Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 22 JUNE 4, 2013 weekend. First, that massive crash (see Briefly…) on Friday, and another two lesser tumbles in other free practice sessions. Second, not only bouncing back to qualify on row two, but taking a flying start to chase Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa and race winner Lorenzo as they pulled clear of the slightly depleted field. Lorenzo had grabbed the lead with a fierce move on fast-starter Pedrosa in the middle of the first corner. Pedrosa admitted he'd run a bit wide after braking late to compensate for what he thought was a poor start, but that the brakes were cold; Lorenzo that it was a marginally dangerous move, and that he'd apologized to Dani after the race, "but I knew I had to stop Dani escaping." The pair stayed together, with Marquez an ultra-close companion. Then as the race wore on Pedrosa started to lose rear grip and it was Lorenzo's chance to up the pace and make his break. Dani "couldn't open the throttle well and get rear grip." Marquez had "stayed quiet" behind Pedrosa for half the race, happy to be there "after everything that happened this weekend." But when Pedrosa slowed, he couldn't resist the temptation to pass. To catch Lorenzo would be "impossible, but I felt comfortable, so I tried to push a little bit." He was almost a second clear two laps later when he fell, on the second part of the CasanovaSavelli corner set. P73 Briefly... the alternative is something worse. In his own words, he describes the crash. "There like everybody knows it's uphill and downhill, there are some bumps and the front is floating a little bit. I braked at the same point, but a little more aggressive in the first part. The first part was okay, but then I braked a little bit more and the front wheel was locking. My reaction was to release the brake to try to save the crash, but then when it took the grip again it pushed me to the grass. When I was there I saw the wall. I was going directly to the wall, and I jumped off the bike. It was better like that. I was doing 328 [kmph] when I lost the front. Then when I crash was 300, more or less. When I stopped I was scared, because my visor was... my helmet was complete gravel in my face. I checked the legs, and they were okay, but I had a big bang on the shoulder and also especially on the face. Now it looks not so good, but yesterday it was much worse. Then I was scared but, you know, I remember everything, but the most important is that after that crash I was able to ride the bike. The helmet was quite damaged, but my head is perfect." Asked where he felt pain, he replied: "The body. Completely. Specially, I have a small crack in the shoulder, also the leg have big pain, and my face - the helmet was pushing quite a lot. But even like that I can ride more or less the bike." Riders had complained about the proximity of the wall on previous occasions, confirmed both Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi, and when asked if they would do so again at the Safety Commission meeting later in the evening, Rossi agreed enthusiastically. But it would be with little expectation of change, in spite of the unease of other riders. For Pedrosa, "It's a place where you don't hit the brakes too hard." For Nicky Hayden: "It is tight there. You think three or four guys going in there together you could touch pretty easy. That wall is tight. We all see it, but it's something you don't look at when you go down there. Would be good to do something there. This track does have a couple of tight ones." For Rossi: "It is a very high speed and it is not a flat straight. It has a small jump. I understand where Marc lost control, and the wall is too close. We tried in the past to move the wall, but they say it is not possible." Cal Crutchlow had a two-sided analysis. "We're trying to improve things all the time in the Safety Commission, but there is only so much you can do. There is always a fine line. If we move everything then… we'd be miles away. I'm not saying our safety should be sacrificed for the fans, but we have to be realistic." Jorge Lorenzo's start to his first MotoGP season was very similar to Marc Marquez's, with three rather than two pole starts, a win at the third attempt, and rostrums until he was fourth in race four. By then, however, he was already riding hurt after a big crash in practice in China, and at the next round in Catalunya he hurt himself more seriously. Considering the parallels, he was asked if he had feared that Marquez was riding for a fall. "When you play the lottery," he replied, "sometimes continued on next page

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