VOL. 55 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 23, 2018 P59
LORENZO GOES HOME
Jorge Lorenzo was set to fly back
to Europe for medical treatment to
his fractured left radius bone, in the
hope of getting fit for the Malaysian
GP at Sepang in two weeks' time. The
Ducati star's withdrawal from the Japa-
nese GP and the upcoming Australian
GP—after just two exploratory laps on
Friday—was triggered by pain, and the
risk of making the fracture worse, the
former triple premier-class champion
told press. "It's a sad moment, be-
cause I really wanted to race here, at
one of my favorite circuits," he said.
BAUTISTA IN
Alvaro Bautista will take Lorenzo's
place on the factory Ducati at Phil-
lip Island, after hopes that Australian
Casey Stoner might be tempted out
of retirement or compatriot Jack Miller
be given a chance on the factory bike
came to naught. The Stoner sugges-
tion was never to be taken seriously,
but Miller's chances were scuppered—
along with those of Alma Pramac team-
mate Danilo Petrucci—because the
team is currently the top independent
squad in the Teams Championship,
and therefore reluctant to sacrifice the
chance for good points.
RECORD MAN
Marquez's fifth MotoGP crown in
six years added more records to an
already bulging portfolio of "firsts" and
"youngest evers." He is the youngest
to win seven championships, taking
over from Mike Hailwood. Rossi was
25 years and 246 days old; Mike
"The Bike" Hailwood was 26 plus
140 days. He also deposes Valentino
Rossi as the youngest rider to have
won five premier-class titles. He is
one of only eight riders to have taken
Briefly...
Pole man Dovi led
over the line but
Marquez, starting
from sixth, was up
to second by the
end of lap one.
