ROAD RACE
MOTOGP / FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 8 / JULY 13-15, 2018
SACHSENRING / HOHENSTEIN-ERNSTTHAL, GERMANY
P52
Pedrosa's Repsol Honda, and
then on lap nine also Vinales. As
half-distance approached, he
was now pressing Dovizioso.
By now also, at the end of
lap 12, Marquez had finally
followed through on his long-
standing threat to Lorenzo, mov-
ing cleanly inside into the last
corner. Lorenzo was now facing
grip problems, and on lap 16 ran
wide at the last of the series of
lefts, giving Rossi an easy way
through into second.
He was almost a second be-
all close—Rossi having taken
third from Petrucci, also into the
first corner—when Crutchlow
crashed out on lap 10. He lost
the front in the final corner, and
was puzzled and angry, having
pushed the tire harder in previ-
ous laps, but blamed a quirk that
has troubled him before: that
when you are in a big group the
front tire is robbed of cooling air,
and can overheat.
By now Bautista was clos-
ing, at this point fastest on the
track, having got ahead of Dani
lead into the first tight corners,
with Petrucci and Marquez fol-
lowing, and Rossi straight up to
fourth ahead of Vinales and Cal
Crutchlow's LCR Honda.
The usual turn-one out-brak-
ing move saw Marquez slip into
second at the start of lap five,
with Crutchlow having made
the same move on Vinales two
laps earlier, the Yamaha rider
directly losing another place to
Dovizioso.
Vinales would lose touch
slightly, but the rest were still
Marquez allowed Rossi a sniff at the
win early on, but by midrace had
pulled the plug and cleared off.
