VOL. 52 ISSUE 20 MAY 19, 2015 P91
Smith, across the line quicker
than you could say their names.
Some way back, a lone Pol
Espargaro on the other Monster
Yamaha and an equally solitary
Yonny Hernandez on the Pramac
Ducati; eighth the latter's best
finish. Then Ecstar Suzuki's
Maverick Vinales, eventually
the winner of a late battle with
Hernandez' teammate Danilo
Petrucci. Nicky Hayden on the
Power Electronics Honda had
dropped out of this battle in
the closing stages with a minor
electronic glitch; but 11th was his
best this year.
"It's nice to win the Open
class, but actually I'm more
happy to be fighting with the
Factory guys. That excites me
more," Hayden said. "Today I
was in front of [Maverick] Vina-
les for a while and I was fighting
with [Danilo] Petrucci. The team
did a really good job this week,
I felt good on the bike. It's not
that I could ride harder, just
more feedback and more how
I wanted. It's nice to be happy
on Sunday after the race! I had
a little sensor problem the lap
more to come, according to Andrea
Dovizioso. The bike is as fast as any
of the others, but still "lacks a little
bit" to make it competitive over race
distance.
Dovizioso fingered tire degradation.
"Maybe we use too much of the tire
for adhesion. After ten laps, I cannot
keep the same pace," he said.
But the Mugello tests had been
a good step in settings, after losing
direction somewhat at the Jerez race.
The puzzle had been solved at
Mugello. "It is more
than just speed. It is
about a better feeling.
I can brake harder
and enter faster,"
Dovizioso said.
(Left to right) The
top three riders in
the championship:
Rossi, Lorenzo and
Dovizioso.
