Unlike the Moto2 and Moto3 categories, which launched their season in early March in Qatar, MotoGP has not yet started its season. The inaugural round of Exercise 2020 is scheduled for the weekend of July 17-19 in Jerez with the Spanish Grand Prix, and the Spanish circuit will host a second race the following week, the Andalusian Grand Prix.
Running on the Andalusian circuit in the middle of July has never been done, and the parameter to take into account will obviously be the heat, with temperatures that could harm the Michelin tires used in the championship. With a very compact season between July and November, temperatures will not be the only parameter to which pilots and machines will have to adapt, but they are a source of questioning.
“There are many aspects, starting with Jerez where we never drove in July, with the heat”, confirms Andrea Dovizioso with Sky Italia. “We have a rear tire that we have never tried and we will run out of pace: we will do a test on Wednesday and then we will start racing right away, something that has never happened. These aspects these will surely have an impact on the championship. “
Hervé Poncharal, director of Tech3, had also raised the problem last month during a GP Round Table interview, by making his first question mark for the start of the season. However, the French had tempered this concern by recalling that the heats contested in Asia are sometimes subject to extreme heat. According to him, it is especially for the pilots that this situation will be difficult, because he thinks that the technical challenge will not be insurmountable for the tire manufacturer.
“It is certain that it will be a big problem, but when we run in Thailand or in Sepang, we sometimes meet this situation”, said Poncharal. “Michelin knows this, clearly, they have a lot of experience now and with all the constructions and erasers they can play with, I’m pretty sure we can have something that won’t cause us any technical problems. I think the drivers will clearly suffer, but as Fabio Quartararo said: ‘Any temperature suits me and if we have to do a race every weekend from now on, let’s go!’ “
“Of course it’s going to be hot, but the most important thing is to have a date that we can trust and that we can be sure of, mainly for the pilots and for the teams, of course. And if the pilots have now July 19, they’re going to work hard to be ready for that date. It’s very hot all over Europe right now. What we can be really sure of is that all of our MotoGP riders are real athletes and they will adapt. It’s part of the game, but I’m sure they will adapt to the heat. “
