MotoGP 20: Spanish Grand Prix Setup Guide - Jerez guide, suspension, & more

We're really excited for MotoGP 21! In the build-up to its release next year, we're bringing you setup guides for every circuit in MotoGP 20!

The Circuito de Jerez is one of four tracks in Spain to host a MotoGP race in 2020, this being the home of the Spanish GP. This circuit is one of the most challenging on the calendar, being extremely narrow and fast.

Here's the setup you need to succeed in Spain!

Tyres

Jerez is a real challenge for the tyres. They’ll be crying out for relief through the long high-speed corners like Turns 4 and 5.

We recommend using the medium compound on both the front and rear of the bike. These tyres give plenty of grip, so you’ll be able to keep up with the leaders’ pace. They are also durable enough to make it through a GP distance.

You could go hard on the front axle, but this would cost you a lot of time in lost performance.

Suspension

Jerez has two long straights but the majority of the circuit is made up of corners. Your suspension setup will therefore be more conservative than usual.

This will cost you some time on the straights but your performance in the bends will more than compensate for that.

We recommend low preload values of 4 on both the front and rear axles, This increases your grip levels and alleviates understeer.

Your fork values need to be relatively high though, around 7 for the front axle and 8 on the rear to aid stability.

Shock absorbers should be 6 for the front and 7 on the rear, as you'll be using a lot of kerbs. The springs need to be hard for steering precision though, we went with 9 and 8 on the front and rear.

Steering Adjustment

With your suspension set up to be smooth, you need to make your steering adjustment as responsive as you feasibly can to be quick in Jerez.

The head inclination and trail need to be low, around 2 for both front and rear. This helps you in the high-speed direction changes required for some of the sharper corners.

Gear Ratio

There aren’t many long straights in Jerez but the track has a high average speed.

Therefore, the gear ratios need to be set high, except for first gear, as this allows better traction out of the slow corners such as Turns 6 and 13.

First gear needs to be as low as it will go, whereas gears 2-6 have to be almost as high as possible.

Brake System

There are two big stops in Jerez but nothing out of the ordinary. Neither straights allows you to get up to 200mph (320kph).

Your braking system shouldn't deviate from the defaults of 340mm and 220mm.

ECU

There aren't many serious traction zones in Jerez. However, you’ll need the traction control to be turned up, as there’s not a lot of grip out there on the dusty surface.

Turn both the TC and the engine braking up to their maximum values. Anti-wheelie aid has to be turned all the way up too, as the elevation changes makes the front want to fly up at times.

Be sure to turn your power up to 2 for the straights and whenever you've got excess fuel in the tank. These can all be adjusted out on-track and during the race though, so feel free to alter these as your race progresses.