VOL. 51 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 P69
and was thrown, slamming into
the air-fence alongside his bike,
and lying doggo. He was stretch-
ered off, and while not otherwise
injured was transferred to hospi-
tal for a brain scan following the
concussion.
For the first 16 laps, it was
a lively race up front. Marquez
had pushed into the lead on lap
two, but Lorenzo stayed right up
close, with Pedrosa on his heels.
On lap nine, to the surprise of all,
Lorenzo took the lead for three
laps; and kept on attacking after
Marquez had seized it back. On
the 15th, the rain now spotting
harder, Marquez motioned him
past on the pit straight.
"I didn't know if he was scared
Briefly...
has done so; but prior to that the last
one to serve this apprenticeship was
Franco Uncini, in 1982. From 1983 to
1997 the champions – Freddie Spen-
cer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Gardner,
Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and
Mick Doohan – skipped that stage.
The exception in later years is 2006
World Champion Nicky Hayden.
But there may not be much comfort
in the statistics for Miller. All of the
above came to 500cc or MotoGP via
big-bore Superbikes.
Aragon's surface has an unusual
character: grippy for the first few laps
on new tires, then a sudden drop-
off – at least in the MotoGP class.
Sounds tricky, but for points leader
Marquez, that's the way he likes it.
"It looks like this tarmac stresses
the tires a lot. Last year it was the
same; I think everybody has that big
drop. For me... it's okay like that," he
grinned.
Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pe-
drosa wouldn't go that far (it might
mean admitting he is actually enjoy-
ing himself); but he did allow: "It has
never been a bad thing for me in
the past." Andrea Dovizioso, fastest
on the first day of practice, "with a
new tire it is very easy to get a good
lap time, then the drop is very big.
All the parameters are different from
other tracks, because the grip be-
comes very low after five or six laps.
You have to change the traction con-
trol and engine control settings." For
the Yamaha riders, it was more of a
worry, struggling in the early prac-
tice sessions. Valentino Rossi: "We
are suffering a lot with rear grip, and
it is difficult to keep a good corner
speed, which is our strong point.
We don't know why." The settings
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