VOL. 54 ISSUE 34 AUGUST 29, 2017 P73
The four pursuers stayed
within touching distance of one
another, preserving tires and
awaiting the closing stages.
It was after half distance that
things started to heat up, with
Crutchlow a close spectator as
the factory men traded blows.
By the end of these skirmishes
on lap 11, Dovizioso was ahead
of Vinales with Marquez about to
"At the start I let Valentino
go, because my strong point is
braking and it is hard to brake
late when you are close to some-
body. Especially Valentino,"
Vinales explained.
And while the tire might be
called "soft," it was little different
from the hard, and he had spent
the whole weekend setting the
bike up around it.
ally leaving Lorenzo and Dani
Pedrosa's second Repsol Honda
behind.
Vinales was one of only four
riders—and the only front-run-
ner—to pick the soft rear tire. All
but one of the rest had selected
the hard. But in the unpredict-
able way of the Michelins, his
best lap was his last, attacking
Dovi.
Maverick
Vinales (25)
kept the heat
turned up and
had thoughts
of winning but
came up just a
little short.
