VOLUME 57 ISSUE 29 JULY 21, 2020 P57
MOTOGP IN COVID-19
From a television set, the MotoGP
experience in the times of Covid-19
doesn't differ drastically to before:
full grids, close sessions, manned
garages, only the odd glance at
empty grandstands around sections
of the track indicate we are still liv-
ing through a worldwide pandemic
that has changed our way of living.
But the experience inside the pad-
dock differs greatly. Due to fears
of crowds gathering outside the
circuit, hoping to catch a glance of
their heroes, police guard the circuit
to ensure the public doesn't get
close. Each individual was tested
prior to the race weekend. Medical
results must be shown upon arrival
in the paddock. Only after they have
been shown and temperatures have
been taken is the individual allowed
to enter. Rossi noted, "it's very
quiet! Don't have many people! It's
unbelievable for me, because I can
walk in the paddock for the first time
since 1997!"
DOVI BACK SO SOON
Just over three weeks ago, the
prognosis was bleak: Andrea
Dovizioso had fractured his left col-
larbone in a motocross event in his
native Italy. The prospect of facing
25 laps at Jerez, a circuit that has
rarely been kind to both the Italian
and his Ducati Desmosedici in the
past, in the middle of summer was
a daunting one before the accident
occurred. Now his title chances
were under threat before he had
even turned a wheel. But the three-
time MotoGP runner-up set about
the recovery with his usual intel-
ligence and zeal. He was operated
on soon after the fall, with a metal
Briefly...
Miller tried to hold onto his podium for dear life
but couldn't sustain the last lap pace. The Aussie
eventually slipped to fourth, just behind his 2021
Ducati teammate Dovizioso. Franco Morbidelli
(21) escaped a near crash after clattering into the
side of Miller at the Dani Pedrosa Corner with two
laps to go, eventually coming home in fifth.
