MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 51 ISSUE 18 MAY 6, 2014 P41
It was not until lap 21 that Pe-
drosa, fighting front-tire slides
from lap one, was able to get
past. Rossi was one second
ahead, but he was able to take
a few tenths every lap. Not quite
enough, however.
"I needed two or three more
corners before I could attack,"
Pedrosa said.
Lorenzo faded badly, and was
seven seconds down at the end,
though still comfortably clear of
a stirring five-bike battle for fifth.
Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso
held the position more or less
throughout, relying on strong
braking and even stronger ac-
celeration to hold the masses at
bay.
NGM Forward Yamaha's Aleix
Espargaro did get past him
Briefly...
tory tester Nobuatsu Aoki ventured
out, completing more than 50 laps
on the rain-slicked Termas de Rio
Hondo circuit. Project leader Satoru
Terada said: "We weren't lucky with
the weather, but we tried to take ad-
vantage from that, to test some elec-
tronic strategy in wet conditions."
The next test is at Australia's Phillip
Island, June 3-5.
Cal Crutchlow was back after miss-
ing the Argentine GP after having
surgery on the badly injured little
finger of his right hand – and after
expressing reservations before rid-
ing, found that he was able to ride
better than expected. Determined
in the interests of safety to ride with-
out painkillers, he discovered that
"though it's a little sore, I can do race
distance. On the bike it doesn't feel
too bad – though my style is a bit dif-
ferent because I am cautious with my
hand." Although braking was not as
bad as he'd anticipated, the bigger
MORE
BRAWLING
The smallest class is by
far the most exciting, with
another big gang battling
up front, and the first three
over the line in less than
two tenths after a trademark
Moto3 last-corner brawl.
It went again to KTM, and
to Argentine GP winner Ro-
mano Fenati on the Valen-
tino Rossi-owned Sky VR46
KTM, with the Hondas of Efren Vazquez and Alex Rins
bumping and grinding with him through the final hairpin.
Pole starter Jack Miller on the Red Bull KTM was to
and fro in the front group after leading the first lap from
Vazquez. The Australian points leader had saved his
tires for a last-lap attack, but got pushed wide and out of
touch by Isaac Vinales. He did
manage to head the next trio,
just over a second adrift, from
Vinales and Jakub Kornfeil.
Alex Marquez and his
Estrella Galicia Honda were
another two seconds back, nar-
rowly unable to run with the front gang, but comfortably
clear of rookie Francesco Bagnaia. Fellow Italian rookie
Bastianini took ninth, fending off Husqvarna teammates
Ajo and Danny Kent.
Miller's lead shrank to five points, 79-74 over Fenati;
Vazquez is third on 62, then comes Rins with 51 points
and Marquez with 49.
Romano Fenati (5) won his
second straight Moto3 race
for the Valentino Rossi-
owned KTM team.
Pedrosa chases Jorge
Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi
early in the race.
continued on next page
