Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 15 / OCTOBER 13-15, 2017 TWIN RING MOTEGI / MOTEGI, JAPAN P86 through to sixth, narrowly ahead of Di Giannantionio (Honda), Kornfeil (Peugeot), Bendsneyder (KTM) and McPhee (Honda), complet- ing the top ten, with the pack still close behind. With points leader Joan Mir mired in the middle of it, Fenati's fourth win put a little unexpected spice in the title battle. Mir (Leopard Honda) had qualified 14th, started 20th after a penalty, and finished 17th for no points. Fenati closed an 80-point gap to 55. Mir has 271, Fe- nati 216, then Canet 184, Di Giannantonio 146 and Martin (15th today) 135. CN MotoGP Andrea Dovizioso (Duc) Marc Marquez (Hon) Danilo Petrucci (Duc) Andrea Iannone (Suz) Alex Rins (Suz) Moto2 Alex Marquez (Kal) Xavi Vierge (Tec) Hafiz Syahrin (Kal) Pecco Bagnaia (Kal) Mattia Pasini (Kal) Moto3 Romano Fenati (Hon) Niccolo Antonelli (KTM) Marco Bezzecchi (Mah) Tatsuki Suzuki (Hon) Aron Canet (Hon) the first time, and the SKY VR46 man led off the line, only to run wide and drop back to 15th at the end of lap one. It was fellow front-row starter Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM) making the running, from Romano Fenati (Rivacold Honda), Aron Canet (EG Honda) and his teammate Enea Bastian- ini. First-time fourth quali- fier Marco Bezzecchi (CIP Mahindra) was fifth, ahead of Jorge Martin (Del Conca Honda). But some fancied runners would fall away in the con- fusion of the dense spray, while the steadfast would take the benefit of being up front. Fenati is a wet master, as he had shown again at Mi- sano. This time he took over from Antonelli on lap three, and though he didn't achieve the same massive margin, he still won by a mighty seven seconds. Antonelli was kept busy fending off rookie Bezzecchi, who claimed the departing Mahindra's first podium of the year, less than a second behind. The points also put the young Italian top rookie in the championship. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Honda) hung on for a ca- reer-best fourth, ahead of Canet; Philipp Oettl (Schedl KTM) had a remarkable ride Motegi's Turn 11, aka 90-Degree Cor- ner, is a notoriously difficult spot, one of the most interesting of the year. But for Moto2's Alex Marquez, it became dou- bly so, when his throttle jammed open on the approach. The corner is a highlight of an otherwise dull circuit. Approached at top speed on a steep downhill, riders must brake hard, teetering on the front wheel, to around 50 mph. Marquez, who said later that the moment had been "interesting," had only a split second to decide what to do. With commendable coolness, he managed to take to the gravel trap and get stopped without hit- ting the barrier. The problem was traced to a rock caught in the intake, the result of an earlier tumble. Bradley Smith celebrated the salva- tion of his career by getting through from Q1 to Q2 for only the second time on the ever-improving KTM, joining his usually faster teammate Pol Espargaro in the move, then out-qualifying him in Q1. In the week before the race, the Red Bull-backed team had finally put to bed speculation that the Briton was due for the chop after an underperforming season, with a press release confirming that all contracts in place would be hon- ored, that the race team would continue with Smith and Espargaro, and that Mika Kallio would remain as test rider, with occasional wild card appearances. Smith took a year's-best seventh qualify- ing position, with Espargaro eighth. The race was less fruitful however, for the Briton. While Espargaro finished 11th, Smith dropped back to 17th with no points. Kallio made no secret of his desire to return to full-time GP riding, and underlined his strength by claiming the Austrian marque's first dry-weather top-ten finish at the Red Bull Ring at their home GP. Briefly...