Reigning MotoGP™ Rookie of the Year and Petronas Yamaha SRT star Fabio Quartararo has had his say on the 2020 calendar that was released on the 11th of June.
The paddock heads to a double-header in Jerez, scene of Quartararo becoming the youngster-ever premier class polesitter when he turned heads at the start of the European leg in 2019. A mechanical fault in the race halted the number 20's podium charge but the Frenchman is very much looking forward to turning a wheel in anger at the Andalusian layout in July.
“I’m really happy that we finally have a calendar. Thanks go to Dorna and IRTA for the great job done,” began Quartararo. “I’m training really hard for it and we finally have a confirmed start date, so our target is now on July 19th in Jerez. It will be a different calendar, the only one that can go ahead in this extraordinary situation.
“We will have back-to-back races at the same circuit and less GPs, but I think the most important thing in this kind of championship is to finish races and go race by race. We will have to be really careful with crashes and injuries because, with such a tight championship, one injury can mean you’re out for a lot of races. It will also be important to follow the protocols strictly.”
Likewise to a lot of the venues and countries MotoGP™ normally visit, the French Grand Prix – Quartararo’s home race – had serious doubts about whether it could host MotoGP™ in 2020. However, all things being well, we will be heading to the iconic Le Mans circuit – something ‘El Diablo’ is over the moon about.
“Honestly after all the rumours during the last couple of months in the media, I never expected a race in France. It was a really nice surprise. Hopefully, if the worldwide situation improves, maybe they can also open the circuits to a small number of fans – that would be great.
“We miss them a lot! Now the most important thing is to step-by-step, stay healthy and later we will have time to enjoy the entire MotoGP experience again. If we can conclude the year at the home GP of the team in Malaysia it would be an extra bonus for a really difficult start of the year.”