Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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ROAD RACE FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 15 / OCTOBER 16, 2016 TWIN RING MOTEGI / MOTEGI, JAPAN P100 tory team hauled in top independent Ducati rider Hector Barbera, to ride the GP16 for the first time. This left a vacancy at his Avintia team, filled at short order by Jones, who man- aged to snatch some practice on a road-going Desmosedici before ar- riving the night before practice. Both acquitted themselves well in qualify- ing, with Barbera making it into Q2 to place eighth on the grid. Jones, who admitted he was still "pinching himself" to share the track with the MotoGP greats, may have achieved even more. Learning both bike, tires, carbon brakes and the track, he qual- ified 21st, one place ahead of Honda veteran Aoyama, but more impres- sively slashed almost six seconds off his lap time from the first session until qualifying. He was only 0.13 of a second slower than teammate Loris Baz. "It's been quite an eye opener," he said. "Everything is different from what I'm used to. It's quite difficult, but I couldn't be happier." Jones was supported at Motegi by compatriot, MotoGP race winner and Superbike champion Troy Bayliss. Iannone's late withdrawal had been at the ad- vice of his own physician. He suf- fered fractures to his T3 vertebrae at Misano, and pulled out of the next race at Aragon after running in the first free practice. Ducati expects him to return for Phillip Island, where last year he finished third. Yamaha Racing chief Lin Jarvis called a special press conference to put a lid on rumors of an in-team squabble with the departing Jorge Lorenzo, after the factory had re- fused him permission to join private Ducati tests at Jerez after the end of the season. Lorenzo had done little at the pre-race conference to dispel the rumors, saying when questioned: "I think for the years we have spent together and for the things we have won together, I deserve it. But I will respect any decision Yamaha makes, because I am a Yamaha rider." There was no malice, and no ill intent, said Jarvis, and no bad atmosphere in the pit. It was just normal business prac- tice, whereby both parties within a contract abide by its terms. Bradley Smith was back in action at Motegi, seven weeks after a serious knee injury that had seemed likely to bring his last season on the Monster Yamaha to an early end. The English rider sustained major derangement to the ligaments of his right knee after the Misano round, putting him out of the next three races while he underwent reconstructive surgery. A determined fight back to fitness saw him defy medical predictions that he would also miss the three flyaway rac- es, and possibly also the final round at Valencia in November. "It's been a big challenge, the physiotherapy has been tough," said Smith. "Every day from waking to sleeping I've been try- ing to improve the knee." A milestone had come last week when he was able to switch from an exercise bi- cycle to a real one, and ride outside. "It's the small things that matter," he said. Smith qualified 15th, and said it was "more than we could have ex- pected. Nothing you can do in physio can replicate what a MotoGP bike asks of you." The difficulty was not pain but a restricted range of move- ment; "but my head and my heart are 100 percent, so I'll try to make up for the knee," he said. Smith produced a worthy race performance, finishing 13th, less than a minute down on the winner, and barely 30 seconds down on teammate Pol Espargaro. Valentino Rossi claimed his 64th career pole and his third this season with a sensational lap that made him the first to duck under 1:44s at Mo- tegi. He'd had a bit of help, he ad- mitted, following Vinales. "He made a good target." More important had been setting changes that reversed the uneasy feelings of day one. But Rossi was suffering not only from jet lag but also the sniffles, and had con- cerns about his endurance. "I'm not 100 percent. I feel quite sick and it is difficult to breathe," he said. The Movistar Yamaha man's record lap denied Marc Marquez, though the Repsol Honda rider had dominated free practice and the early part of the session. It might have been different but for a late crash by Cal Crutchlow, bringing out yellow flags at turn five on Marquez's last lap. He'd run wide on the previous, but was set for a flyer of his own when he slowed. He said, "I am always very aware of yel- low flags after Silverstone." In 2013 he was penalized for not slowing and then falling, threatening marshals in the gravel trap. Rossi hadn't been so cautious. "Usually I lose a lot with yel- low flags because I look to see who has crashed," he said. "Now I could see some people but there was no bike on the line, so I kept pushing." Lorenzo bounced back from his mas- sive morning crash to take the last front-row position, impressing him- self and everyone else. Briefly...