VOL. 52 ISSUE 16 APRIL 21, 2015 P73
back to the faster, but less
durable "Hard." It was now look-
ing like a major risk. But all the
same, surely the double cham-
pion had enough of a cushion to
win a second race in a row?
Even Rossi thought so.
"But I had to try," Rossi said.
"I concentrated only on my own
speed. I had to catch him, or
scare him."
There followed a double
master-class in racing. Marquez
started to nurse his tires, in
anticipation of a closing battle.
Rossi just rode. And rode and
rode. And steadily the gap
shrank.
Briefly...
seemed that the allocation of softer
tires to the Ducati and Suzuki "facto-
ry concession" teams would work
instead in favor of the full factory
squads. Differential rules were intro-
duced to allow struggling factories
the chance to catch up. Importantly,
they include testing and engine de-
velopment possibilities denied the
factories; also a tire choice one
grade softer. The greatest benefit is
in qualifying. While in past races all
riders have tended to use the same
race tire—the harder choice for the
concessionaries and softer for the
factories being the same. Termas de
Rio Hondo threw a couple of curve
balls. Demanding fast corners and
an abrasive surface are punishing,
prompting Bridgestone to introduce
an Extra Hard asymmetric rear. This
was expected to be the right tire for
race endurance, but was not avail-
able to the Ducatis or Suzukis, de-
nying the latter's Aleix Espargaro the
chance to consolidate his strong
practice form. As it transpired, race
day was sufficiently cooler than qual-
ifying to upset the equation again.
While Valentino Rossi won on an Ex-
tra Hard and Marc Marquez's gamble
on the softer option went wrong, the
Ducatis were second and fourth, and
Cal Crutchlow between them was on
the same softer option.
Mystery surrounds... Andrea Dovizio-
so's reticence when asked if he and
teammate Andrea Iannone had run
out of fuel at Austin prompted fe-
vered speculation as to the truth.
Rostrum success meant it was the
first race where Ducati's fuel allo-
cation dropped from 24 to 22 liters
(6.3 to 5.8 gallons), and neither fac-
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