MOTOGP
2017 FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 12 / AUGUST 27, 2017
SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT / SILVERSTONE, GREAT BRITAIN
P70
Yes. First position. Again.
Marquez had been on pole for
a fourth race in a row, ahead of
Rossi and Crutchlow, with Dovi
only sixth-fastest, both Vinales
and his Ducati teammate Jorge
Lorenzo quicker.
With bright sunshine bless-
ing a later-than-usual start, to
accommodate TV schedules
and the Belgian F1 race, Rossi
blazed off the line to lead into
the first corner. He would stay
there for 17 laps, but only bet-
ter than a second clear on lap
three.
That was the lap that Vinales
pushed past Marquez. By now,
Dovi had also got ahead of
Crutchlow, and they were gradu-
three. And at the end they were
still covered by well under two
seconds.
Rossi was third as they
flashed over the line. His team-
mate Maverick Vinales was just
over a tenth behind Dovi after
a last-lap attack that came so
close to success. Crutchlow in
fourth had lost touch only in that
final tour.
Dovi's full pronouncement
tells the story of modesty as well
as brainy racing. "I wasn't the
fastest…but I was able to put my
bike in the right position."
of smoke at the end of the long
Hangar Straight, at the longest
and one of the fastest circuits
of the year. Honda closed ranks
and kept the details secret, but
the way the bike skidded on a
slippery rear tire as he stopped
made it look like oil rather than
water, and most probably a
dropped valve.
It was a crucial moment of
course for the race. All the more
so for the championship.
His absence didn't make
things any easier or the race less
exciting. There had been four
in an ultra-close pack, chas-
ing long-time leader Valentino
Rossi's Movistar Yamaha. Now
with six of 20 laps left there were
Dovizioso ran a smart and
calculated race and survived a late
attack by the Yamaha boys.
