It’s been a great start to 2020 for France with Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) leading the MotoGP™ World Championship after two rounds, plus fellow Frenchman Mog is leading the MotoGP™ Fantasy standings too.
It hasn’t been a great start to the year for 2019’s top point scorer, and therefore the most expensive player in the game, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). He collected just 13 fantasy points after failing to finish either of the opening two rounds. But fear not, if you’re looking for a suitable replacement for the World Champion this weekend, we’ve got you covered.
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Our essential Marc Marquez replacement is Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso at 3.7M. Yes, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) has started the season in brilliant fantasy form thanks to two pole positions, two race wins and, therefore, a huge 75 points. But Dovizioso will be a tough man to beat in Brno, and then in Austria too. Dovi took pole position before then taking victory in 2018, the equivalent of 35 points, and last year came through from fourth on the grid to finish second, a tasty 31 points. He’s a risk-free option that is bound to add to his 55 points he’s already secured in 2020, making him the first man in motogp.com’s essential selection.
We’re sticking with Ducati for the second of our picks: Pramac Racing’s Francesco Bagnaia. The Italian appears to be on the verge of a breakout MotoGP™ year and with his price only having risen by 100k to 1.5M after the first two rounds of the year, we’re jumping on him now before his price undoubtedly rises further over the next three back-to-back Grands Prix. He has podium form around Brno from his Moto2™ days and couple that with the Czech circuit being renowned as a Ducati track, he could be in for a handsome points haul. A technical problem with six laps to go robbed fantasy players of 22 precious points that would’ve put him inside the top 3 point scorers from the Andalucia GP.
Don’t rule out his teammate Jack Miller, though. The Aussie might’ve crashed in Jerez a week ago but last year in Brno he bagged 25 points after taking second on the grid and third in the race. So the 2.4M priced Miller could be one of the top points scorers from the Czech Republic Grand Prix. But Bagnaia just takes our second essential selection spot, purely because of that 1.5M price tag.
Next up, LCR Honda Idemitsu’s Takaaki Nakagami. The Japanese rider was on fire in Jerez and, as a result, is inside the top six highest points scorers of 2020 with 37 points. One of his 14 Grands Prix podiums came at the Czech circuit back in 2013, plus one of his five Grands Prix pole positions is from Brno too. With an injured teammate in Cal Crutchlow, plus rookie Alex Marquez and replacement rider Stefan Bradl in the Repsol Honda camp, Honda will be pinning their hopes on Nakagami to continue his rich vein of form. At just 1.9M too, Nakagami is in our essential selection.
The final place in our essential selection ahead of the Czech Republic Grand Prix is Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder. Incredibly still just 1.1M, the second cheapest rider on the grid, the South African is due a big points haul. Don’t let the eight points from Rounds 1 and 2 put you off because the former Moto3™ World Champion is yet to put it all together across a full weekend. When he gets it right, and that’s a when not an if, Binder could be looking at 20+ points very easily. Having never been to Brno on a MotoGP™ bike before, he may well have to fight it out of Q1 but that’s not necessarily a bad thing; remember a cheeky 5 bonus points go the way of the man who tops Q1. So, therefore, we’re backing Binder to bag big in Brno.
If looking at the form book is your kind of thing then 2019’s Czech Republic Grand Prix top five point scorers were: Marc Marquez (35), Andrea Dovizioso (31), Jack Miller (25), Alex Rins and Cal Crutchlow (23). Who will break into the 2020 top five? We hope it’s filled with our essential selection.
The game is FREE and available now on motogp.com, fantasy.motogp.com and in the official MotoGP™ app – so get started on your MotoGP™ Fantasy now if you haven't already!