VOL. 56 ISSUE 20 MAY 21, 2019 P75
There was close racing behind
the top five, with Pol Espargaro
claiming KTM's best dry-weather
result in sixth. It was a storming
ride by the Spaniard, way ahead
of the other KTMs, taking the
benefit of an all-new carbon fiber
swingarm. At one point, he even
looked like threatening Rossi, and
he was less than three seconds
behind the Yamaha at the end.
He had gradually outpaced
satellite Petronas Yamaha rider
Franco Morbidelli, but it was
the second Petronas rider who
Abraham and Joan Mir (Ecstar
Suzuki) fell independently but
within yards of one another at
the first sharp left-hander. Both
restarted on their spare bikes, but
Abraham was out fractionally after
the leader had passed the pit-lane
exit, and was black-flagged.
In the cool temps, all but one
rider had chosen Michelin's soft
tires, front, and rear. The excep-
tion was Takaaki Nakagami (LCR
Honda), with a medium front. He
crashed out, spoiling a run of top-
10 finishes.
NO STOPPING MARC
Marc Marquez continues to
break records as his remarkable
career matures… and not only
for surviving the greatest number
of crashes. His pole position for
tomorrow's French GP was his
55th. This puts him equal with
Valentino Rossi in modern-era
racing; and just three behind Mick
Doohan's record of 58. Victory
at Le Mans brought his premier-
class total to 47, putting him equal
with fourth overall with Jorge
Lorenzo. Ahead of him: Valentino
Rossi (89), Giacomo Agostini (68)
and Doohan (54).
REALLY, JACK?
Jack Miller saw the funny side of
having crashed three times over
the two practice days—the most in
the premier class—with 61 tumbles
so far in tricky conditions across
all three classes. His third crash
was in qualifying when "I pushed
too hard, and she didn't want it."
He picked the bike up then did a
stand-up wheelie, swerving from
side to side to try to shake gravel
out of the belly pan. There was
enough left, after the two days,
he joked, "to make an aquarium
when we get home."
CAN'T HELP HIMSELF
Controversial Italian Romano
Fenati was suffering from a self-
inflicted injury as his return to
Moto3 continues to leave him
underwhelmed. He managed to
recover from a big slide in free
practice… but in the process, ran
over his own foot, suffering badly
torn ligaments.
Briefly...
Pol Espargaro rode
like a demon for KTM's
best-ever dry-weather
MotoGP race result.
Early laps and Marquez (93) had Miller for close company.
