If you thought that the 2020 MotoGP championship couldn’t get any more exciting, the Styrian GP at the Red Bull Ring, Austria presented one hell of an exciting race two weeks in a row. This weekend marks the 900th premier class race and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3) emerged as the winner at the home of KTM.
Have you ever seen a finish like it!!! ?@_moliveira88 and @Tech3Racing are #MotoGP winners!!! ?#AustrianGP ? pic.twitter.com/bFNQiRqTlU
— MotoGP™? (@MotoGP) August 23, 2020
With this win, Miguel Oliveira is also the first ever MotoGP premier class winner hailing from Portugal (and also the first win for the Tech3 squad). After a difficult start in the first half of the race, Oliveira persevered after the restart after the race was red-flagged when Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) lost control of his Yamaha M1 and slammed into the barrier before the bike caught on fire.
It was an emotional victory for the Portuguese as the he was running in third going into the final lap. Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) were duking out in but both riders went wide at the final turn which left the door wide open for Oliveira to take home his first ever MotoGP win.
With all that being said, you have to give credit to Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) who led the first part of the race before the red flags were waved. He had a strong start in the restart but after finding out that he didn’t have the pace with a used front tyre, he settled for P4.
The same goes to Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) who had brilliant pace fighting for podium contention in the first part of the race. His efforts were all lost during the restart when all riders and teams managed to recompose themselves during the restart. Nevertheless, he is the top Honda rider after crossing the chequered flag in P7.
The MotoGP field will make their way to Misano for the next round happening from 11-13 September 2020. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) is still ahead in the championship but only a few points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), and Maverick Vinales.
