VOL. 55 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 P59
Only Lorenzo chose the
soft front Michelin, most of
the rest going for the hardest
of three options. For the rear,
both Suzuki riders and Mar-
quez were among six risking
the soft, Marquez changing
on the grid. Everybody else
was on the hard.
"I felt alright on the hard,
but I crashed in the warm-up,
and it made me think," Mar-
quez explained of his choice
afterwards. A lively discus-
sion with his crew chief Santi
Hernandez prompted the late
change. "It was a risk, be-
cause I'd never used it in the
[hot] afternoon sessions. But
I thought it would be the only
way I could fight Dovi."
With Lorenzo looping out
early, the front four were on
their own throughout.
SLOW MOTO3 RIDERS
Thirteen Moto3 riders—believed
to be a record—were penalized on
race morning at Aragon, significantly
reshuffling the start grid after a fresh
outbreak of serious dawdling in
qualifying. The list of names ran from
experts to rookies and a wildcard—the
penalties from the usual 12 grid places
for a first offence to a pit-lane start for
a third. The last went to SKY VR46
rookie Dennis Foggia, while former
winners Andrea Migno and Nico
Antonelli and podium finishers Gabriel
Rodrigo and Jakub Kornfeil were
sent to the back of the grid. Those
suffering 12-place penalties included
erstwhile front-row qualifier Enea
Bastianini and second-row man Marco
Bezzecchi, who complained bitterly
after the race that it had been unfair,
as "I was the only rider in qualifying
who rode by himself." Others were
wildcard Alcoba, notables like Bulega,
Arbolino, Misano winner Dalla Porta,
Fernandez and Masaki.
SLOW MOTOGP RIDERS
Dawdling on the racing line is not so
often seen in MotoGP, but at Aragon
there were penalties for two offenders
who got in the way in Q1. The victim
was Bradley Smith, galloping along
on the Red Bull KTM and having set
second-fastest time in the first three
of four sections. This would have
been good enough to put him through
to Q2 with the big boys for the first
time this year. Instead, he ran into
slow-coaching factory Yamaha rider
Maverick Vinales and independent
Honda rookie Franco Morbidelli in the
last corner, spoiling his run. To be fair,
Vinales did try to get out of his way
but Morbidelli wasn't even aware of
him. Both were punished, with Vinales
Briefly...
center with a dislocated right toe
and foot fractures. He com-
plained bitterly about Marquez's
corner line, saying. "He is a re-
cidivist. He ruined my race, and
he needs to apologize." Keep in
mind this will be his 2019 team-
mate.
The afternoon stayed true
to another pattern. In baking
heat, 62,970 partisan Spanish
fans on the hillsides around the
spectacular 3.15-mile MotorLand
Aragon circuit watched Marquez
do what he's been doing even
when he didn't win—extend his
championship lead again.
In the unlikely event of
Dovizioso winning every one of
the remaining five races, Marc
needs only to finish second
three times to take a third suc-
cessive title, his fifth in his six
years in the MotoGP class.
