Throughout the 2020 season Neil Morrison will be providing Racing Lowdown with exclusive analysis of what he sees in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes. This will take the form of the topics that Neil is most interested in before and after Grand Prix throughout the 2020 season. 

Last weekend was vintage Jorge Martin

Jorge Martin is looking to continue from his Austrian masterclass last week. The former Moto3 World Champion is sure to have picked up some confidence from winning last week where his performance was very reminiscent of what we saw from him Moto3. In 2018 he started races so impressively and it was the same last weekend. After the race restarted he said that he was struggling with the front end tucking a lot. Taking that into account it was very impressive to be able to keep a comfortable gap to Marini. Throughout this season he’s been smart by taking the bike home and avoiding mistakes. If he can win again this weekend he’ll be right in the middle of the title fight.

Can Bestia bounce back?

How does Bastianini bounce back after last weekend? He was responsible for the Days of Thunder style crash that brought out the red flag and now he has to react to a tough weekend. He said that he was struggling for top speed on the run to Turn 3 and was a bit too hard on the gas at the first corner to try and make up for that issue. He’s four points behind Marini in the championship and this is now the big test for his title credentials. Last year he had a big crash in Austria, where he was injured as a result, and he struggled after that. Can he bounce back instantly?

The Remy-ssance

Remy Gardner looked good last weekend by taking pole position and his pace was good. It was a massive step forward from Jerez and Brno and now he has to build on it. Remy said that the difference between him in 2019 and this year is that he was always looking to attack last year. It was the first time that he had been at the front and he wanted to make it count and get some podiums whereas this year he’s been steadier. Last weekend he was running third but losing ground, he’s bigger and heavier than most riders so is a bit lower on top speed, and he was trying to make up the time on the brakes. He made a big step forward from the Czech Republic to Austria and now he needs to continue that trend and make it count.

The clock is already ticking for Moto3 title contenders

In Moto3 it’s all about what people can do to stop Albert Arenas. The Aspar rider has built up a pretty handy advantage in the championship and now McPhee, Aguro and Suzuki need to stop thinking about taking podiums and instead start thinking about taking points away from Arenas. They need to win races and be more attacking. At the Red Bull Ring last weekend McPhee was fast enough to break away from the group but the track doesn’t make that possible so how he tries to unsettle Arenas will be interesting. They’ll know that if it doesn’t happen this weekend Arenas will go to Misano with the championship initive. They need to ruffle his feathers.

Oncu out to build on last weekend

Deniz Oncu was very impressive last week. He’s a former CEV, Red Bull Rookie and Asia Talent Cup front runner but after his brother, Can, struggled last year in Moto3 there’s not been the same expectation on Deniz for this year. In CEV last year he was fast but erratic and now in the World Championship we’ve seen him perform well at Jerez and last weekend. He led a lot of laps last week and looked very confident before getting shuttled down the order at the end. Could he finish on the podium? After last weekend’s performance you’d not put it past him.