MotoGP Brno: Low Grip, High Temp, Hot Pace

Practice for the MotoGP Czech Grand Prix got underway in Brno ahead of round three of the 2020 MotoGP season, with the track surface taking centre stage. 

Brno has not been resurfaced since 2008. The first two races on this surface were won by Valentino Rossi on an 800cc Fiat Yamaha YZR-M1, and both by around 15 seconds after Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo crashed out in the 2008 and 2009 races, respectively. In 2008, the podium was completed by Toni Elias on an Alice Ducati and Loris Capirossi on the V4 Rizla Suzuki. The year after, Rossi was joined on the podium by Dani Pedrosa and, once again, Elias, this time on a San Carlo Gresini Honda RC212V. 

The point being, the surface is old. In fact, Rossi is the only rider other than Andrea Dovizioso to be riding this weekend in the premier class, having also ridden at Brno in the first year of this surface in the premier class. 

With age, the surface has worn, it has become bumpy and its grip has disappeared. It now seems that it is at a critical point, although riders have been complaining for a few years now about the state of the Czech track. 

This was evident on Friday in practice for the 2020 Czech Grand Prix. Many riders crashed across all classes, including Francesco Bagnaia in MotoGP FP1. The Italian went down at turn one and fractured his leg. As a result, the #63 requires surgery and will miss both this week’s and next week’s MotoGP races. Unfortunate for the Italian, he was making a good case for himself to be promoted to the factory Ducati team for 2021. 

Joan Mir crashed at turn one, one year ago. That crash somewhat reset the Spaniard’s rookie year progress, but that did not stop him from being competitive on Friday, finishing second in FP1 and sixth on the combined times. Mir’s pace in the second Jerez race was hampered by his desire to finish after crashing out of the first Jerez race, but now with points on the board the #36 can let loose in the Czech Republic, and his speed is strong. 

Takaaki Nakagami picked up where he left off in Jerez, finishing on top in FP1, although he slipped to ninth in the combined times in the afternoon. Either way, the Japanese is looking strong and it seems that the pace he showed in Jerez has been transferred successfully to Brno.

Topping the combined times was Fabio Quartararo, although you couldn’t tell from his reaction. The Frenchman was visibly upset about the lack of grip with the Yamaha. He was suffering a notable amount of pumping on corner exit, although this was also true for most of the grid. Quartararo’s pace suffered as a result, and the flustered #20 struggled for consistency throughout the day. However, it doesn’t necessarily seem to be something that needs to be fixed on the bike for Quartararo to find the pace, more something in his head. 

Just 0.007 seconds behind Quartararo on the combined times was Franco Morbidelli, whose pace looks outstanding at this (early) stage. Also, to be so close to Quartararo, who has turned into something of a pole-hound at this point in his career, over one lap is encouraging for Morbidelli, who at this point will be feeling fairly confident of his chances of achieving his first career MotoGP podium this weekend. 

Miguel Oliveira’s appearance in Q2 – that resulted in fifth on the grid – in the Andalusian Grand Prix was his first in the premier class. Whatever the Portuguese found in Jerez, it has been transferable to Brno, the #88 finishing third in the combined standings, less than half-a-tenth slower than Quartararo. Also taking the tag of top KTM into Saturday, Oliveira has the potential to rebound strongly after his Andalusian GP was ended at turn one by Brad Binder two weeks ago. 

Speaking of Binder, he missed out on provisional direct Q2 access by 0.170 seconds, setting the combined 11th-fastest time on Friday in Brno. The South African missed out to Jack Miller, who was the second-fastest Ducati in 10th place – the fastest Desmosedici being that of Johann Zarco in fourth overall. 

Maverick Vinales’ day got off to a difficult start, crashing on a cold tyre at turn 13 early on in FP1. The Spaniard eventually finished fifth overall, and was the top-placed factory bike from any manufacturer, showing the parity between teams in contemporary MotoGP. Vinales’ pace is good, but he needs to find more in the time attack to be able to start from the front row. 

The three biggest disappointments on Friday in the standings were undoubtedly Valentino Rossi, who was 12th, Danilo Petrucci in 14th and Andrea Dovizioso in 14th. All three will be looking to advance to Q2 tomorrow morning, although it is worth noting that Rossi, despite his poor position in the standings, was only 0.788 seconds slower than Quartararo. In comparison, the two factory Ducati riders were over one second slower than Quartararo, as they continue to search for the way to use the 2020 Michelin rear tyre.

From the table it is clear that Franco Morbidelli and Miguel Oliveira have a step on the rest of the field. They are able to consistently run in the 1’57s, whereas everyone else is at best drifting between 1’57s and 1’58s. What the table cannot show is the fashion in which Oliveira’s 1’57s were set, with five successive 1’57s coming in the middle of the session. It is true that this stint was done with new tyres front and rear, but nonetheless the consistency of Oliveira’s speed is notable.

The same can be said for Morbidelli, whose first run in FP2 yielded four mid-to-high-1’57s, whilst the Italian was also able to set two 1’57s in the second half of what was a five-lap time attack stint at the end of the session. 

Both Morbidelli and Oliveira set their 1‘57s with hard rear tyres, although there was a split in the front tyre choice, with Oliveira using the hard option, and Morbidelli choosing the medium option. This could also indicate that Morbidelli is more comfortable with the front support offered by the Yamaha compared to that offered to Oliveira by the KTM, which in low-grip, high-temperature conditions could be critical come Sunday. 

Of course, it would be foolish to rule out the only two riders to have finished on the podium in both races so far this season: Quartararo and Vinales. 

Quartararo put 12 laps (including out- and in-laps) on a medium front-hard rear combination over two stints. His laps were mostly in the 1’58s, particularly in the second stint, and his final lap was over one second slower than his fastest lap whilst race running. Overall, Quartararo looked flustered all day, and less comfortable with the M1 in the low-grip conditions than his teammate, Morbidelli. Although Quartararo’s final one-lap speed was superior to the #21, Morbidelli’s relative comfort with the behaviour of his M1 compared to Quartararo appears to be making the difference at the moment. 

It is notable at this point that Quartararo has commented throughout the season so far that the 2020 M1 is more difficult to ride than its predecessor, which Morbidelli is riding, and that could be Morbidelli’s advantage at the moment. 

For Vinales, the pace is almost worrying on paper. The Spaniard put 13 laps (including out- and in-laps) on a hard-compound front tyre which he used throughout FP2 excepting his time attack at the end. However, unlike Quartararo, Morbidelli and Oliveira, Vinales split the rear tyre. The Spaniard started the session with a hard-compound rear tyre, but then switched to a lightly-used medium for the second and third stints. The medium seemed to work better for Vinales in terms of lap time, but he never put together any consistent or longer runs. FP4 will be important to understand his pace. 

Although Andrea Dovizioso’s time attack speed was not there on Friday, his race pace was more promising. The Italian is able to lap in the high-1’57s somewhat consistently, although you get the feeling that if he hit the front he would try to slow the pace. That was the tactic he used in 2018 when he won in Brno, and with tyre wear very much the limiting factor again this weekend, Dovizioso could make use of it again. Of course, if he starts 14th then any tactics or strategies will be for nothing, and the #04’s target for tomorrow must be to qualify on the front two rows. 

Tomorrow, in FP4, it could also be worth keeping an eye on the likes of Takaaki Nakagami, Valentino Rossi and Jack Miller, who on Friday were all capable of running in the low-1’58s. Should they be able to find a tenth or two they can be in the mix with the fastest riders. Finally, Johann Zarco’s pace is not too far away from top six contention and his time attack speed means he could be in that fight from the beginning.