Mika KallioKTM1:43.9201:41.8261:42.468 OFFICIAL MOTOGP COMBINED FREE PRACTICE TIMES REPORT
Fastest session lap Personal Best lap
In the fourth session Pol Espargaró was the fastest ahead of Miguel Oliveira and Takaaki Nakagami.
Moto2 In the combined free practice times table, Remy Gardner was the fastest ahead of Luca Marini and Héctor Garzó. Sam Lowes is fifth, championship leader Enea Bastianini is ninth while Marco Bezzecchi is fifteenth and does not enter directly into Q2.
Moto3 In the free practice combined, Jaume Masiá was the fastest ahead of Albert Arenas and Jeremy Alcoba. Arenas 'opponents for the drivers' title, Ai Ogura and Tony Arbolino, are fifteenth and twenty-two and does not enter directly into Q2.
Qualifying MotoGP BikerConstructorRowQ1Q2188 Miguel OliveiraKTM Qualified in Q21:38.8921 1221 Franco MorbidelliYamaha1:39.2761:38.9362343 Jack MillerDucati Qualified in Q21:39.0383435 Cal CrutchlowHonda1:39.2501:39.1564 2520 Fabio QuartararoYamaha Qualified in Q21:39.199566 Stefan BradlHonda Qualified in Q21:39.204675 Johann ZarcoDucati Qualified in Q21:39.2387 3812 Maverick ViñalesYamaha Qualified in Q21:39.2608944 Pol EspargaróKTM Qualified in Q21:39.28491042 Álex RinsSuzuki Qualified in Q21:39.46710 41130 Takaaki NakagamiHonda Qualified in Q21:39.53111124 Andrea DoviziosoDucati Qualified in Q21:39.587121333 Brad BinderKTM1:39.390N/A13 51441 Aleix EspargaróAprilia1:39.762N/A141563 Francesco BagnaiaDucati1:40.019N/A151673 Álex MárquezHonda1:40.049N/A16 61746 Valentino RossiYamaha1:40.058N/A17189 Danilo PetrucciDucati1:40.091N/A181932 Lorenzo SavadoriAprilia1:40.174N/A19 72036 Joan MirSuzuki1:40.290N/A202153 Tito RabatDucati1:40.427N/A212282 Mika KallioKTM1:41.753N/A228 OFFICIAL MOTOGP QUALIFYING RESULTS
Moto2 Remy Gardner took pole position with a time of 1:42.592, with Luca Marini second at +0.118 sec. and Fabio Di Giannantonio at +0.129 sec.. Enea Bastianini is fourth, followed by Sam Lowes. Marco Bezzecchi, after passing Q1, qualifies twelfth.
Moto3 Raul Fernandez takes pole position with a time of 1:48.051, followed by Jeremy Alcoba at +0.185 sec. and from Ayumu Sasaki to +0.240 sec.. Among the contenders for the bikers' title, Ai Ogura beats Q1 and in Q2 qualifies fifth ahead of Albert Arenas, while Tony Arbolino does not exceed Q1 (thirteenth time) and finishes in twenty-seventh place.
Warm up MotoGP In the warm up, Cal Crutchlow was the fastest ahead of teammate Takaaki Nakagami and Brad Binder.
Moto2 Remy Gardner was the fastest biker also in the warm up, ahead of Jorge Martin and Luca Marini.
Moto3 Jaume Masiá was placed in front of everyone, followed by Tony Arbolino and Dennis Foggia.
Race MotoGP Pos. No. Rider Team Manufacturer Laps Time/Retired Grid Points188 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Tech3KTM25 41:48.163125243 Jack Miller Pramac RacingDucati25 +3.193320321 Franco Morbidelli Petronas Yamaha SRTYamaha25 +3.298216444 Pol Espargaró Red Bull KTM Factory RacingKTM25 +12.626913530 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda IdemitsuHonda25 +13.318111164 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati TeamDucati25 +15.578121076 Stefan Bradl Repsol Honda TeamHonda25 +15.73869841 Aleix Espargaró Aprilia Racing Team GresiniAprilia25 +16.034148973 Álex Márquez Repsol Honda TeamHonda25 +18.325167105 Johann Zarco Esponsorama RacingDucati25 +18.596761112 Maverick Viñales Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPYamaha25 +18.685851246 Valentino Rossi Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPYamaha25 +18.9461741335 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda CastrolHonda25 +19.159431420 Fabio Quartararo Petronas Yamaha SRTYamaha25 +24.376521542 Álex Rins Team Suzuki EcstarSuzuki25 +27.776101169 Danilo Petrucci Ducati TeamDucati25 +34.266181782 Mika Kallio Red Bull KTM Tech3 KTM25 +48.410221853 Tito Rabat Esponsorama RacingDucati25 +48.41121Ret32 Lorenzo Savadori Aprilia Racing Team GresiniAprilia22 Accident19Ret36 Joan Mir Team Suzuki EcstarSuzuki15 Electronics20Ret33 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory RacingKTM2 Accident13Ret63 Francesco Bagnaia Pramac RacingDucati0 Arm Pain15Fastest lap: Miguel Oliveira (KTM) – 1:39.855 (lap 9) Sources:OFFICIAL MOTOGP RACE REPORT
Moto2 BikerConstructorTime/RetiredPoints187 Remy GardnerKalex23 39:35.476125210 Luca MariniKalex23 +1.609220322 Sam LowesKalex23 +3.813516472 Marco BezzecchiKalex23 +8.4371213533 Enea BastianiniKalex23 +8.646411688 Jorge MartínKalex23 +8.899610716 Joe RobertsKalex23 +8.956189837 Augusto FernándezKalex23 +9.5688897 Lorenzo BaldassarriKalex23 +10.3671771097 Xavi ViergeKalex23 +11.0841361142 Marcos RamírezKalex23 +11.199951223 Marcel SchrötterKalex23 +16.8642141364 Bo BendsneyderNTS23 +16.9981631445 Tetsuta NagashimaKalex23 +18.5501021544 Arón CanetSpeed Up23 +20.1691511612 Thomas LüthiKalex23 +22.918241719 Lorenzo Dalla PortaKalex23 +27.141201835 Somkiat ChantraKalex23 +27.303271962 Stefano ManziMV Agusta23 +27.340192077 Dominique AegerterNTS23 +44.924222155 Hafizh SyahrinSpeed Up23 +51.16328Ret24 Simone CorsiMV Agusta20 Mechanical25Ret27 Andi Farid IzdiharKalex17 Accident26Ret57 Edgar PonsKalex12 Mechanical23Ret99 Kasma DanielKalex10 Accident29Ret9 Jorge NavarroSpeed Up5 Accident14Ret40 Héctor GarzóKalex5 Accident11Ret21 Fabio Di GiannantonioSpeed Up0 Accident3Ret11 Nicolò BulegaKalex0 Accident7Fastest lap: Remy Gardner (Kalex) – 1:42.504 (lap 23) OFFICIAL MOTO2 RACE REPORT
Moto3 BikerConstructorTime/RetiredPoints125 Raúl FernándezKTM21 38:06.27212527 Dennis FoggiaHonda21 +5.810820352 Jeremy AlcobaHonda21 +5.866216411 Sergio GarcíaHonda21 +6.4471213514 Tony ArbolinoHonda21 +12.9982711640 Darryn BinderKTM21 +13.0651810713 Celestino ViettiKTM21 +13.907149879 Ai OguraHonda21 +13.92958917 John McPheeHonda21 +13.9451971053 Deniz ÖncüKTM21 +14.4381161123 Niccolò AntonelliHonda21 +14.487751275 Albert ArenasKTM21 +14.708641371 Ayumu SasakiKTM21 +19.285331499 Carlos TatayKTM21 +23.1952921527 Kaito TobaKTM21 +24.2331711670 Barry BaltusKTM21 +24.26013176 Ryusei YamanakaHonda21 +24.321311831 Adrián FernándezHonda21 +24.425201982 Stefano NepaKTM21 +24.625222055 Romano FenatiHusqvarna21 +24.672232116 Andrea MignoKTM21 +27.637162292 Yuki KuniiHonda21 +34.490152350 Jason DupasquierKTM21 +34.884302454 Riccardo RossiKTM21 +35.003252573 Maximilian KoflerKTM21 +35.09224269 Davide PizzoliKTM21 +35.21628272 Gabriel RodrigoHonda21 +40.329102889 Khairul Idham PawiHonda21 +46.97321Ret24 Tatsuki SuzukiHonda19 Accident4Ret5 Jaume MasiáHonda17 Accident9Ret21 Alonso LópezHusqvarna14 Accident26Fastest lap: Raúl Fernández (KTM) – 1:47.858 (lap 4) OFFICIAL MOTO3 RACE REPORT
Championship standings after the race Below are the standings for the top five riders, constructors, and teams after the round.
MotoGP
Riders' Championship standings Biker Points 1 Joan Mir 171 2 Franco Morbidelli 158 3 Álex Rins 139 2 4 Andrea Dovizioso 135 2 5 Pol Espargaró 135
Constructors' Championship standings Constructor Points 1 1 Ducati 221 1 2 Yamaha 204 2 3 Suzuki 202 4 KTM 200 5 Honda 144
Teams' Championship standings Team Points 1 Team Suzuki Ecstar 310 2 Petronas Yamaha SRT 248 3 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 222 4 Ducati Team 213 1 5 Pramac Racing 183
Moto2