Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/815139
MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3 / APRIL 22-23, 2017 CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS / AUSTIN, TEXAS P72 "there are no negatives." Espar- garo and Smith both said the wings helped stability; both await the next upgrade. A revised engine to ad- dress power issues is expected ei- ther for the Jerez race in a fortnight, or for the tests directly thereafter. As newcomers, along with Aprilia, KTM are free to make bodywork changes and engine developments through the season, while designs are frozen for established teams. Ducati have yet to homologate a ducted fairing, and the others kept theirs in reserve in Argentina and Texas—with the exception of Suzuki, with both riders Iannone and Rins exercising their downforce bodywork, although only on the first day of practice. The venue of the U.S. GP—Circuit of the Americas—is a magnificent circuit with many special features, including the longest straight of the year and an unequalled 20 corners per lap. But a new feature this year was less popular with riders: major bumps. Both Repsol Honda riders made the point after the first ses- sion, with four-time winner Marc Marquez saying, "The track has changed a lot from last year." Team- mate Dani Pedrosa went further. "There are a few points where the bumps are huge, in the braking points. On the back straight it's like the whoop section in motocross." The likely culprit is the use of the track by Formula 1, but riders made a strong plea for repair by next year. "If it changes as much next year as it did from last year, it will be very difficult to race here," said Marquez. For Rossi, "It is only maybe three places, but they need to be sure they make a proper repair." Making the new big-bang 2017 Honda competitive is simply a matter of time, according to riders Marc Marquez and Cal Crutchlow. Time measured in hours, rather than weeks or months. With engine design frozen and the new engine once again proving a bit of a handful for a second year in succession, Marquez compared his strong performances at pre-season tests with his greater difficulties in get- ting up to consistent speed at the races. At tests, he explained, "we are stronger because there is a lot of time to make adjustments. At a race, not so much." The weakness is in acceleration, a repeat of last year's problems, though for differ- ent reasons. 2016 was the first year of the reverse-direction crankshaft, and riders were stuck with an unruly unit with a too-light crankshaft, eventually tamed by electronic im- provements. For 2017 firing intervals have been radically revised to make a big-bang configuration, but riders are still seeking a solution for poor acceleration compared with (espe- cially) the Yamaha, with better grip and throttle response. It leaves them, according to LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow, hav- ing to "take advantage of our best ammunition—braking. But if you are too greedy, you can easily go over the limit." This had caused him to crash at Qatar, and Marquez out of an early lead in Argentina. Now Mar- quez added: "What I saw in Argenti- na—we are not ready for the victory." But by Saturday night, when he had secured his fifth straight pole at the Texan circuit, he was more upbeat. "The engine configuration has changed the balance of the bike, and it was important to find a good base. It looks like, from Argentina to here, that we are finding that." Alex Rins' nightmare start to his MotoGP career continued at the third round, when he was the first of a raft of riders to crash on Saturday morning, and the only one to sustain significant injury. The former Moto2 and Moto3 race winner and title challenger suffered a dislocated double fracture to his left wrist, and was ruled out of the Austin GP and probably a few more, as the Europe- an season starts in a fortnight. The fracture was stabilized and tempo- rarily fixed with pins at the University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin, but doctors expected further surgery will be necessary for a definitive repair back in Spain, once the swelling has subsided. Jorge Lorenzo has promised all season that his slow start after his switch to Ducati is just that—a slow start, and that he would be gaining speed and ready to get the best out of the Desmosedici and challenge for wins before the end of the year. Race three marked a clear step in this direction, as he made it through from Q1 to join the elite in Q2, then went faster than teammate Dovizioso to place sixth, on the second row of the grid. The significant step came before Argentina, after he had raised the seat height to revise his posi- tion on the bike. "Now I have more of a good feeling with the bike, so I can be more aggressive, and attack more in the corners," he confirmed. Briefly... cont. on page 74