VOL. 50 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 20, 2013
pair up front was over a second
ahead, and rather harder work.
It came down to an epic lastlap battle. Crutchlow led the start
of it from Rossi, with Bautista
almost alongside. The front two
changed places twice. Not many
chances left.
The last two corners decided
it. Rossi pushed inside Crutchlow
so close and aggressive that the
Englishman was obliged to move
wide and then bash back into
Bautista to stop him following
past. They crossed the line in
that order, fourth to sixth within
two tenths.
With Bradl a lonely seventh,
there was even more classic last-
Stefan Bradl had a lonely
ride to seventh place
after suffering through
three crashes during
practice and qualifying.
corner drama for eighth.
The Marlboro Ducatis had
been circulating inches apart
throughout, Nicky Hayden ahead
until lap 12, when Andrea Dovizioso took over. They had Smith
right behind, a close spectator.
At his home track, his last
time on a factory Ducati, Hayden
wasn't giving up easily. He got
back ahead with four laps to go,
and when Dovi reversed the positions on the last lap, the red mist
descended. Hayden barged inside him into the last corner, too
fast to make the curve. They collided, then both shot off across
the temporary curbing, jumping
off motocross style in formation.
P53
Briefly...
legend: "GREEN MAMBA." The
same green appeared on his glove,
so this snake seemed to have
claws; but when he noticed that he
switched back to red gloves. The
green mamba is a deadly poisonous snake found in southern Africa,
but is shy and retiring, unlike its aggressive cousin the black mamba,
which would probably suit Lorenzo
better. Except for the color. Cal
Crutchlow was another to turn to
the bushveldt for his motif, featuring a manga-like cartoon of the ratel or honey badger, a notoriously
rapacious predator with a reputation of attacking men by biting their
scrotums.
