the pair both having gotten
ahead of Avintia Ducati GP14.2
rider Hector Barbera. Scott Red-
ding, on the Octo Pramac Ducati
GP15, lost touch by the finish.
Aleix Espargaro, on the
Ecstar Suzuki, was a long way
behind. Then Eugene Laverty's
Aspar Ducati GP14.2 won out
in a sustained battle with Alvaro
Bautista's Gresini Aprilia and
Jack Miller's EG-VDS Honda,
swapping to and fro and finishing
in that order. It was a satisfactory
if not overly impressive debut for
the new Aprilia RS-GP.
Miller's teammate Tito Rabat,
the only class rookie, was 15th
and last, with points going to all
finishers.
Four others joined Ian-
none on the crash list, with
Cal Crutchlow's LCR Honda
the most misfortunate after his
electronics went awry. "The
bike didn't know where it was on
the circuit. On the straight I had
VOL. 53 ISSUE 11 MARCH 22, 2016 P45
test in mid-February came to an early
end after the second of three days
of practice. The effort of heaving the
Pramac Ducati to and fro re-opened
one of three fractures. The Italian
was wearing a special prosthetic
brace under an enlarged glove and
had said earlier it was the changes of
direction rather than the hard brak-
ing at the end of the long straight
causing him the most problems. A
statement from the team explained
that Petrucci had been stricken with
severe pain during FP3, and an x-ray
revealed "a dislocated bone seg-
ment of the third metacarpal." He
was out of this race, with a question
mark over his attendance at the next
two flyaway rounds in Argentina and
the USA.
The only other pre-race injury victim
was Lorenzo Baldassari who was
in line for a possible front-row start
when he crashed heavily in Moto2
qualifying. The Forward Kalex was
sent rolling and flailing through the
gravel, and he was stretchered away
after dislocating both shoulders. The
Italian was determined to come back
and race anyway the next day, his
previous time good enough for sev-
enth on the grid, but the track medi-
cal officer ruled him out.
Red Bull Ajo Moto3 riders Brad
Binder and Red Bull Rookies Cham-
pion Bo Bendsneyder were the first
to be punished under the new ad-hoc
disciplinary system that has replaced
penalty points. The pair were docked
three grid positions after traveling be-
low the 110-percent speed allowance
in three sectors of the track. Dutch
Briefly...
