Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP VOL. 51 ISSUE 24 JUNE 17, 2014 P71 "His line was usually different, but he changed it in that lap," Pe- drosa said. "I was entering the corner with higher speed in order to take advantage of his previ- ous line. It surprised me that he closed his line and then I could not get in. I don't think he had that intention [to make Pedrosa to lose speed for the last two cru- cial corners]. I think it was not to leave any free space. That's all." You may draw your own con- clusion. The race began with Lorenzo and Rossi at the front, Marquez and Pedrosa immediately behind, all followed by Stefan Bradl, An- drea Dovizioso, Andrea Iannone and the Espargaro brothers, Aleix and Pol. Soon after came Karel Abraham's crash and Alvaro Bau- tista's retirement after his engine stopped on the straight with an electrical problem. The first pack of five riders (only Bradl could follow the fac- tory riders, and only for a while) took off quickly, while second bikes were being readied in the pits in case the looming clouds over the track discharged the feared drops of rain. Rossi then took the lead again after overtak- ing Lorenzo and so did Marquez and Pedrosa just a few laps later with Bradl starting to struggle with the faster pace. Then Lorenzo overtook Mar- quez to chase Rossi, only to be passed right back. Loren- zo would be the next to fail to match the lead trio's pace and he slipped 1.4 seconds behind the leader on lap 12. At the start of lap 13 Marquez tried to pass Rossi, but almost hit him, running wide to avoid repeating his turn-one qualifying crash - his first fall of the year. Briefly... stiff at the front end, leading to his complaint: "I just can't get this bike turned." The new chassis with the same ge- ometry, engine position, pivots and measures as Yamaha's, but is very different in stiffness, with the front part less rigid. One of Edwards's major problems has been excessive engine temperature affecting the fuel tank and at Jerez and Le Mans the fuel boiled, ruining his chances. The team's own radiator (Yamaha were unwilling to supply these) needed improving, while the team worked on extra air-flow. The new chassis includes an air-duct from the side, impossibly with the original chassis, with less free space. Another aspect is the larger Open-category 24-litre fuel tank, which is very tight to the rear part of the frame, exacerbating the problem. This was another rea- son for a wider rear chassis. So far, Colin is happy with the new chas- sis, and Espargaro was planning to test it on the day after the Catalunya GP. The team still needs to make a swingarm and make a deeper study of aerodynamics, and are treating 2014 as a development year for next year's finished machine. Another rule change came along with welcome news for pit crews after the introduction of bigger front brake discs: Wheel sizes will change in 2016 from the present 16.5 inches to 17 inches. This was at the request of Michelin, who take over from Bridgestone as official control tire suppliers for MotoGP. The implica- tion for mechanics is that wheels can be mounted and dismounted without having to remove the brake calipers, as is currently necessary. The rule The moment of truth: Pedrosa runs into the back of Marquez on the last lap. The move sent Pedrosa wide and allowed Rossi to end up second. continued on next page