VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P73
NEW FORMAT
APPRECIATED
Friday was the first-time riders ex-
perienced a change to the MotoGP
format, which means the first ses-
sion of the weekend—now called
FP1—no longer counts toward
who enters Saturday's Q2 session
automatically. The change was
introduced as there were fears the
fact every session had an element
of risk caused the high injury rate
witnessed in the season's first half.
Franco Morbidelli, who crashed
toward the end of Friday morning,
appreciated the change. "For me,
I had a crash this morning, and if it
was the usual format, then I should
have gone back to the pit box and
gone straight out to make the time
attack. Instead, I could go out with
the same tires, medium tires, and
take it more gently. That was bet-
ter. I was happy about that."
APRILIA TESTING
CARBON CHASSIS
Photos leaked from a private April-
ia test showed the Italian factory is
testing a carbon-fiber chassis for
its MotoGP project. Test rider Lo-
renzo Savadori put the new frame
through its paces at Misano, but
Aleix Espargaro confirmed it needs
more laps before being raced.
"They tested quite a few things dur-
ing the summer break, and I have
some for Practice 1 on Friday,"
said Espargaro. "The chassis is still
on the first steps. It is still our baby.
Hopefully, I can try it at some point
this year, but not here in Silver-
stone." A carbon chassis has not
appeared in MotoGP since Ducati
experimented with the technology
in 2009 and 2010.
Briefly...
