The cat Marc Marquez is not there, the mouse Fabio Quartararo is dancing. And taunts the rest of the peloton. Just a week after securing the first success of his young MotoGP career, the Frenchman gave a real demonstration this Sunday during the Andalusian Grand Prix. A demonstration at…. Marquez, it's tempting to add. Author of the pole position on Saturday after a magnificent duel with Maverick Vinales, the Yamaha rider did not miss his takeoff, which remained one of his rare weak points. Suddenly, he simply led the race from the first to the last loop, without leaving any hope for one of his opponents to worry him.
As if he were alone on his planet in the absence of a Marquez who tried the coup on Saturday in free practice, barely a week after his fractured right humerus during his fall during the inaugural grand prix. But the courage of the Spaniard will not have been enough. After 28 covered laps, the six-time MotoGP world champion understood that it would not be reasonable to take part in the race this Sunday. His first package in the premier class. Who opened a boulevard to a Quartararo who did not give in to the pressure that could have fallen on his shoulders. This Sunday, he will have known only two (very) small moments of doubt.
50 points ahead of Marquez
The first came at the start of the race, when Vinales tried to overtake him. Too optimistic, the Spaniard took off and Quartararo calmly resumed his first place, which he therefore only gave up within a few meters. In the maneuver, Vinales found himself third, behind a certain Valentino Rossi behind whom he would then stumble. Seven to eight tenths faster than the Italian in each lap, Quartararo widened the gap, which reached four seconds at the halfway point while the unexpected Francesco Bagnaia became his new runner-up. But seven laps from the end, the Italian's Ducati was starting to let out wisps of smoke, suggesting nothing but abandonment. The death in the soul.
Total domination !!! @ FabioQ20 takes a lights-to-flag win as Yamaha claim a podium clean sweep! # AndaluciaGPpic.twitter.com / TMY3AJk9CJ
- MotoGP ™ (@MotoGP) July 26, 2020Rossi at the same time recovered his second place but eight seconds behind a Quartararo far, so far ahead. So much so that the second fear, linked to the mechanical breakdown of his Yamaha teammate Franco Morbidelli, barely touched him since he could afford the luxury of managing his end of the race without forcing it. At 21, the Niçois became the first Frenchman to win twice in MotoGP. Above all, he takes 50 points ahead of Marquez in the World Championship, a lead that can whet his appetite even if Vinales, second again this Sunday, is only 10 points behind. Rossi, him, completes the podium while the other French of the field, Johann Zarco, signs a beautiful Top 10 (9th).
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