Aragon GP Preview: Who will succeed Marc at Motorland? 
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With hardly any time to recover from the thrilling French GP last week, the World Championship arrives at the MotorLand Circuit (Alcañiz) for two consecutive rounds. The first appointment, and tenth race of the season, the Aragon GP, will take place this weekend (October 16th -18th). 

This is one of MarcMárquez‘s feuds. He has won five of the last seven races there and has been the sole winner since 2016. The absence of the master from Cervera this year, as he continues to recover from his double right arm surgery, leaves the door open for another winner to step in. 

The list of candidates to take his throne is in fact very large and the outcome very uncertain. Not surprisingly, there have been seven different winners over the nine appointments celebrated so far during this bizarre season, which has been marked by the lack of a clear leader.  

The standings are red hot with four drivers at the top separated by just 19 points. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) is the leaders with ten points more than Joan Mir (Suzuki); 18 over Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) and 19 over Maverick Viñales (Yamaha). 

Initially, the two at the top are the ones emerging as the favourites to conquer the title having stood out from the rest slightly and having shown a more consistent performance. 

The long straights of the racetrack in Teruel could play in favour of the Ducati’s top speed at the Aragon MotoGP 2020. ‘Dovi’ could potentially be the one to take over from Marc in Alcañiz after having stepped on the podium in the last two years.

The pilot from Forli is fully engaged in the fight for the crown after managing to cut some ground with those above. 

Great things can also be expected from his teammate. Danilo Petrucci‘s morale is up through the roof after he claimed an unexpected victory at Le Mans last week. 

As for the rest of the red missiles, Jack Miller, third in MotorLand in 2019, will be eager to make up for his abandonment in France four days ago due to a mechanical fault.

The Australian from Pramac Racing and his teammate Pecco Bagnaia are also hoping for a win on Sunday, so long as they can make the most of their GP20s. Continuing with the Italian machines, Frenchman Johann Zarco from Esponsorama Racing could also play a prominent role starting on Friday. 

 

 

As for Yamaha, its only hope lies on Quartararo and Viñales. Both teammates, which are to join forces at the factory team from 2021 are the best riders of the squad from Iwata.

The Frenchman from Petronas SRT edged Maverick by one place and Mir by two despite finishing tenth at Le Mans. Slowly but surely his authority has been growing amongst his opponents. 

With five rounds left before the conclusion of the World Championship, he could deal a serious blow if he keeps up the good work. 

Meanwhile, Viñales has to close the gap with “El Diablo” so as not to be left out of the title race. As for the other member of the team, Valentino Rossi,  won´t contest at Aragon GP after testing positive for COVID. His friend and partner for 2021, Franco Morbidelli, also hopes to be able to invoke some of his most positive past sensations. 

Despite the absence of #93, Honda is not giving up for the season. They have also been dealt a blow by the unexpected second place of Álex Márquez in France. The once all-powerful team is clinging to the historic good performance of its machine.  

Images of Aragon GP: MotoGP.

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