VOL. 54 ISSUE 23 JUNE 13, 2017 P69
"It was a strange race," said Dovi.
"From the first lap it was impossible
to push. But I could stay constant
and my bike had the speed." And he
had the patience, sticking with the
Repsol Hondas then powering past
down the long straight on the 17th of
25 laps of the 72.3-mile race of the
day.
Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) had
claimed pole ahead of the Ducatis
of Jorge Lorenzo and Pramac rider
Danilo Petrucci, with Marquez, Aleix
Espargaro (Aprilia) and Barbera
(Avintia Ducati) on row two, and
Dovi heading the third. Pedrosa was
favorite to win in front of a crowd of
99,000, having taken a pole-to-flag
victory in the heat at Jerez, another
low-grip track.
The Yamahas were struggling,
with independent Monster Energy
Tech3 rider Jonas Folger the best
of them when he qualified eighth.
Vinales, complaining of poor front
The weekend had started in some
confusion, when riders en-masse
rejected a new chicane they had
asked for. After last year's fatal crash
for Luis Salom, use of the slower F1
layout was thought a stopgap, but
a supposedly safer final chicane
installed for this year was dropped on
Friday night, reverting back to the F1
track.
It was also blazing hot, and while
Michelin had brought special harder
tires—both front and rear asymmet-
ric—fast lapping remained a balancing
act. Riders were forced to choose
between grip and endurance, with
no clear-cut decisions or obvious an-
swers. And very little grip whichever
they chose.
(Above) Jorge Lorenzo had a race
of two halves, starting and finishing
strong but fading greatly in the middle.
(Left) Dani Pedrosa (26) led for many
laps but was never as in control of the
race as Dovi was (04).
