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Today was the first day of action at the Circuito Ricardo Tormo in Valencia for the MotoGP which officially started the final tour de force of this strange 2020 season. A triple-header of races between Valencia, and the new-for-2020 Portimao (also included as reserve circuit for next season) which will decide the fate of the most evenly balanced world championship in recent years. In addition, and still in the context of the world championship battle, the decision of the FIM not to penalize the Yamaha riders but only the teams and the manufacturer after the irregularities in the engines of the Jerez race has also had an important resonance. This decision has sparked off some protests in the paddock but all the other teams do not appear to want to raise their voices too much, at least not officially. It is precisely the reasons for this silence on a legal level that are intriguing Andrea Dovizioso who, after FP2 this afternoon, wanted to comment on what happened.
“The decision itself seems very strange to me but I don't know all the details. Some things have been explained to me but I would like to understand them more - said Dovi - What I don't understand is also the strategy of the various manufacturers: it seems that they have agreed not to go against this decision. To me it seems something not logical ”.
The eventual exclusion of the Yamahas from the offending race in Jerez would in fact have drastically changed the world championship standings in favour of Dovizioso who would now be 19 points behind the leader Joan Mir (who crashed in that race).
“I don't want to go into detail because I don't know everything well. But if you decide to penalize because there is an irregularity, I don't understand why only the constructors and teams, which counts for nothing in the standings, are penalized and not the riders. Maybe there is something I don't know".
Remaining at Yamaha, there are a lot of rumours going round about your possible move into the Iwata test team for next year. Franco Morbidelli, who still does not know if he will have the 2021 or the 2020 bike available, is fighting for the world title and today said he believes in a possible win. What do you think about that?
“Morbidelli has been awesome in the last few races, he can push without pressure and he has a lot of confidence. It seems that he has some very good sensations on that bike and it is normal that he feels energized to try and that he believes a lot that he can win the world championship. I believe in it too, but not as much as he does ”.
Is there any news on your role as test rider for next year? We know your manager Battistella is talking to the Iwata manufacturer...
“Racing just for the sake of racing wouldn't make much sense, it’s better to be a tester for a top team at this point even if it's certainly not the best situation for a rider like me”.
What conditions did you find today in Valencia? Surely the rain has upset the cards on the table and the rankings but apart from your 8th place what were the sensations?
“Today there were patches of wet outside the corners also in FP2 and so no one rode as they normally do here at Valencia. Honestly, I don't expect the tyres to behave any different from Aragon but today the goal was to be able to get into the top ten, as it could rain tomorrow morning. Unfortunately the conditions did not allow us to do any significant tests in view of the race on Sunday but I hope the weather will improve tomorrow ”.
