Alex Rins prevailed against Alex Marquez in the Aragon Grand Prix. Suzuki bring his first MotoGP victory this season sunday.
Joan Mir finished third to move into the championship with a six point lead (121-115) about Fabio Quartararo, who finished 18th on Sunday and started on pole position despite a fall in training. Maverick Vinales and Takaaki Nakagami rounded out the top 5.
It was the second podium in a row for Marquez. The younger brother of the injured nine-time champion Marc Marquez started as 11th.
Rins, who won for the first time in over a year (the British GP on August 25, 2019), was the eighth driver to win in an unpredictable 2020 season.
JUST UNBELIEVABLE! ????@ Rins42 holds off @ alexmarquez73 to become the 8th different winner of 2020! ????#AragonGP ???? pic.twitter.com/5AHAAIe6RT
– MotoGP ™ @ (@MotoGP) October 18, 2020
Quartararo, who had qualified his Yamaha first after visiting the circuit’s medical center on Saturday, had started the race 10 points ahead of Mir. The French driver opened the season with his first two career wins and added a third last month.
Vinales takes third place in the overall standings with a lead of 12 points, followed by Andrea Dovizioso and Nakagami.
With the absence of Valentino Rossi (who missed the race after a positive COVID-19 test), the race on Sunday was the first ever Grand Prix since 1999 without a Premier Champion on the grid.
There are four races left in the season. The route will return to Motorland Aragon on October 25th and then to Comunitat Valencia Ricardo Tormo in Spain on November 8th and 15th.
The 2020 season, delayed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, will end on November 22nd at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal.
For the first time since Kenny Roberts in 2000, Suzuki led the Riders Championship! ????@JoanMirOfficial Writing history for @suzukimotogp! ????#AragonGP ???? pic.twitter.com/PPitOcvQ4Z
– MotoGP ™ @ (@MotoGP) October 18, 2020
