Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/381430
VOL. 51 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 P63 Briefly... but lost out to Silverstone after it was rendered unfit for racing by con- struction work in a failed bid to wrest the Formula 1 car GP from its tradi- tional Silverstone home. Now it is back, but supposedly only temporar- ily, as a substitute for the as yet un- built Circuit of Wales. Dorna signed a five-year deal with the proposed circuit from next year, with a further five-year renewal option until 2024. Cal Crutchlow was one who viewed the move with some trepidation. "Sil- verstone has always been good to me, and they did a lot of work includ- ing resurfacing two years ago; and I've never raced a Grand Prix bike at Donington. But it's my home GP, and I'll support it wherever it is." Crutchlow was particularly concerned about the risks of the long downhill right-hander Craner Curves that starts the lap, with the potential warm-up problems of Bridgestone tires. "Maybe we should have an agreement that nobody races through that section," he joked. Com- patriot Bradley Smith also had mixed feelings; but Valentino Rossi was among those relishing a return to the swooping parkland circuit, where he has recorded five premier-class wins. The wet start brought forth a tor- rent of criticism of the deadly slip- pery Misano circuit, reviving ancient memories of 1989 when the factory riders pulled in en masse because it was too slick to race. The grip re- turned in the dry, but the bumps re- mained. "At the Safety Commission we said the track needs resurfacing, but they need to work under the sur- face as well. The bumps were there before it was resurfaced the last time," said Andrea Dovizioso. Riders again lamented the change of direc- RINS… BARELY The title fight is getting tastier by the race, as the Hondas gather strength, the Mahindras keep improving, and KTM struggles somewhat – the "development" riders now back on the original chassis after the new version fell short of expectations. Head of those riders is Red Bull KTM's Jack Miller, who started from pole and dashed off in an early breakaway attempt, It didn't work, and Alex Rins led his Estrella Honda teammate Alex Marquez past on lap four. Mahindra's Miguel Oliveira was with the Hondas as they moved away clearly; with Miller dropped into a gang and sixth on lap five, behind Efren Vazquez and Isaac Vinales. He got back to fourth the next time around, and escaped over the ensuing laps - but the gap on the front men kept on growing. Oliveira was hanging on grimly to the two Spaniards when he slipped off, a loss of rear tire pressure the culprit, promoting Miller to third. At the same time, Rins had stretched away by better than a second, only for Marquez to peg him back. He was right on him by lap 17, and attacked on the second- last lap to lead for the first time. It was one lap too early, and Rins was able to reverse the positions next time round to cross the line an almost notional .042 of a second ahead. Miller was four seconds down, and a second ahead of a battling trio: Vinales, Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder. Seventh to 11th was covered by .7 of a second, the group led over the line by Alexis Masbou after a re- markable charge through from 24th on the grid, having finally found a better set-up. Perhaps even more remarkably, Andrea Migno, in his second GP on the ex-Sissis Mahindra, had followed Masbou through and even led the gang, losing seventh to Masbou only on the final lap. The rookie had beaten a clutch of current GP winners, with Juanfran Guevara next, then title contenders Vazquez and Romano Fenati. Miller's title lead is coming under increasing threat from both Marquez and Rins, with 195, 186 and 175 points, respectively. Then comes Vazquez and Fenati, on 151 and 140. Alex Rins celebrates his Moto3 victory. continued on next page