ROUND 10/AUGUST 18, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY/INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
MOTOGP
P42
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
RABAT'S SURPRISE
All the attention was on the title
battle between Marc VDS rider Scott
Redding and his challenger Pol Espargaro on the Tuenti HP 40 mount
- both riding Kalex. They'd clashed
on track in qualifying, but Redding
had come out on top and on pole. It
was very close, though, with the top
20 all posting times within a second
of the leader.
The pair took off up front, but
Italtrans Kalex's Takaaki Nakagami
was up to second before the back
straight, and drafted past Redding to
lead at the end of the first lap.
He would stay there, at his best
on new tires with a full tank, and
gradually open up a gap that was
almost 2.5 seconds at half distance.
By this stage Espargaro had
finally got the better of Redding;
while close behind Nico Terol and
Dominique Aegerter had both moved
ahead of eventual winner Esteve
Rabat, all still in a tight gang.
It would all change as tire wear
took its toll – or in the case of Rabat,
brought its benefits.
He passed Aegerter on one lap;
Terol and Redding on the next.
Would he now attack teammate Espargaro? Of course he would.
It took him three laps to do it, and
now he was alone he found he could
go even faster. There were four laps
to go, and only a second in it, as the
Japanese rider slowed with sliding
tires.
Rabat sliced past with three laps
to go for a clear second win of the
season.
On the same lap that he took the
lead, Redding mounted a clattering
attack on Espargaro through the
tight corners, although he promised
afterwards he hadn't actually hit him.
"It was a hard move, but you've got
to be hard sometimes," he said.
He was a second off Nakagami at
