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/861665
MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 11 / AUGUST 11-13, 2017 RED BULL RING / SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA P86 Marc Marquez denied that he had deliberately slowed before his lap- two pit stop at last week's Czech Republic GP in order to avoid letting the faster riders see that he was go- ing to switch to slick tires. "If it had been deliberate, I would have only dropped back maybe four places," he said. Instead, he had lost ten or more on his ill-chosen soft wet tire, prompting the abrupt and unexpect- ed decision. A mass reshuffle of MotoGP midfield hopefuls resolved the immediate future of at least two riders at the Red Bull Ring, with Jack Miller depart- ing Honda for Ducati, and the displaced Scott Redding aimed firmly (though not yet confirmed) at Aprilia. The third element is yet to be con- firmed, that Sam Lowes will slot into Jack Miller's vacated seat at Honda. But there is also a strong chance that the Briton will return to Moto2, where he is a three-time race winner. The insecurity had been even worse for Lowes, with the forthcoming second year of his MotoGP contract at Aprilia under growing threat with his own poor results in the first year. Aprilia boss Romano Albesiano said at Brno that they were hoping for better results there and in Austria in order to be able to confirm his position, but in the end he proved unable to wait that long. Albesiano said he was seeking "a less risky rider;" but while Lowes headed the crash list with 16 up to the end of the last round at Brno, he is far from alone. Marquez and Bautista each had 14 on the card; Lowes's Aprilia teammate had 12. Dovizioso used Ducati's new "box- kite" fairing for the first time at Brno tests on Monday after the race, and was cautiously positive. In Austria he had them from the start, and all caution was abandoned, as he used them to go fastest, and came home with a glowing report. Ducati's engineers had, he said, "done a really good job… managed to get close to the effect of last year's winglets," and working both in the dry in the morning and in the low grip of the damp afternoon. Yamaha went to and fro on their latest "aero body"—represent- ing their single permissible 2017 upgrade—after first saying it would not be used, and then first Rossi and later Vinales fitting the new unit. Rossi fitted it on Saturday morning, and Vinales in the afternoon. The nature of the Red Bull Ring, with emphasis on acceleration out of three slow corners, puts a premium on anti-wheelie strategy, and both agreed that the bodywork paid dividends. The only drawback, said Vinales, was that having used it on track, they were committed to it for the rest of the year. Earlier, he had hoped for further tests, and poten- tially more development. Jonas Folger, hitherto on an earlier ex-factory Yamaha M1 chassis, rejected a move to the later 2016 version used by his teammate Jo- hann Zarco, after trying the chassis on Friday. The German's speed has often matched Zarco's, but not his qualifying and results (apart from a brilliant second at the Sachsenring), and time lost before returning to his preferred chassis meant he qualified 13th here, while Zarco was sixth. After the private summer-break tests at Brno, Marc Marquez is confident that Honda has finally solved the acceleration issues that have plagued him since the beginning of last year, and (in an ominous note for his rivals) that he can now stop riding just to finish races, but can feel confident of aiming to win. Last year he struggled at this acceleration-heavy track, finishing fifth. This year, he has been strong throughout. Briefly... Dovi (center) now jumps to second in the championship. Marquez (left) increases his title lead.