VOL. 52 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 11, 2015 P69
Briefly...
Marquez's MotoGP win was a land-
mark for Honda—the company's
700th. Honda's first World Champi-
onship race was the Isle of Man TT in
1959; with the first win coming in the
125 class two years later. This puts
the Big H 211 wins clear of nearest
rival, Yamaha, with 489. Aprilia has
294, MV Agusta 275 and Suzuki 155.
Pol Espargaro and Monster Yamaha
teammate Bradley Smith were fresh
from victory for Yamaha at the Su-
zuka 8-Hours—but the rewards were
not equally shared. On the first day
of the Indy meeting, Yamaha con-
firmed that they had renewed Espar-
garo's contract. He will stay with the
same Tech 3 team, but his contract
is direct with the factory. Smith, who
has outperformed the younger rider
consistently this year, was rumored
to be close to a renewal as well, but
sounded a note of caution on the
eve of the American race. "We were
hired by Yamaha [for the 8-Hours] for
one reason, and one reason only—to
win the race, and we did win." But he
had been disappointed with the re-
sponse from the factory. "I've made it
very clear to the team and to Yamaha
from the start of the year that I want
to stay with them next season, but
there's not been the same enthusi-
asm coming back."
Ducati's biplane winglets seen at
the Sachsenring did not reappear at
Indy, a circuit with longer straights
and faster corners, although in fact
a similar average speed. While the
riders dutifully insist that these stubs
do make a difference, it is perhaps
notable that nobody else has tried
them yet.
continued on next page
