MotoGP, Quartararo vs. Mir: Dangerous crossing on the track and in the overall standings

The strangest championship in recent years is about to hit the final sprint with 6 races in 7 weeks and uncertainty that still prevails after the first eight GPs. The classification is slowly taking shape in Barcelona, ​​but talking about real favorites is still complicated, even if Quartararo and Mir seem to have a few more cards left to play.

Fabio is the only driver to have won more than one race in 2020, in fact he took 3 home with him while all of his rivals did not get past one. Joan, on the other hand, is the one with the most podiums: 4, against the 3 of the French who climbed those steps this year to celebrate the win.

In the following we have graphically presented the course of the championship so far and these colored lines show exactly how the balance sheet in the overall standings has constantly changed from race to race.

At the highest point of the graphic is Fabio Quartararo, who seems to have recovered after a few below-average races (from Brno to the fall in Misano). His breakaway win in Barcelona gave him a lead in the championship as well, but Mir is only 8 points away.

Many observers (starting with Dovizioso) see Joan as the most specific driver at the moment and in fact, since the first race in Austria, his line has been the fastest and most steady in the upward trend. If we analyze the last 5 Grands Prix, his average points per race is 17.8, while Quartararo’s is 9.8. The average for Vinales (3rd overall) with 9.6 points per GP is very similar to the French, while Dovizioso with 10.6. does better although he came away empty-handed at the last GP.

Pure speed therefore rewards Fabio, but Mir is the driver who has found the best balance between performance and consistent results. This year it is even more important than usual not to throw away any points, which is proof of that 7th place in the overall standings from Nakagami, who is the only one who has never reached the podium of the 13 best drivers in the championship standings, but also the only one who has scored points in all races. ‘Slowly and steadily the race wins’ could be commented on with more than a touch of irony …

So let’s get back to the two most accredited contenders for the title and discover another difference between them, this time in qualifying. As you know, on Saturday at the end of the year there is a free BMW for the fastest driver and for this reason a winner’s ranking is created with the same rating as the race. Vinales was the best so far with 147 points against Quartararos 144. Mine, however, is only 8th, also behind Valentino Rossi, a driver who has never had a “hell-for-leather” lap as one of his best qualities.

Logically one cannot argue that Mir is “slower” than Quartararo, only that they have different characteristics, just like their motorcycles. Getting the best out of them is the key to victory, even if excluding other drivers from the battle is difficult. Vinales is 18 points behind his brand colleague Dovizioso 24, and Miller and Morbidelli with 31 and 33 cannot be ruled out. With two double races in Aragon and Valencia and the unknown factor Portimao as the grand finale, anything can happen.

It will be a war on a knife edge, but also one of the nerves. Quartararo has shown some limits in this sense and suffered under pressure after the double victory in Jerez. He seemed to have succeeded in driving his demons away in Barcelona, ​​but the Frenchman never fought for a title in the World Championship, unlike Joan who won him in Moto3 3 years ago.

The lines in the graphic will inevitably cross again …