MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 51 ISSUE 12 MARCH 25, 2014 P39
Bradley Smith (Monster Tech 3
Yamaha) on the front row.
Come the race, it was more
normal. The factory and top sat-
ellite bikes made the running,
at least while they were still on
their wheels – for Lorenzo was
followed into the dirt by front-run-
ning Smith and then Bautista as
the race wore on. Early practice
leader Aleix Espargaro's Open
NGM Yamaha did win the new
category, in a strong fourth, nar-
rowly ahead of Andrea Dovizio-
so's formerly Open but now sub-
Factory Ducati.
Several Open riders chose the
soft option – the best of them
the rival production racer Honda
RCV1000R bikes of Fun&Go
Gresini rookie Scott Redding
and Drive M7 Aspar veteran
Nicky Hayden, with the young-
ster finally beating the American
for a fine seventh.
Only one Factory rider took
the harder rear tire option - and
he won the race. Marquez's
gamble paid off in a scintillating
last-laps battle with Rossi.
In the end, that final fight was
the crowning point of the week-
end, at a track where a year be-
fore class rookie Marquez had
battled in just the same way with
the same rider.
"That time he beat me. This
time I could win, but it was a re-
ally enjoyable fight," said Mar-
quez, who shook hands warmly
with his rival on the cool-down
lap. "Now we see what happens
the next time."
The race, uniquely run under
3600 floodlights to avoid the
daytime heat as well as mesh
with European TV schedules,
took the MotoGP men 22 times
around the 3.3-mile Losail cir-
cuit, with its Astroturf, massive
Briefly...
it was "another thing to have single
software with all the manufacturers
developing it." It meant sacrificing
any secrets, but left the door open
to develop technology, "and this was
always the key point for Honda."
Jorge Lorenzo did ask Yamaha
about following Ducati by taking an
"Open" class option, but the discus-
sion didn't get further than a request
at least to test an Aleix Espargaro-
style bike using the control elec-
tronics. He confirmed at Qatar that
he'd wanted to test, but Yamaha
had turned him down flat. "They are
clear they want to race with the fac-
tory bike, so the test would have no
meaning."
Rising Australian Moto3 rider Jack
Miller was the first rider out on track
in 2014, his new Red Bull KTM paw-
ing the air in a trademark wheelie
as he led them out for the first prac-
tice session. At the other end of the
scale, Yonny Hernandez was the first
serious crasher bringing out the first
red flag - a biggie halfway through
the first free practice left the track
strewn with gravel and debris, and
the Pramac Ducati rider with painful
abrasions.
Open class superstar Aleix Espar-
garo is in no hurry to swap his fac-
tory Yamaha chassis for the team's
intended FTR replacement - and
with an uncertain delivery date amid
rumors of financial problems for the
team, he might not get the choice.
FTR teammate Colin Edwards is
anxious to return to the English-
made chassis, which he used with
Kawasaki power last year and dis-
tinctly prefers to the factory unit; but
Jorge Lorenzo (99) led the race on
the opening lap over Dani Pedrosa
(26), Bradley Smith (38), Andrea
Dovizioso (04) and the rest, but it all
went badly for Lorenzo before the
lap was completed.
continued on next page
