VOL. 52 ISSUE 20 MAY 19, 2015 P81
Briefly...
Mindful of the iffy weather at Le
Mans, Bridgestone brought an
Extra-Soft tire allocation for the first
time. The front was available to all
riders; the rear only to Open and
Factory Concession categories. The
tires proved valuable on both prac-
tice days, which started off cold and
even a little damp… but sun broke
through on race day, and all used the
middle-choice ("Soft") front. Most
did the same at the rear, with only the
Aprilias, Aspar riders—Nicky Hayden
and Eugene Laverty—and Jack Miller
opting for the extra-soft.
Danny Kent and his Leopard team
may have been found wanting in tac-
tics when light rain hit Moto3 quali-
fying, but the remarkable English
triple race winner demonstrated that
starting from 31st place was no bar
to a challenge for another victory.
In fact he was fourth, but less than
seven tenths of the win, after having
to punish his tires to catch up. His
outstanding speed breaks all the es-
tablished rules of the closest class
in racing. In Texas and Argentina he
accomplished unprecedented dry-
weather winning margins, simply
running away from the usual brawl-
ing pack. How can he do it? Kent
is a calm and considered 21-year-
old, and he doesn't believe in any
magic bullet. It's the combination.
"Our whole package is really good,"
he explained. "I lost a few kilos
over the winter; the Honda is a re-
ally good bike; the team is good and
we were really focused at the pre-
season tests. It all comes together.
But we need to keep our feet on the
ground." His bad qualifying (actually
he was slower than maximum time,
but he and six others were allowed to
start under the circumstances) was
because he had waited at the start of
was a collateral victim of a slap
to all of Honda, and it took all
his skill and aggression to finish
fourth, the only factory Honda
in the points. The other three all
crashed.
It was a bad day for HRC,
watched in balmy weather by a
record crowd of almost 93,500.
Marquez fingered the malady
as a lack of front-end grip after
a Sunday hike in previously
chilly temperatures. Usually this
improves matters, but for Honda
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