VOL. 51 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 14, 2014 P47
braking," said Rossi.
But Rossi had enough to stay
half-a-second clear of Pedrosa,
who had closed threateningly af-
ter again taking rather too long to
get ahead of the Ducatis.
The result may have settled
first place overall, but it sets up
a thriller for second, likely to go
all the way to Valencia. Rossi
and Pedrosa are now equal on
points with a win apiece, but
Rossi is officially ahead because
of better subsidiary placings.
And the avenging Lorenzo is just
three points behind.
Dovizioso's hopes of a podi-
um, even a win, were shattered
after he dropped to fourth on lap
nine, then fifth when Pedrosa
got by on the 14th.
"We are making our fans
dream again, but the fact is
we're still not ready," Dovizioso
said. "It was great to do the early
laps with the leading group, but
when the rear tire started to drop
off, I couldn't stay with them."
Briefly...
claimed only his second front row
start of the year after following team-
mate Jorge Lorenzo out of the pits
for his second exit, and using him
as a marker. Lorenzo, consigned
to row two, was not pleased, say-
ing later: "This is not Moto3. Every
rider should set his own time." But
Rossi was unrepentant. "I was be-
hind Jorge, but sincerely I didn't wait
for him to follow him. Anyway, this is
qualifying. It has happened 100 times
to me. It is very important to find the
right position for the grid."
Many riders, the fastest of them An-
drea Iannone, are notorious for us-
ing one of the top men to improve
their own lap times; and in Moto3
race officials are constantly search-
ing for a way to prevent the danger-
ous habit of gangs of riders loitering
on track, waiting for a decent tow.
Rossi's only other front-row start this
year was at Misano. He went on to
win the race.
Hiro Aoyama was hit with a fine of
1300 Euros and a penalty point after
an out-of-character moment during
Saturday's free practice, after lash-
ing out at a marshal while trying to
row if they will work for the race."
It might have been different, if Dani
Pedrosa – always strong at Motegi
– had not slipped off on the second-
last corner right at the end of the
session on a blazing lap of his own.
"I was pushing, but it was okay and I
am okay. It will be an interesting race.
There are so many riders on the same
pace."
Indeed so. The first five (last year's
winner Jorge Lorenzo was next) within
less than three tenths; the first 11 within
a second.
Andrea Iannone completed
row two; Pol Espargaro led the
third. Then Cal Crutchlow and
Stefan Bradl; Bradley Smith,
Aleix Espargaro and Alvaro
Bautista behind the last two
through from a lively Q1. Yonny
Hernandez on last year's
Ducati had led that back-of-
the-grid session until the clos-
ing flurry, and remained best
of the rest.
Andrea Dovizioso put his factory Ducati on
pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Dani Pedrosa (26) started too
slowly in the early laps to be a
factor. He eventually got around
Dovizisio (04) to take fourth place.
continued on next page
