MOTOGP
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 8/JUNE 27, 2015
CIRCUIT VAN DRENTHE/ASSEN, NETHERLANDS
P68
Ducati's Andrea Iannone had
moved past fast starters Aleix
Espargaro on the Ecstar Suzuki
and brother Pol on the Monster
Yamaha by lap three, and his
eventual escape was aided by a
growing brawl behind.
Second Ducati rider Andrea
Dovizioso had come through
from a poor start; CWM Honda's
Cal Crutchlow was in the mix
with the Espargaro brothers, and
also Pol Espargaro's teammate
Bradley Smith.
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa
had started from the second row
of the grid, but a heavy crash
in morning warm-up meant he
had to switch to his spare bike,
and not all was well with it. He
finished lap one 12th, and only
gradually improved, taking nine
laps to get past Danilo Petrucci
on the Pramac Ducati to tag
on the back of what was now a
gang of seven.
They were all over each oth-
er, and by lap 11 Dovizioso had
got the front, after some fine
jousting with former teammate
Crutchlow. The English rider
was back at the front of the
group when Dovizioso hit trou-
ble on lap 18—another strange
failure, this time structural, as
something broke on the seat
sub-frame, which also carries
an exhaust. It all started moving
around, transferring vibration to
the front, and making it impos-
sible to sustain his pace.
As he dropped away out of
contention, Pol Espargaro was
attacking Crutchlow again, while
Pedrosa had moved through
behind him.
It was only resolved with their
own last-chicane reshuffle:
Pol in front, then Crutchlow,
Smith and Pedrosa, blaming
Crutchlow for punting him down
at the finish.
A little way back, erstwhile
companion Aleix Espargaro
was a half-a-second clear of his
Suzuki teammate Maverick Vina-
les, who had caught and finally
outdistanced Petrucci; who in
turn passed the fading Dovizioso
on the final lap.
EG 0,0-Marc VDS Honda's
Scott Redding was a distant and
disconsolate 13th, after eventu-
ally outpacing Pramac Ducati's
Andrea Iannone (29) moved up to
third in the championship.
