VOL. 55 ISSUE 44 NOVEMBER 6, 2018 P57
Ecstar Suzuki rider down and
out, crashing in avoidance of
Marquez.
But his teammate Alex Rins,
although down in eighth, was
able to show again the grow-
ing strength of the Suzuki. On
lap five, he set fastest lap; next
time around he was cleanly past
Miller, and the next also Dovizio-
so. Now he was right behind Pe-
drosa. Shortly after half-distance
he got past his older compatriot.
His next target was Zarco, at this
point more than three seconds
away.
Now Zarco started to get
worrying pit signals. "I could see
Alex was catching me at half-a-
second a lap, but I was strug-
told him it was time to get go-
ing again. Inch by inch he got
closer. By now, Zarco was also
suffering, and losing touch.
The crucial moment came
at the start of lap 17. "I don't
understand what happened,"
Rossi said later. "I was feeling
comfortable. I made a mistake,
because I crashed."
"I saw his mistake," said
Marquez. "It was a pity. I was
looking forward to the last lap."
So, too, was everybody
watching. Marquez was able
to settle his pace; Zarco felt he
was safe in second.
But there had been happen-
ings behind them.
Iannone was not part of them.
He'd been on Marquez's back
wheel as they came to the final
hairpin for the first time. Mar-
quez had lost the front, and
slowed suddenly as he recov-
ered. It was enough to put the
