VOL. 50 ISSUE 29 JULY 23, 2013
Stefan Bradl (6) had his
best-career finish in MotoGP
when he ended up second to
Marquez (93). The German led
the first half of the race.
lap by lap. By the eighth it was
barely half a second, and now
the Spanish boy wonder settled
for a spell of following, waiting
his chance.
The outcome was as prefig-
ured many times in Moto2, and
exactly as expected. When no
mistake was forthcoming, Marquez created his own opportunity; a better exit from Rainey Corner and a sweep around the next
right-hander to dive up the inside
and outbrake Bradl to block him
into the final corner. Job done,
and he could cruise away.
"We weren't expecting this
from our first visit to Laguna,"
Marquez said. "I didn't think I
would adapt so easily to such a
tricky circuit – but from the first
day I felt very comfortable and
quickly found the best lines."
The bumps, however, had
taken a little longer.
Easily said, but it was a towering victory, second in a row
(breaking another of Spencer's
1983 records for youngest-ever
back-to-backs); and extending
his points lead over Pedrosa to a
more than handy 16. There's still
half-a-year to go, but the upstart
is looking like a far more serious
contender than at the start of the
season.
So what of his invalid rivals?
Lorenzo had a new 10-screw
plate fitted the previous Saturday, plus an extra bone screw
and a bone graft. An extra week,
compared with his Assen race,
but also a full weekend to endure. Pedrosa had recovered
P45
Briefly...
entrusted to the Forward team's
current chassis suppliers, Britain's
FTR. The team currently runs Colin Edwards and Claudio Corti on
Kawasaki-powered CRT bikes.
The Yamaha plan complies with
rider Colin Edwards's initial desire,
when he joined the team as a CRT
pioneer last year: but with the rider
market in flux, it is not certain he
will be kept on for a third season.
He'd like to stay with the team, especially with the hope of "a package that should have much better
performance. I like popping wheelies and doing donuts," he said.
In jocular mood, he added that if
he couldn't find a MotoGP berth,
he'd likely switch to Little League
baseball, to coach his son's team.
"Oh, and do the Baja 1000 with
him [points to Rossi]. I've been trying to persuade him." There are
some interesting candidates for the
team, including both British riders.
Bradley Smith (should he accept
a year in waiting) has been quietly
improving in his debut season. The
second name in the frame is Scott
Redding, although he is also considering a chance on a production-version RC213V at the Gresini
team.
Ben Spies will return for the Indianapolis GP after the summer break.
"My season starts at Indy" he announced at Laguna, adding: "I wish
this race was two weeks later."
Looking fit and relaxed, the former
World Superbike Champion and
GP winner spoke of "working my
butt off" with rehab sessions, supervised daily at a top Dallas clinic.
Suffering shoulder injuries late last
year, after having announced he
was to leave Yamaha and possibly
MotoGP at Laguna last year, Spies
continued on next page
