ROUND 17/OCTOBER 27, 2013
TWIN-RING MOTEGI/MOTEGI, JAPAN
MOTOGP
P40
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
A series of events compressed
into a small day-and-a-half window due to the weather, made
one new World Champion in Pol
Espargaro, but made sure both
other contests will be decided
only at the final round.
In the case of the most tense,
varied and exciting MotoGP
season for years, it is the first
time there's been such a cliff-
hanger since 2006, when Nicky
Hayden's Honda took the crown
ahead of Valentino Rossi's Yamaha at the final hurdle.
This time it is again Honda
versus Yamaha, but a differently
balanced affair altogether. Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez had
been charging towards a dominant debut win, until everything
was turned upside down by dis-
qualification in Australia.
At the same time, defending
champion Jorge Lorenzo, back
from mid-season injury, had been
gathering strength, riding his factory Yamaha ever more smoothly,
consistently and accurately - especially since the long-awaited
arrival of the seamless-shift gearbox at Misano five races ago. But
it was victory in Australia, from
