MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 16/OCTOBER 19, 2014
PHILLIP ISLAND CIRCUIT/PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA
P62
MAVERICK MAN
Fast racetracks make for good
races. They iron out the differences
between machines, and allow talent
to shine – even in a Moto2 class too
often rendered processional by the re-
lentless pace of title leader Tito Rabat.
The Marc VDS Kalex rider extended
his points lead at Phillip Island, after
qualifying on a class record 12th pole.
But he didn't win and will have to wait
at least one more race before he can
call himself champion.
Victory, a third of the year, went to
blazing class rookie Maverick Vinales
on the Paginas Amarillas Kalex,
emerging invincible from a fraught five-
way battle, with four of them leading at
least once, and three of them making
errors from which they were lucky to
escape wheels down.
It was the sudden change of wind
direction that did it, and that became
obvious before half a lap was done.
Rabat shrieked off the line, tailed
by fellow front-row men - teammate
Mika Kallio and Johann Zarco on
the AirAsia Caterham Suter - got to
Honda Hairpin... and promptly ran
wide, bamboozled by wind blowing in
the opposite direction from morning
warm-up, handing the lead to Kallio
and dropping to sixth.
Vinales was already second and
one lap later Zarco would already be
fading while Grand Prix rookie Sam
Lowes was now second, and Motegi
winner Thomas Luthi on the Interwet-
ten Suter fourth.
Kallio led for eight laps; Rabat was
back to pass him again on the seventh
only to repeat his hairpin trick; Vina-
les, Luthi and Lowes still with them,
changing places here and there.
Then Rabat led again over the line,
then Vinales, then Luthi, Rabat once
more, and on lap 17 it was Kallio again.
It was high-class racing, overturn-
ing the production-powered class's
reputation as an ear-bashing talent
graveyard.
They carried on the same way until
that 17th lap, when it was Kallio's turn
to get caught out by the hairpin, go-
ing from first to fifth, and dropping a
second behind.
"The pace was quite slow," said
Vinales, who picked this moment to
put the hammer down.
Rabat tried to go with him until
another very serious wobble when
he ran over the white line. "After this I
said: 'Tito, do your best. The impor-
tant thing is to finish in front of Mika.' "
Three laps later, Luthi finally got
ahead of the hard-braking Lowes, and
as Vinales pulled out a lead that was
over a second at the finish, he took
