Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic The opening rounds of the
2020 championship have been heavily affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic. The Aragon Grand Prix, scheduled in the original calendar on October 4 as the sixteenth race of the season, was brought forward by a week following the initial postponement of the
Thailand Grand Prix (later cancelled on July 31) on the first Sunday in October (the Thailand stage was initially scheduled for 22 March as the second leg of the championship). Several Grands Prix were cancelled or postponed after the aborted
opening round in Qatar, prompting the
Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to draft a new calendar. A new calendar based exclusively in Europe was announced on 11 June. The race in Aragon was placed on 18 October as the tenth GP of the season. The race organizers signed a contract with
Dorna Sports, owner of the commercial rights to the sport, to host a second round on the circuit on 25 October (one week after the first race) known as the "Teruel Grand Prix". The race was named for the
Teruel province of the autonomous community of
Aragon where the
MotorLand Aragón is located. The race is the fourth time in the history of the sport that the same venue and circuit track have hosted consecutive World Championship races, and it is the second time it has taken place in
Spain.
MotoGP Championship standings before the race After the tenth round of the 2020 Aragon Grand Prix,
Joan Mir became the new leader of the drivers' classification with 121 points, six more than the previous leader
Fabio Quartararo, who in the previous race had closed out of the points zone. Third with 109 points
Maverick Viñales, who overtook
Andrea Dovizioso, now fourth with 106 points. Fifth is
Takaaki Nakagami with 92 points. In the manufacturers' standings,
Yamaha leads with 183 points, followed by
Ducati with 160 points.
Suzuki is third with 143 points and has overtaken
KTM, now fourth at 130.
Honda is fifth at 112 points, while
Aprilia closes the standings with 35 points. In the team championship,
Team Suzuki Ecstar surpasses
Petronas Yamaha SRT with 206 points, with the Malaysian team now second by 4 points less from the leader.
Ducati Team and
Monster Energy Yamaha follow with 171 and 167 points respectively, and
KTM Factory Racing with 144 points.
MotoGP Entrants •
Stefan Bradl replaced Marc Márquez for the ninth straight race while the latter recovered from injuries sustained in his opening round crash. •
Valentino Rossi tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on October 15, requiring him to remain in quarantine for a minimum of 10 days under Italian law and forcing him to skip the Teruel round after the Aragon round. Yamaha confirmed that it would not field a replacement for Rossi's bike. ==Free practice==