Fabio Quartararo took his first victory in the premier class, the first for a French rider since Regis Laconi at the 1999 Valencian Grand Prix, the first for a Yamaha satellite team, as well as the first non-Honda satellite rider to win a Grand Prix.

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.

Organisers of the race signed a contract with Dorna Sports, the sport's commercial rights holder, to host a second round at the circuit on 26 July (a week after the first race) to be known as the Andalusian Grand Prix.

This would also mark the first time in the sport's history that the same venue and circuit layout would have hosted back-to-back World Championship races and the first time that a MotoGP race weekend was held behind closed doors.

Álex Márquez and Brad Binder made their competitive debuts with Repsol Honda and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing respectively, and Iker Lecuona started his first full season with Red Bull KTM Tech3 having previously raced for them at the 2019 Valencian Grand Prix.