Five ways this MotoGP season is shaping up to be the most unpredictable yet

It’s safe to say that MotoGP is making up for the racing we’ve lost in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic with drama aplenty.

From new faces on the podium, familiar ones absent from the track, new constructors in the limelight and some spectacular crashes, the 2020 MotoGP season is looking to be one of the most dramatic for a long time.

Currently, fans are being forced to enjoy the action from the sofa. But with the San Marino MotoGP and finale at the Portuguese MotoGP set to allow fans back to the track, here are five things you need to you about this dramatic season of racing.

Challenging, changing calendar

The impact of COVID-19 hampered the 2020 MotoGP season heavily. Originally set to start on 19 March, 12 rounds were forced to be canceled in the wake of the pandemic.

When racing did get started, organisers were tasked with putting together a calendar chock-full of old and new circuits.

What has resulted is a calendar of 14 races including five double headers: Jerez, Red Bull Ring, Misano, Aragon and Valencia.

The third of which, the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, will be the first to allow fans in the grandstands. Located on the north-eastern coast of Italy, fans will be able to cheer on the riders for the first time, and tickets are on sale for those looking for their racing fix.

It won’t be the only race with fans in attendance, either. Portimao in Portugal has been added to the calendar as the season closer in November. While World Superbikes have raced at the track on the Algarve before, it’s the first time MotoGP will visit.

And it will be to conclude what is turning out to be a highly unpredictable season of racing. It’s only fair that fans will be there – safely – to witness the grand finale.

For a taste of what to expect when we race in Portugal, here’s an on board lap with World Superbikes’ Van Der Mark.

Marc Marquez makes way…

At the first race of 2020 in Spain, six-time premier class champion Marc Marquez was chasing down Vinales for second. But with just four laps to go, Marquez had a huge crash and he walked away with a broken arm.

Two days later, the Spaniard underwent surgery and was back on the bike the very next weekend. However, it was not the comeback he hoped for, and he was forced to withdraw from the race.

Incredibly, Marquez then damaged the plat that had been fitted in his arm when trying to open a window at his home. This required a second surgery, and a lengthy spell of recovery ruling him out for at least two more months.

This is Marc Marquez, who has only ever failed to win one of the seven MotoGP World Championships he’s entered. Out for pretty much the entire season.

For Formula 1 fans – imagine how the championship might play out if Lewis Hamilton was absent for pretty much half the season…  That’s what’s happening in MotoGP right now.

While no one is happy to see a driver injured, it has opened the door for a host of drivers to step up this year.

Rookies stealing the MotoGP show

We’re currently five races in to the 2020 season, and have had four different race winners. To put that into context, in 2018 we had to wait 17 races until a fifth driver stepped onto the top step. And in 2019, only 5 drivers shared the wins across all 19 races.

But, it’s not just the number of different winners. With Fabio Quartararo winning the first two races, followed by Brad Binder and now Miguel Oliveira, three of the four winners have never been on the top step in MotoGP before.

And of those three, it is Brad Binder’s first ever season in the premier class.

All this sets up a season where anyone believes that can take a win. From veterans of the championship to complete rookies, more drivers will feel like they have a shot at the top step.

Spectacular crashes

Unfortunately, Marquez’s crash at the first race in Spain wasn’t the only big one of the year.

In Austria, Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli’s lap 9 crash caught social media’s attention. The two got tangled approaching the tight turn three at the Red Bull Ring, sending their bikes flying in pieces towards Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales battling up ahead.

Both Rossi and Vinales were incredibly lucky to avoid being taken out by the full force of a flying motorbike. Rossi, in particular, narrowly avoided a blow to the head.

Vinales was again involved in drama the next week, when his brakes exploded as he bombed along the main straight.

Travelling at 200 km/h, Maverick had no option but to hurl himself off the bike to avoid a huge collision with the barrier.

While every driver involved came out relatively unscathed, but each incident serves as a reminder of the risks involved in this insanely dangerous sport.

All to play for in the constructors’ championship

It’s not just the drivers’ championship where this MotoGP season gets interesting.

Honda have been the victorious constructor in every season bar one since 2011. Yet they haven’t won a single race in the 2020 season so far.

You have to go back to 2009 to find a season where Honda didn’t win one of the opening five races.

Of course, Marquez’s absence contributes partly to that fact. But one man does not make a team.

The manufacturer’s championship is set to be a tightly contested fight, with Yamaha and Ducati taking wins, while KTM took their first ever MotoGP victory as a constructor in Brno. Then took their second win in Styria to boot.

There’s a long way to run in the 2020 MotoGP season, but with a third of the season already run, it’s clear it’s set to be one to remember.