MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 4/MAY 3, 2015
JEREZ CIRCUIT/ JEREZ, SPAIN
P74
pushing Pol Espargaro at the
end, after pulling through from
eleventh on lap one. He'd started
from the front row, but spoiled
his chances with a blunder that is
difficult not to laugh at.
"Unfortunately at the start I
switched on the mapping for
wet conditions instead of launch
control, and I had to do the
whole race with that set-up,
because the procedure to return
to dry settings is very compli-
cated," he explained.
His last victims had been Aleix
Espargaro seventh; and Monster
Yamaha's Bradley Smith, who
apart from that overtake had a
lonely ride to eighth.
Andrea Dovizioso had a differ-
ent Ducati electronic problem,
and an even busier ride through
to ninth after dropping from
seventh to last on lap two. It was
a problem with engine braking
that locked the back wheel as
he went down to first for the far
hairpin, and sent him careening
off across the gravel. "Not what
we wanted," he said. "We had
the speed for fourth or fifth."
Happily, however, the problem
did not return.
There was a lively battle for
the last points, tenth to 14th cov-
ered by just over two seconds
over the line.
Pramac Ducati's Danilo
Petrucci and teammate Yonny
Hernandez had been scrapping
for most of the race with Estrella
Marc VDS Honda's Scott Red-
ding, to be joined just after half
distance by Maverick Vinales
on the other Ecstar Suzuki and
Avintia Ducati's Hector Barbera,
who had followed Dovizioso as
he came through.
The battle was more like
Moto3 than MotoGP, and was
resolved at the end in favor
of Hernandez, from Vinales,
Petrucci, Redding and Barbera,
first Open bike.
Another two seconds away,
Gresini Aprilia's Alvaro Bautista
finally escaped from Stefan Bradl
Rossi (left) congratulates teammate Lorenzo (right).
