Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/145534
P26 WIND PHOTOGPAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE IN THE SPANISH the Red Bull U.S. Grand HEROES wo heroic returns at T Prix saw the senior Spanish riders Jorge battling to overcome pain and frailty Lorenzo (99) in order to keep in touch with their leads Dani increasingly worrying runaway young Pedrosa (26) countryman. early in the Both Jorge Lorenzo and Dani PeU.S. Grand Prix. drosa were out of the German GP with collarbone injuries, which leveled the ground between them. It also gave a platform for Marc Marquez's second win, giving him the overall lead. Before the U.S. round, which marked the midpoint of the year, each of the top three had suffered one no-score, and the youngster was in front. And with just 11 points between them, there was everything to play for. Neither of the older riders could resist the urge to take medical advice, and rest up instead. Lorenzo broke his collarbone at Assen, had it screwed and plated, and barely 36 hours later raced to fifth. He fell again on Friday afternoon at the Sachsenring, rebroke the bone, and bent the new plate. A fresh one was inserted with a total of 11 screws, and he said he would stay home. A couple of days later, he changed his mind. Lorenzo battled on impressively through practice at Laguna Seca, finding the very physical track "much more difficult than Assen," the braking for turn two and the Corkscrew exacting particular punishment. Restricting his morning outings, he was straight into sixth, less than half a second off pole in the first afternoon. He qualified in the same position. Pedrosa had been ready to race in Germany, although another fall had a very high risk of turning a partial collarbone fracture into a complete one: but was ruled out on race morning when persistent low blood pressure meant he was suffering dizzy spells. He missed both morning sessions altogether at Laguna, and looked stiff and uncomfortable as he placed only 11th on Friday afternoon, more than a second shy. This obliged him to run in Qualifying 1 with the CRT gang, and in qualifying, by now looking more convincing, he was seventh to lead row three. In the race, Pedrosa got the better of the walking wounded, finishing fifth to Lorenzo's sixth. Michael Scott YAMAHA GOING SEAMLESS Y amaha's MotoGP riders' pleas for a seamless-shift gearbox may be met before the end of the season, team chief Lin Jarvis revealed in the lead-up to the U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo set to test it during the summer break at Brno. Factory testers have been developing the system in Japan, Jarvis told press at a pre-event conference at the Yamaha U.S. headquarters in Cypress, California. He expected to see it in action before the end of this season. Ducati and Honda each has a version of the gearbox, which saves vital tenths over a full lap because the uninterrupted power not only improves acceleration but also helps corner-exit