Joan Mir Officially Becomes MotoGP 2020 Champion, The First Title For This Racer From Spain

MotoGP racer from Spain, Joan Mir. (Photo: Twitter @JoanMirOfficial)

JAKARTA - Suzuki Ecstar team rider Joan Mir confirmed his first MotoGP world title at the Grand Prix of Valencia on Sunday when Franco Morbidelli won his third victory this season by winning the penultima race (second-to-last series) in 2020.

Pramac Racing team rider Jack Miller secured points for Ducati in the constructors' standings after finishing runner-up while Pol Espargaro finished third for the second time in a row for the KTM Factory Racing team.

After winning his first MotoGP at the European Grand Prix, Mir started the Valencia Grand Prix, which was both held at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, with a 37-point advantage over Quartararo and Rins in the standings.

Even though he was disappointed with the P12 results in qualifying, Mir kept his rhythm in the 13th series and finished P7 behind the two KTM riders Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira.

Meanwhile, his team mate, Alex Rins did not want to fall behind in the title race and appeared more aggressive since starting from P14 and ending the race in P4.

Quoting Antara, Sunday 15 November, with this additional 25 points, Mir's position at the top of the standings is impossible to catch with one series remaining this season in Portugal next week. The Spaniard repeated Suzuki's glory in the premier class in 2000 when American Kenny Robert Jr. won the world title for the team from Hamamatsu, Japan.

Mir, who is the 2017 Moto3 world champion, won his first MotoGP title in his second year in the premier class.

Meanwhile, Quartararo's title race ended early when he crashed on lap 9 and failed to finish the race. Before the fall, the French rider also had problems with his Yamaha motorbike after going wide at Turn 1 on the opening lap.

Quartararo's teammate at Petronas Yamaha, Morbidelli actually appeared dominant from the start from pole position and was able to withstand Miller's attacks on the last lap to finish 0.093 seconds from the Australian rider, according to the official MotoGP page.

With these results, Morbidelli placed himself in second place in the standings with a collection of 142 points, 29 points adrift of Mir, and Rins remains in third place with 138 points, 11 points ahead of Maverick Vinales from the Yamaha factory team.

Mir's victory is a provision for Suzuki who has the opportunity to lock in three titles, with the title race for the team and factory in Portimao next week.