VOL. 54 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 15, 2017 P75
weekend. The Red Bull Ring
comprises little more than three
first-gear corners, linked by vari-
ously swooping sections adding
up to 10 corners altogether. Only
two of them are real left-hand-
ers. Ducati horsepower, tamed
by their new box-kite wings, pays
big dividends.
Yet there were two Repsol
Hondas on the podium, at a race
where once again the vagaries
of the very variable Michelin con-
trol tires led to a wider-than-usual
set of choices, and for some
riders the usual unexpected
to the bitter end.
As Dovi said, celebrating his
third win of the year, "The worst
thing is to have Marquez behind
you on the last lap."
And as Marquez said, laugh-
ing with joy despite the de-
feat (as well he may, having
increased his title lead): "The
last corner was completely at
the limit. But this is MotoGP. If I
didn't try, I would not have slept
quietly tonight. And next time
we'll try the same again."
Ducati seemed to have the
upper hand from the start of the
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati
Team—his defeat last year by
then teammate Iannone still fresh
in his memory) took it, gave it
back, and crossed the line less
than two tenths ahead. They'd
changed places twice in the last
corner alone.
If that Turn 10 was a titanic
struggle, it was merely the
culmination of 28 laps of titanic
struggle, some of it in terms of
hand-to-hand combat, other
parts tactical, to do with tire
preservation, and before that
even tire choice. It came down
Is there a more
beautiful land than
Austria to host a
MotoGP race?
