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
IN THE WIND P50 RIDERS REVOLT AT AUSTRIA SAFETY COMMISSION "P leasant, with periods of sun." That was the weather forecast for Sunday's Austrian MotoGP. Not only the thousands of campers were hoping it would be accurate after a rabble-rousing threat of a riders' strike from MotoGP, in response to a crash- strewn Friday free practice in Moto2 when 11 riders managed 14 crashes in a drenching downpour. Most were under hard braking, at the first and third corners, at a cir- cuit that basically comprises drag strips then hard braking between a handful of corners and minimal run-off area at a number of points. The problem was blamed on poor grip on a surface with a lot of rubber laid down by F1 cars under heavy braking; the major difficulty was the proximity of the barriers and a dire shortage of run-off. When the topic was aired at a lively riders' Safety Commission meeting, on Friday, several riders said that if Sunday was rainy, they would not race. But there was no formal consen- sus, and great relief on Saturday afternoon, when it was clear that these principles would probably not be put to the test. This meant that some riders could get away with equivocal answers to direct questions—but not Cal Crutchlow, who said in so many words: "If it is wet tomorrow, I will not race." As often, Pedrosa gave a well- reasoned response. "If it rains, the track itself is not good enough for braking. We saw many accidents in Moto2. At this time, they are talking about what to do. But it is super-important, and we cannot wait just to be lucky." It was a matter of the surface, and also the run-off. But would there be a strike? "Most riders were not really happy about the idea [of racing in the rain]. But nobody gave a posi- tion," said Marquez. Rossi would not commit himself. "I hope it will not rain. If it does rain, we will have to under- stand what to do," he said. The controversy threw the spotlight on Dorna representa- tives Franco Uncini (Grand Prix Safety Officer) and Loris Capirossi (Dorna Safety Adviser). The latter had run test laps on a Suzuki on Thursday, and had almost crashed under braking for Turn 1. Had the cause been excess F1 rubber, there was still time for the track to be cleaned; but beyond warning the riders Capirossi took no action. Michael Scott NICOL TOPS SPEEDWAY NATIONAL R ound three of the AMA Speedway National Champi- onship Series ran its course at Industry Hills Speedway track, in City of Industry, California, August 12. Broc Nicol won all of his heats except one, when he took sec- ond to Max Ruml, who won all of his heat races. The two met up again in the final, where Nicol grabbed the holeshot and never looked back. Points leader Billy Janniro ended up taking second with Ruml crashing out at the end. Gino Manzares was third. Nicol finished out the a winning 20 points, fol- lowed by Rumi (18), Janniro (16) and Manzares (15). Janniro leads the champion- ship with 52 points. Rumi is second with 48 and Nicol third with 44. Mitch Friedman Crutchlow (talking to Rossi) was adamant in not racing if it rained in Austria. Broc Nicol topped the third round of the AMA Speedway National Championship at Industry Hills. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MITCH FRIEDMAN