VOL. 52 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 P101
Briefly...
ter feed: "Just go[t] kick[ed] out of my
team. Looking for a ride or sponsor-
ship for rest of 2015 or to start 2016."
West has two wet GP wins to his credit
at opposite ends of a career—250, As-
sen in 2003 and Moto2 at the same
track last year. His machines have in-
cluded Honda, Aprilia and factory KTM
250s, and a factory Kawasaki berth in
MotoGP. West has raced in every GP
class except Moto3, as well as World
Supersport, and in 2012 was victim of
a doping suspension after an energy
drink meant he fell foul in a urine test.
West's place was taken by last year's
title runner up Mika Kallio, disillusioned
with his season on the Italtrans Kalex.
The Finn's seat at the Italian team went
to Edgar Pons, second racing son
of former double 250 champion Sito
Pons; who is earmarked to join dad's
team next year alongside current top
rookie Alex Rins.
Johann Zarco's flawless progress
to tie up the 2015 Moto2 title with four
races to spare has been marked by
an equally remarkable outward calm
and maturity. But on the brink of the
race with his first chance of securing
the crown, he admitted that appear-
ances could be deceptive. Speak-
ing on the eve of the Aragon event,
he said: "Maybe I don't show it, but
I have a big spot here" (pointing to
his forehead). Always loquacious,
he made it clear that he expected to
stay put in Moto2 with the Ajo team
to become only the second class
champion to stay on to defend his
title. The first was last year's winner
Tito Rabat. "A lot of riders have one
good year then seven bad years, so
maybe you are happy only one time
in your career," he said. "Maybe you
have the title and the money, but not
season is not going well for you,
nothing goes your way."
Lorenzo and Ducati's Andrea
Iannone were alongside the pole
starter, the latter troubled again
by a recurrence of his left shoul-
der dislocation; Monster Yamaha
Tech 3's Pol Espargaro led row
two from Pedrosa and Rossi.
With Lorenzo straight into
the lead, Iannone got ahead of
Marquez in the early corners,
title threat, but a fifth race crash
of the year—on only the second
lap—put an end to that. He'd
qualified on a brilliant pole and
was chasing (and closing on) fast-
away Lorenzo when he asked too
much of a tire that was not yet up
to full temperature while braking
at an angle for turn 12.
"It was my fault. I want to
apologize to my team and the
fans," Marquez said. "When the
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