MotoGP Gets Started (Without MotoGP);
Roberts Surprises
T
he floodlights that illumi-
nate the Losail International
Circuit, for the opening round of
the 2020 FIM MotoGP Champi-
onship, March 6-8, have always
provided a unique backdrop to
MotoGP since the series' first
night race here in 2008. But
the latest running of Grand Prix
racing's curtain raiser took this to
new levels as, in MotoGP's ab-
sence, the support classes took
center stage for the first time in
the modern era.
The ever-growing outbreak of
the coronavirus placed immense
travel restrictions on Italy, keep-
ing key premier-class personnel
grounded in Europe. Here was
a unique test of sorts: could the
support acts rock the main stage
with the headliners AWOL?
On this evidence, there was
little doubting they could. In what
the paddock lacked in premier-
class riders, full media presence
and spectators, Moto2 and
Moto3 made up for in drama,
intrigue and all-out surprise. The
former threw up a result that
tugged on the heartstrings and
an American revival while the lat-
ter was as close as ever.
MotoGP-light this may have
been, but the 2020 season
opener delivered on all fronts
IN
THE
WIND
P48
Tetsuta Nagashima
opened a very
different MotoGP
Championship with
a dramatic win in
Moto2, a career first
for the Japanese. The
coronavirus forced
the cancellation of the
MotoGP class.
PHOTO: GOLD & GOOSE.
