Briefly...
Riders were in jocular mood when
they arrived at what is for most their
favorite circuit. This reflected best in
the pre-event conference when title
rivals Valentino Rossi and Jorge
Lorenzo were asked whether "their
relationship" had changed as their
battle intensified. Rossi looked imp-
ish, and replied, "We are very happy
about your interest. We have a se-
cret diary about our relationship…we
will keep it secret until the last race."
When the laughter had subsided, he
admitted it was, "difficult, and there
can be difficult moments. But I think
this is normal. We got used to be-
ing in the same team, and we are
very focused on our work. But for
sure, he is a hard rival." Lorenzo ex-
pressed surprise at the question, but
smilingly added, "I think in the future
we will be more relaxed."
Having said goodbye to the last slen-
der title hopes when he pulled out of
the Japanese GP at Motegi, Tito Ra-
bat now seems certain to have bid
farewell also to second place, after
another heavy crash ruled him out of
this and the next races. Rookie Alex
Rins was just 17 points adrift when
they arrived in Australia, and after tak-
ing his second pole and race win, he
left eight points ahead. Rabat broke
his left forearm in a training crash the
week before Japan and arrived with
freshly inserted plates and screws,
but he withdrew from the race after
only a few laps. In Australia he was
struggling even to make the top 20
in the second free practice when he
fell hard at the final corner, walking
away clutching his arm. First tests re-
vealed no damage, but the next day
the possibility of a displaced bone
fragment was discovered, and Rabat
anybody, and had six-tenths
advantage as they started the
27th and last lap of the superb,
sun-shimmering seaside circuit.
Not even Marc Marquez was
quite sure where he'd found his
final lap, but it was the fastest of
the race.
"I pushed like it was a qualify-
ing lap," he said. "I braked really
late for turn four [the old Honda
Hairpin] and took a lot of meters.
VOL. 52 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 20, 2015 P67
continued on next page
H E A G E S
VALENTINO ROSSI PUT ON AN
ABOUT FOR YEARS TO COME.
