Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1273286
MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 / JULY 24-26, 2020 CIRCUITO DE JEREZ – ANGEL NIETO / JEREZ, SPAIN P54 [and ride]. See you later. We had to do a strength test. I don't know what the other guys did but I'm sure it's the same. We had to do a flexibility test, as in how much I can move my wrist. How much you can grip some- one's hand to show how you can grip the handlebar. It wasn't easy, I can tell you that. When I actually did that, I thought, I don't know if I can ride tomorrow. I passed the test and we go there on agreement that you'll speak to the doctor in the session. You're passed fit but passed fit for the first session. They will also assess you in the session and they make sure you're able to continue. It's not like you just walk in there and they sign your form." PUIG TROLLING When it looked likely the reigning World Champion would be absent for a number of races, Repsol Honda team boss Alberto Puig was in a combative mood. "In case he [Marquez] can't [return], I don't think the guys in the lead of the championship can be really proud or happy about winning a title without the best rider partici- pating in it. It will not be the same if Marc is not racing for the championship and everybody knows that." Jack Miller had a typical rebuttal to Puig's obvious charms. "It's a complete crock," he said on Thursday. "We all started [round one] 100 percent fit on Wednesday. We all had the same opportunity to get injured and it's the risk you take." APRILIA MILES OFF Aprilia is on struggle street. An engine issue at the preseason Jerez test caused Aleix Espargaro to drop oil while on the track. From there engineers decided to reduce the bike's revs, limiting acceleration—already the machine's weak point—further. Qualifying 15th before crashing out of race one wasn't great. And Saturday at round two was also a struggle, when he crashed twice in FP3 and qualified 16th. "I think in the FP3 I tried to go under 37.0 and risked a bit too much and crashed two times. In the slower, tight corners it looks like Yamaha, KTM and Ducati are able to keep the line better than others and prepare the acceleration. I cannot. The RS- GP 20 is definitely better, but we're still missing accel- eration. "In the tight corners I cannot have the accelera- tion that I wish. So I'm losing time." Briefly... Special mention must go to Alex Rins (pictured) and Cal Crutchlow, who battled through shoulder and wrist injuries, respectively, to finish inside the points in 10th and 13th, in what must have been an intensely grueling race.