VOL. 54 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 P51
when Marquez took third off
Dovizioso on lap six. Three laps
later, Marquez made a lunge into
first place on the downhill sec-
tion, only to run straight off the
track again, dropping to fourth.
He was struggling, and on the
limit throughout. "From the first
lap, I was fighting the bike all the
way," he said. "It was shaking ev-
erywhere, and the feeling never
came back." But his mindset, at
a favorite track, got the better
of it, he explained, at maximum
risk.
Dovizioso was also having
trouble, however, and on lap
10 Marquez was ahead of him
again, and two laps later also
past Rossi. Lorenzo would prove
more difficult. His first attack
was repelled by sheer speed
the hard at both ends; only
Zarco and Abraham the soft. As
ever, much depended on indi-
vidual style and bikes.
Lorenzo surged straight into
the lead. Rossi immediately
seized second from Vinales, who
would drop to fifth by the end of
the first lap, Dovizioso and Mar-
quez ahead of him, Pedrosa and
Crutchlow lodged behind.
The front four pulled clear by
a couple of seconds by lap six,
with Vinales taking time to get
his hard rear tire working and
blocking progress in his wake.
Pedrosa, staring at his back
wheel, said later, "He was very
fast in a straight line and very
fast into the corners."
Lorenzo's lead was never
large. The first change came
(Above) Dani Pedrosa (26) was
on fire late in the race, blitzing
his way to the front. Had the
race been three more laps
he might have taken the win.
(Left) Valentino Rossi (46) was
remarkable, keeping the dogs at
bay for much of the race. Only
Vinales (25) would get past the
Italian legend in this pack.
