MotoGP Virtual Race 2 Results and Coverage: Bagnaia Strikes Back

2020 MotoGP Virtual Race 2 - Vinales at homeMaverick Viñales

Pecco Bagnaia faced a fierce challenge on the final lap from Maverick Viñales to win the 2020 MotoGP Virtual Race 2. The race that took place on PlayStation with the MotoGP19 video game at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, 10 MotoGP racers competed against each other from home.

2020 MotoGP Virtual Race 2 - Bagnaia and VinalesViñales (left) fights against Bagnaia

The top five finishers in Virtual Race 1 returned for VR2, with five new drivers joining including Valentino Rossi and Danilo Petrucci. However, the top 5 drivers in VR1 also took the top 5 spots in VR2, although the order was mixed up.

🏆 @PeccoBagnaia WINS! 🏆.

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– MotoGP 🏡🏁 (@MotoGP) April 12, 2020

Pole-sitter Bagnaia, who chased Alex Márquez for most of the six-lap race at the Mugello Circuit in VR1 before he crashed, took the lead early, but only after a spectacular pile-up in the first corner that made up half of the field , including Valentino., defeated Rossi and VR1 winner Alex Márquez. When these riders got on again, Takaaki Nakagami was in the lead. However, Nakagami drove erratically and gave the lead to Bagnaia before the end of the first lap. On his way down, Nakagami later knocked out both of the Marquez brothers before taking a spectacular fall.

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– MotoGP 🏡🏁 (@MotoGP) April 12, 2020

The 10 lap race rewarded persistence and that benefited Bagnaia and Viñales, who kept their bikes on two wheels. Even so, they changed positions, sometimes thanks to the driver-friendly video game settings used for the race. Often the drivers went off the track and onto the grass or gravel without severe penalties.

Viñales’ last attempt to beat Bagnaia was thwarted when Bagnaia overtook Viñales again using the grass on the inside of the corner – not a likely successful strategy in real MotoGP. Viñales wasn’t done yet but a big moment after Viñales’s final corner sealed the deal for Bagnaia.

Rossi and Danilo Petrucci battled for the top spot in the bottom five, with Rossi failing spectacularly on the last corner as he aggressively plunged into Petrucci. However, since none of the five bottom riders drove on the same lap as Bagnaia, they all crossed the finish line without a score.

The Doctor’s first @MotoGP Virtual Racing experience

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– Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP (@YamahaMotoGP) April 12, 2020

The top five drivers – Bagnaia, Viñales, the Márquez brothers and Fabio Quartararo – were undeniably the best in the field. The top five qualified within 0.404 seconds of each other, with Michele Pirro leading the bottom half of qualifying but more than two seconds behind Bagnaia’s pace. In the race, the first four drivers all drove the best laps in the 1: 21s, with Quartararo clicking a 1: 22.351 best lap. The rest of the field has rounds of 1:23 or more.

With a second place in VR1 and a win in VR2, Bagnaia leads the series by four points over Alex Márquez, who takes one win and a P3 place. Viñales, with P2 and P3 placements, has P3 firmly under control in the overall standings, while Quartararo and Marc Márquez are in P4 with 24 points in two races.

2020 MotoGP Virtual Race 2 Results - Marquez Marquez vs. Marquez

Despite being a virtual race, it is a real race and the last lap duel between Bagnaia and Viñales was electrifying for both the spectators and the drivers.

“I had to concentrate so hard,” Bagnaia admitted. “When Maverick passed me, he was showing really good pace. When he fell and I took the lead again, I made a lot of mistakes. It was difficult to manage the grip, but I tried to stay in front of it. On the last lap when he passed me, I gave everything, including touching the grass a little, but the fight was so much fun. “

2020 MotoGP Virtual Race 2 - Vinales at homeMaverick Viñales Training

“I pushed a lot and tried to close a gap in Pecco,” remarked Viñales, “but I braked a little too hard and fell. I was able to recover and on the last lap I took the lead. But I made a mistake and Pecco was able to overtake me again. But it was a lot of fun and it was a good result for Yamaha in Austria. In the last corner I definitely wanted to overtake Pecco, but I made a mistake. But it was so much fun – a nice race and it was great to feel the emotions of a normal race. “

“Having a MotoGP race on the PlayStation was really weird!” Rossi confirmed. “That was a new experience for me. I like to play online with friends, but I’m more competitive at four-wheeler games. I had a lot of fun though. I tried to fight! I hope all MotoGP fans had a good time … I look forward to seeing the fans again the next time I do a virtual race! “

Dorna has not announced a MotoGP virtual race 3 for 2020. But with the return to racing not yet clear, it’s likely that we’ll see the MotoGP riders back on the PlayStation tracks for another #StayAtHomeGP soon. Should they get back together, it will likely be in the MotoGP20 game out on April 23rd.

2020 MotoGP Virtual Race 2 results

  1. Pecco Bagnaia, Pramac Racing; 13: 47.091
  2. Maverick Viñales, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP; +0.074
  3. Alex Márquez, Repsol Honda Team; +9,762
  4. Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team; +12,572
  5. Fabio Quartararo, Petronas Yamaha SRT; +35,418Unclassified
  • Danilo Petrucci, Ducati team
  • Valentino Rossi, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
  • Takaaki Nakagami, LCR Honda Idemitsu
  • Tito Rabat, Real Avintia Racing
  • Michele Pirro, Ducati team

MotoGP Virtual Race Series classification (after two laps)

  1. Pecco Bagnaia, Pramac Racing Ducati, 45 points (1 win)
  2. Alex Márquez, Repsol Honda Team, 41 (1 win)
  3. Maverick Viñales, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, 36th
  4. Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, Jan.
  5. Fabio Quartararo, Petronas Yamaha SRT, 24
  6. Alex Rins, Team Suzuki Ecstar, 10
  7. Joan Mir, Team Suzuki Ecstar, 9th
  8. Miguel Oliveira, Red Bull KTM Tech 3, 8th

Driver without rating

  • Iker Lecuona, Red Bull KTM Tech 3
  • Aleix Espargaró: Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
  • Danilo Petrucci, Ducati team
  • Valentino Rossi, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
  • Takaaki Nakagami, LCR Honda Idemitsu
  • Tito Rabat, Real Avintia Racing
  • Michele Pirro, Ducati team