VOL. 52 ISSUE 13 MARCH 31, 2015 P53
the unexpected here as well.
Dovizioso had leapt away from
the start, but second-row starter
Lorenzo had bullied his way past
Pramac Ducati's Yonny Hernan-
dez and Andrea Iannone (on the
other factory Ducati) into sec-
ond by the end of lap one, and
next time around was in front.
The front three embarked on
a compelling battle—Iannone a
close third as Dovizioso chased
Lorenzo, every so often nosing
ahead, and clearly faster down
the straight.
Rossi in the meantime had
finished the first lap in tenth,
behind both Monster Yamahas
(Smith and Pol Espargaro), fast-
starting Aleix Espargaro's Su-
zuki, as well as Danilo Petrucci
on the other Pramac Ducati and
Pedrosa.
Hernandez had lost touch with
the front three after three laps,
but Rossi and Pedrosa were still
battling to find a way through the
satellite riders. By lap five they
had done it.
Now Rossi was already clos-
Briefly...
In Moto2, only a handful of rebels
don't use the Kalex chassis, with just
two Suters and three Speed Ups. A
change of construction, however,
means that the Italian Speed Up
chassis could pose something of a
challenge to the orthodoxy. Top rider
in all three free practice sessions
was the Speed Up team's Sam Low-
es, and he explained the transforma-
tion in simple terms: the carbon-fiber
swingarm has been ditched, in favor
of aluminum. "Last year I never had
a good feeling," Lowes said. "It was
like being on tip-toes, and when the
rear would slide I couldn't control it
with the throttle." The swing-arm was
too stiff, he believed and the more
sympathetic aluminum unit had trans-
formed the feel. "Now I feel more
confident on the bike and when you
are confident you are faster," the for-
mer 600 World Supersport Cham-
pion said.
The upgraded Open Honda—re-
named RC213-RS, and now with
pneumatic valve springs—was a wel-
come improvement to those who
struggled with last year's underpow-
Behind, Franco Morbidelli on the
Italtrans Kalex and teammate Mika Kal-
lio had been engaged with Derending-
er Kalex' Thomas Luthi and Dynavolt
Kalex' Sandro Cortese; while class
rookie Alex Rins on the Paginas Ama-
rillas Kalex was steadily closing up.
By the penultimate lap Luthi had
got clear with Rins inches behind, the
Swiss rider inheriting the last rostrum
spot. Then came Morbidelli, Kallio
and Cortese, with the disconsolate
Zarco another seven seconds down in
eighth.
Tasca Tech 3's Louis Rossi narrowly
headed a gang of four for
ninth, with Moto3 Champion
Alex Marquez on the other
EG 0,0/Marc VDS Kalex
11th behind Lorenzo Baldas-
sarri.
QMMF Speed Up's
Anthony West crashed out of
a points-scoring spot at half distance,
suffering gearbox problems that even-
tually ended in an early bath.
(Left to right) Xavier
Simeon, Jonas Folger and
Thomas Luthi topped the
first Moto2 podium of 2015.
continued on next page
Before Rossi joined
the party, Ducati's
Dovizioso and
Movistar Yamaha's
Lorenzo duked it out.
