The climate during Free Practice and Qualification was more favourable to the riders and it was a little easier to find grip thanks to the higher temperatures compared to the Grand Prix of Aragón a few days earlier. Romano Fenati began the meeting brightly with 2nd and 4th positions in two of the Free Practice sessions and took 13th in Q2, just 0.8 of a second from Pole. Alonso Lopez could not stitch together an effective lap and rolled into the grid in 21st place.
Moto3 began with a large group setting the pace and multiple position changes throughout most of the hectic 19 lap-distance. Fenati was circulating in mid-pack with a technical issue while Lopez had made one of his now-customary recoveries to be further forward in the second group. The youngster was impeded by a Long Lap penalty but, by the finish line, it was the Spaniard’s FR 250 GP who took the superior ranking. His 11th place and second-best result of the year was made less than 2.5 seconds away from the winner. Fenati came home 19th and could not add to his world championship points tally.
After three weekends of racing in a row MotoGP will now have a one-week break before the final triple header of the season. The championship will visit the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia in the first two weekends of November before travelling to the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal.
Alonso Lopez: “I’m very happy about the rhythm I could do in the race today but it was a shame about the Long Lap penalty otherwise we could have made a better result. We lost a lot of time. In Valencia we know exactly what we have to do and where we have to work to keep improving our weak points. So, thanks to the team.”
Romano Fenati: “We had a small issue with the front end today, I felt it under braking. It was hard to stay with the front group and I caused me to lose pace and positions. We’ll look into it and get competitive again for the next race.”
Max Biaggi, Team Principal: “We’ll check everything to see what the issue was for Romano because with the speed he showed throughout the weekend then it should have been an easy top ten result in the race. A good result by Alonso considering where he started. We’ll put our heads down, work and do the best possible in Valencia.”
Results – 2020 Moto3 FIM World Championship, Round 12
1. Jaume Masia (Honda) 37:44.602, 2. Ayumu Sasaki (KTM)+0.051, 3. Kaito Toba (KTM) +0.152, 11. Alonso Lopez (Husqvarna) +2.489, 19th. Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) +5.448
Championship standings – After round 12
1. Albert Arenas (KTM) 157pts; 2. Ai Ogura (Honda) 138pts; 3. Celestino Vietti (KTM) 137pts; 11. Romano Fenati (Husqvarna) 70 pts; 22. Alonso Lopez (Husqvarna) 21
