MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 3/APRIL 27, 2014
AUTODROMO TERMAS DE RIO HONDA/BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
P64
lem with the engine "meant I lost
a little power," and he dropped
back again into the clutches of
the Monster Tech 3 Yamahas.
Smith had prevailed over team-
mate Pol Espargaro, and drew
even further ahead after he put
the Ducati between them for six
valuable laps. He secured sev-
enth by almost five seconds, Pol
Espargaro was eighth, and Dovi
now well out of touch in ninth.
The battle for 10th was long
and absorbing. It involved all four
"Open" RCV1000R Hondas,
with each taking at least a brief
turn in the lead, and all but one
of them closing on Yonny Her-
nandez's Pramac Ducati in the
closing stages.
At the finish both Drive M7
Aspar Hondas were narrowly
ahead of the Duke, and Hiro
Aoyama snatched 10th from
Nicky Hayden over the line. Car-
dion AB Honda's Karel Abraham
was right on Hernandez's heels.
The absent Honda was Scott
Redding's Go & Fun machine,
the class rookie losing touch
with the group in the closing laps
as he struggled with front tire
grip under braking.
NGM Forward Yamaha's Aleix
Espargaro slipped off on the
first lap, and remounted to ride
through from last to salvage
the final point, taking 15th with
two laps to go ahead of a battle
between Hector Barbera and
Ducati replacement rider Mi-
chele Pirro.
Go & Fun Honda's Alvaro Bau-
tista crashed out on the first lap
after tagging the back wheel of
Danilo Petrucci's Ioda ART, tip-
ping the Italian off as well. It was
the satellite Honda rider's third
crash in as many races, and he
returned to the pit in tears.
It is necessary to remember
that this is still the early stages of
the championship. All the same,
the trend is pretty clear – Mar-
quez leads on a perfect 75 points,
then Pedrosa has 56. After that
comes Rossi (41), Dovizioso (34)
and Iannone (25), with Lorenzo
seventh behind Bradl. CN
Argentine MotoGP
1. Marc Marquez (Honda)
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
5. Stefan Bradl (Honda)
6. Andrea Iannone (Ducati)
7. Bradley Smith (Yamaha)
8. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha)
9. Andrea Dovisioso (Ducati)
10. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda)
Briefly...
"I want to improve my physical con-
dition still, and also the bike. When
the moment arrives I think we will be
ready to win races."
Mika Kallio celebrated his 200th
GP start at Rio Hondo, but remains
only the third most seasoned rider
in Moto2. Alex de Angelis made his
233rd start, and Anthony West his
206th.
The paddock was crawling with
armed men. Thankfully they were
on the side of the angels, as police
and military guardsmen in a country
where petty crime is a constant fac-
tor. All the same, there was at least
one high-profile victim: Aleix Espar-
garo's backpack was stolen in the
paddock, containing not only an iPad
and notebook, but also his wallet.
Man hug: Lorenzo congratulates Marquez.
