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MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 13 / SEPTEMBER 11, 2016 MISANO WORLD CIRCUIT MARCO SIMONCELLI / RIMINI, SAN MARINO P82 at Suzuki it has been really good. Last year, our electronics have been quite simple." While Rossi was full of praise teammate Lorenzo had a dif- ferent point of view. "It's a benefit, but also bad. Control electronics have re- duced the cost and made the compe- tition more close. But on the negative side, you stop evolution of electronics for street bikes and customers." It was the same, he added, with the forth- coming ban on winglets. Andrea Iannone crashed heavily in the first free practice session, and though he walked away and returned straight to his pit, he didn't ride again. An obligatory check at the medical center revealed suspected fractures in two vertebrae, although a full MRI scan in Cesena hospital found there was only one fracture, to T3. The Aus- trian GP winner returned to the track on Friday intending to ride, but was not passed fit. His factory Ducati was passed to factory tester Michele Pirro. With winglets banned from the end of this season, their chief proponents at Ducati have not run out of new ideas. The evidence was on wild card en- try Michele Pirro's bike—shrouds on both sides of the rear wheel blocking off the spokes from sight, and also from the passing breeze. No details were forthcoming, although race chief Paolo Ciabatta did say there were no plans to fit the speedway- like shroud to the factory bikes. "It is something we have been testing, and we wanted to try it in race condi- tions," he said. Nor did the shrouds last the weekend. When Iannone was ruled out of the race, factory tes- ter Pirro took over the factory Ducati GP16, and the test bike was parked. Injured Monster Yamaha rider Brad- ley Smith underwent surgery on Fri- day to repair his badly damaged right knee, which was lacerated when he was hit by another bike after a seem- ingly innocuous slip-off practicing for the eight-hour endurance race at Oschersleben before the British GP. Smith suffered not only an ugly flesh wound but also serious ligament de- rangement. Reports from the hospi- tal were of successful surgery, but it is far from certain whether he will be fit enough to return this season. Smith's replacement Alex Lowes, identical twin brother of Moto2 star Sam, impressed again at Misano, putting up a strong challenge to go through from Q1 to join the big boys in Q2, and ending up fourth in the ses- sion, to start from the fifth row of the grid. At Silverstone the World Super- bike rider qualified 16th and finished in the points in 13th. He was running strongly in the points at Misano be- fore slipping off in the early stages. Loris Baz was out of the Misano race, with two fresh fractures in his right leg after his horrific crash on the first lap at Silverstone. Briefly unconscious, Baz was stretchered away, and later announced on so- cial media: "I'm okay. Well, no worse than before." Injured in another first- lap incident at Mugello, the French rider missed the next two races. Now his place on the Avintia Ducati was taken by Javier Fores who qualified last and retired from the race with arm pump. Moto2 rider Dominique Aegerter was also out of the San Marino race after being pronounced unfit before the weekend. 1982 World Champion Franco Un- cini became the 24th MotoGP Leg- end at Misano, when the current FIM Safety Officer was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Uncini began in the 250 class and moved to 500s in 1979, riding a Suzuki. He took five wins in his championship season of 1982, but had a horrendous crash the following season when he fell at Assen. Scrambling to get off the track he was struck by Wayne Gard- ner. His helmet was knocked off, and he had to be revived by the trackside, remaining in a coma for some time afterwards. Uncini made a full recov- ery and returned to racing, but never again achieved the same success. Today he is in charge of rider safety at all races. Briefly...