VOL. 52 ISSUE 10 MARCH 10, 2015 P93
slightly short of Honda in corner entry.
One problem for the Yamaha men is their in-
team rivalry, which means they take points off
each other while Marquez piles up his personal
score.
The quartet ended the first tests all inside
Marquez's 2014 best lap, the defending champion
almost a second faster. Pedrosa was next; Rossi
fourth and Lorenzo fifth, now three-quarters of a
second down. New Ducati factory rider Iannone
was third, on last year's bike, which was always
good for one fast lap, though not over race dis-
tance.
Ducati's renewed threat
is a two-pronged all-Italian
tuning fork. The redoubt-
able Dovizioso (never
flashy but always reliable)
is joined by Iannone (al-
ways flashily fast, but more
than slightly erratic).
The big red question
concerns the all-new 2015
bike, built under the aegis
Jorge Lorenzo also
has a couple MotoGP
Championships on his
resume and looks to
redeem himself in 2015.
Lorenzo says he's in the
best shape of his life
and comes armed with
Yamaha's new seamless
gearbox, which they
hope will close the gap
on the Hondas.
"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."
