MotoGP™: Michelin shines in Valencia sun as Mir becomes season’s ninth winner

Joan Mir (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) pocketed the first victory of his MotoGPTM career by winning the Gran Premio de Europa at Valencia, Spain, Round 13 of the 2020 World Championship. The provisional series leader finished clear of team-mate Alex Rins and Red Bull KTM Factory Team’s Pol Espargaro who made it two different bikemakers and two different tyre combinations on the podium.  

Mir got away well from fifth on the grid to appear in second spot behind Rins by the fourth of the afternoon’s 27 laps. After spending some time sitting on the latter’s tail, he eventually took advantage of a small mistake by his Suzuki team-mate to ease ahead on Lap 17.

Racing on medium MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear, the Spanish youngster then improved on his personal best lap several times to pull out a small gap, aided by the exceptional grip of his tyres which allowed him to stay out of Rins’ reach until the chequered flag and win by six-tenths of a second.

Mir is the season’s ninth different victor and the fifth to claim his maiden MotoGPTM win in 2020, while Rins – who opted for the same tyre pairing – kept his head to earn Suzuki’s first one-two finish since 1982.

Pol Espargaro (hard and soft MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear) collected his second top-three finish of the year after dominating Saturday’s extremely wet qualifying to claim his second pole position of the year.

Takaaki Nakagami (4th, LCR Honda) was the day’s best-placed Independent Team rider, chased by Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) who had shown strong pace in the damp conditions that marked Friday and Saturday’s action.

The fastest race lap was the work of Brad Binder (7th, Red Bull KTM Factory Team).

The first two days’ unsettled weather made tyre choice complex since the only opportunities the riders got to prepare for the race on MICHELIN Power Slicks in the dry were Friday afternoon’s free practice and Sunday morning’s warm-up session when the temperature was much cooler than it was for the race. Five of the six Michelin tyre specifications available for Valencia ended up being chosen for the Grand Premio de Europa.

Mir’s victory has put him in an enviable position at the top of the provisional Riders’ standings and, with two races remaining, a top-three result at Valencia next week would suffice to clinch his first MotoGPTM crown. Rins and Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) are equal second, 37 points adrift.

Next round: Gran Premio Motul de la Comunitat Valenciana, Valencia, Spain (November 13-15)