VOL. 51 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 21, 2014 P23
MOTOGP PENALTY BOX
R
ace Direction was busy with
their license-endorsement
policy at the Australian Grand
Prix as they handed out a hatful
of penalties. Moto3 rider Efren
Vazquez headed the field with
two. The first was for practicing
a start outside the designated
zone, the second for punting Ro-
mano Fenati off in the race.
Six riders were punished for
the same offense in Moto3 quali-
fying, as the authorities try to
clamp down on the dangerous
practice of loitering on the track
and waiting for a fast rider to fol-
low: one point each for Scott
Deroue, Matteo Ferrari, Remy
Gardner, Isaac Vinales, John
McPhee, Jorge Navarro and
Alessandro Tonucci.
MotoGP riders were not ex-
empt. Bradley Smith got one
point for passing a rider under
a yellow flag; Stefan Bradl for
crashing into Aleix Espargaro.
Eleven points in one Grand
Prix is a new record. No rider has
more than two points, but under
a revision to the system this year,
each point remains valid for 12
months rather than re-setting to
zero at the end of the season.
Get four, and you earn a back-
of-the-grid start; add three more
and you start from pit lane, keep
going to 10 and there's a one-
race ban, but your tally is re-set
to zero.
Michael Scott
Of all the penalized
riders from the
Australian Grand
Prix, none were
more so than
Efren Vazquez who
earned two penalty
points at Phillip
Island.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLD
&
GOOSE
LEITNER AND PEDROSA PART WAYS
D
ani Pedrosa is set to lose the backing of his long-time crew chief Mike Leitner next year. But the Aus-
trian former 125cc GP racer was not pushed out, as was Jerry Burgess by Valentino Rossi last year.
He elected not to renew his contract, after being dismayed at the end-of-year dismissal of two of his crew
members – Kiwi Marc Barnett and Frenchman Cristophe Leonce, who he felt had done no wrong.
"For me, it's time to draw a line," Leitner said. He has
headed Pedrosa's crew for 11 years, since his victorious
250cc debut in 2004.
He has recommended to Honda that present team
data technician Ramon Aurin should take his place, but
was tight-lipped when asked if he was contemplating
moving to KTM, for the Austrian manufacturer's entry to
MotoGP in 2016.
Michael Scott
Dani Pedrosa's long-time crew chief Mike Leitner (left)
is leaving the team at the end of the season.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLD
&
GOOSE
