2015 MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
PREVIEW
P92
planned. Their test times dem-
onstrated that they have a lot of
catching up to do.
P I C K O F T H E B U N C H
The main Japanese factory quar-
tet remains unchanged—Rossi
and Lorenzo on the Movistar
Yamahas; Marquez and Dani
Pedrosa on the Repsol Hondas.
All things being equal, they will
take the first four places in the
championship. And, sadly, it is hard to see Pe-
drosa, now aged 29, playing more than a support
role. He has oceans of experience, but most of
it is in coming off second best when it comes to
close combat. His fighting skills have improved
in recent years, but unfortunately that coincided
with the arrival of Marquez, whose skill in hand-to-
hand battles is second to none.
Rossi enjoys a close scrap and is not averse
to a bit of paint-swapping; teammate Lorenzo
doesn't approve, but will do it when he must.
Lorenzo had a downbeat start to the last season:
unfit after winter surgery and furthermore prone
to errors—such as jumping the start by miles in
Texas. But it was a leaner and more confident
Jorge who turned up at tests. He'll have to beat
Rossi first, before setting about Marquez.
Both now at last have a seamless-shift gear-
box that works going down the box as well as
up, although Rossi opined that it still leaves them
Dani Pedrosa's
toughest
competition sits
on the other side
of the garage—
Marquez. Even
so, you can never
count Pedrosa
out, especially on
the Repsol Honda
RC213V.
