The 2020 Moto3 World Championship will come to a close this weekend for PETRONAS Sprinta Racing in Portugal, as they take on the challenge of Algarve International Circuit, a new addition to the calendar. John McPhee and Khairul Idham Pawi will be aiming to end their season on a high at the Grande Prémio de Portugal.
The Portimão circuit is one that McPhee has not raced at previously, so he will be looking to make use of the extended Free Practice sessions to learn and adapt to the Portuguese circuit. The Scot is eager to improve upon recent results and make a return to the front of the field at the final round of the season. John is heading to the seventh in the championship rankings this weekend with 124 points.
Unlike his team-mate, KIP has previously raced at Algarve International Circuit. The Malaysian enjoyed a successful race at the Portuguese circuit in 2015, competing in the FIM CEV championship, where he finished in the top-five. KIP will be hoping that Portimão brings good fortune to him again, as he aims to finish his time in the team with a positive note.
The final Moto3 round of 2020 will begin at 9 am local time (5 pm MYT) on Friday with a slightly extended Free Practice 1 session, with Sunday’s 21-lap race due to getting underway at 11 am local time (7 pm MYT)
Last weekend wasn’t the best for us, but now we can look forward to a completely different circuit to end the season with this weekend. I have never been to the Portimão circuit before, but I’ve seen a lot of videos from there and it looks really nice. Comparing it to Valencia, where we’ve just been for two weeks, it looks like almost the complete opposite! I’m excited to go there, although it will be difficult to learn the track, but I think we can put up a really good fight and hopefully end the season back at the front.
Although Portimão is new on the MotoGP calendar, I have ridden there in 2015 when I was in the FIM CEV championship. I really enjoyed the circuit and, although it was my first time there, I had a really good race and finished in the top-five. The circuit layout is amazing because it is almost like a rollercoaster; you go up and down over the course of the lap. I am hoping that we can make some improvements, have a good race and finish the 2020 season with a good result.