ROUND 14 / SEPTEMBER 29-OCTOBER 1, 2023
MOTEGI MOBILITY RESORT / TOCHIGI, JAPAN
P72
frantic last-minute tire changes
on the grid for Sunday's GP.
Almost the entire grid started
on slicks despite the incoming
weather, and as the lights went
out, Martin, once again, shot off
into the lead at turn one, this
time from Miller and Binder.
There was contact further
back as Vinales and Zarco clat
-
tered into each other, Vinales
Zarco (Prima Pramac Ducati),
Bezzecchi, Marquez, Fabio Di
Giannantonio (Gresini Ducati),
Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Rac-
ing) and Raul Fernandez (Cryp-
toDATA RNF MotoGP Team
Aprilia) rounding out the top 10.
SUNDAY MOTOGP
Threatening skies across the
Motegi venue made for some
RINS RETURNS…
BUT WITHDRAWS
On Friday Alex Rins returned
briefly from the serious injury to
his right leg he sustained at the
Italian GP in early June. The
Spaniard's last-minute decision
to fly to Japan caught stand-in
rider Stefan Bradl off guard,
with the German not learning
about Rins' arrival until late on
Thursday. "Two days ago, I was
in Madrid in the hospital with the
doctors, talking, comparing the
x-rays," said Rins, who fractured
the tibia and fibula at Mugello.
His decision to come was "one
step forward on my rehabilita-
tion. As I said, it's very difficult
to compare the feeling with the
street bike or MotoGP bike. The
first time I jumped on the bike
after the injury was on a very
small bike [one month ago]. And
the pain was terrible." But by
Friday afternoon, it was clear he
couldn't continue. "The pain is
so high in the right corners," he
said. "To ride with angle and go
out of the bike, holding it with
one leg; that is the most difficult
right now." He'll attempt a return
in Indonesia. Bradl stepped back
in on Saturday.
ACOSTA TO KTM:
HURRY UP
On the face of it, Pedro Acosta
delivered one of the weirder TV
interviews of the year on Fri-
day. The Moto2 Championship
leader cast doubt on whether he
will indeed jump up to MotoGP
next year, saying the move is
"all up in the air." The reality
is the 19-year-old was giving
KTM the hurry up. And in not an
Briefly...
MOTOGP I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Nearly the entire
field exits pit lane
after swapping to
their wet bikes.
