MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
VOL. 51 ISSUE 18 MAY 6, 2014 P47
like this," he said.
He had outpaced the similarly
mounted rookie Scott Redding
from the early stages; then sec-
ond Drive M7 Honda rider Hiroshi
Aoyama picked up his pace and
took 12th off the Englishman with
seven laps to go.
Briefly...
it was compulsory that a rider must
change to a machine with different
tires. This condition has now been
waived. A statement explained that,
"a wet race may be held at an event
where teams and riders have had no
experience of the tire wear in wet
conditions. For reasons of safety it is
clearly unreasonable to compel a rid-
er to re-join the race with slick tires."
Lorenzo was satisfied all the same.
"Little by little we are getting into
the shape of last year, the bike and my
physical condition."
Pole was still possible, but poor grip
from his second rear tire meant he fell
short.
Pedrosa has won twice at Jerez, and
never finished off the podium. Less
than a tenth off Lorenzo, he was more
confident of race pace, as long as he
didn't lose too much time in the early
laps when riders
on softer tires
(mainly Ducati
and Aleix Espar-
garo) were able to
get in the way.
For Valentino Rossi, fourth was "my
best qualifying of the season. I wanted
the front row for sure, and I'm not so
far from Dani [two tenths]."
His new chassis "improves the
stability of the bike; a small difference,
but it is a good way to understand the
way to work."
He would race it, Lorenzo would
not.
Aleix Espargaro was alongside,
still waiting to turn his good qualifying
into an equivalent race result; then
Andrea Dovizioso, hugely top Ducati
at a turning track that exacerbates
the bike's weaknesses. For the race,
he thought the softer tire might be a
problem, compared with the Factory
bikes' harder possibility. "There will be
a big drop, but it is not the biggest limit
for us. More important is the feeling
of the front, to be good in braking and
the middle of the corner.
Marc Marquez
was again
masterful in
capturing his
fifth straight pole
position and
fourth in a row
for 2014.
Jerez…
home of
very tall
Spanish
girls.
Nicky Hayden
(69) ended up
as the top Open
class Honda
rider in 11
th
place.
