MotoGP stays in place at Misano for the second part of its latest double-header, featuring another new race for 2020 with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
After another dramatic race in one of the most unpredictable MotoGP campaigns, Franco Morbidelli became the fourth different first-time winner as he stormed to victory at Misano last Sunday.
Coupled with Fabio Quartararo’s two crashes during the race, Andrea Dovizioso has become the new championship leader and holds a six-point advantage at the top of the standings.
Despite another race weekend which started promisingly only to fail to live up to expectations, Maverick Vinales topped the one-day test at Misano held on Tuesday between the double-header, while San Marino GP winner Morbidelli missed out on the action through illness.
One of the biggest talking points from the test was the trial of the radio system, which could be introduced on safety grounds to warn riders with pre-recorded messages, with the current device splitting opinion within the paddock.
INSIGHT: Will introducing radios change the “DNA” of MotoGP?
With MotoGP completing its Misano double-header this weekend, the paddock heads on to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Catalunya GP at the end of the month.
What is the Emilia Romagna MotoGP?
Due to the shaken-up 2020 MotoGP calendar amid the coronavirus pandemic, championship organisers have bolstered out the redrawn campaign with a series of double-headers.
Following the two races at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, Misano is the latest venue to host back-to-back MotoGP rounds.
With races not allowed to share the same name in the same year, the second Misano race has been named after the region the circuit is situated in – Emilia Romagna – which was the same naming policy used for the Styrian GP.
Despite it being the final MotoGP event held in Italy this season, there will be no 2020 Italian GP as the name is associated to its traditional home Mugello, which saw its race cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions earlier this year.
2020 Emilia Romagna MotoGP session timings
MotoGP will run its traditional schedule of two free practice sessions lasting 45 minutes each on Friday, with another 45-minute practice session on Saturday morning. The top 10 on the combined FP1-2-3 timesheet will automatically enter into Q2 of qualifying. A final 30-minute FP4 session is held on Saturday afternoon ahead of qualifying.
Q1 of qualifying sees all riders who did not finish in the top 10 of the combined practice times take part with the top two finishers progressing into Q2 alongside the top 10 who gained an automatic spot via their practice times.
Q2 is the pole position shootout which decides the order of the front four rows, with the rest of the grid organised on Q1 times, for the 27-lap Emilia Romagna GP on Sunday.
Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE are also in action during the Emilia Romagna GP.
Friday 18th September 2020
Free Practice 1: 8:55am-9:40am BST (9:55am-10:40pm local)
Free Practice 2: 1:10pm-1:55pm BST (2:10pm-2:55pm local)
Saturday 19th September 2020
Free Practice 3: 8:55am-9:40am BST (9:55am-10:40am local)
Free Practice 4: 12:30pm-1:00pm BST (1:30pm-2:00pm local)
Qualifying: 1:10pm-1:50pm BST (2:10pm-2:50pm local)
Sunday 20th September 2020
Warm Up: 8:40am-9:00am BST (9:20am-9:40am local)
Race: 1:00pm BST (2:00pm local)
How can I watch the Emilia Romagna MotoGP?
· Channel: BT Sport 2
· Channel numbers – Sky: 414 (BT Sport 2)
· Channel numbers – Virgin Media: 528 (BT Sport)
BT Sport’s live coverage of Sunday’s action starts with the warm-up sessions at 07:15am, taking it from the world feed, before switching to its own broadcast at 09:00am for the pre-race show ahead of the MotoE race.
The build-up to the MotoGP race starts from 12:30pm, or when the Moto2 race finishes, ahead of lights out at 1:00pm.
Can I stream the Emilia Romagna MotoGP?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can also stream the Emilia Romagna GP by purchasing a video pass from MotoGP.com. A one-off video pass, which lasts until the first race of the 2021 season, costs £128.92p, or it can be paid for in two instalments each costing £64.46p.
The video pass gives access to every live session, qualifying and race, plus world feed content and the chance to watch previous races.
Weather forecast for the Emilia Romagna MotoGP
Misano is set for warm conditions with sunny spells throughout the Emilia Romagna GP race weekend, with highs of 26 degrees Celsius on race day, fractionally cooler than last week’s San Marino GP, but there is also a small chance of rain on Sunday.