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/887961
VOL. 54 ISSUE 41 OCTOBER 17, 2017 P85 Jonas Folger flew home just two days before practice began for in- depth medical tests, with a suspect- ed recurrence of a debilitating infec- tion with the Epstein-Barr virus. The German, whose performance had dropped off somewhat after he had led his home GP on the Monster Yamaha and finished a close second to Marquez, had been increasingly stricken by exhaustion. On arriving in Japan, he said, he felt so weak that "I could hardly leave my hotel room." He visited the doctors of the Clinica Mobile, who advised him to go home for hospital tests. There is little treatment other than rest for sufferers from the Epstein-Barr virus. Folger's absence is good news for Australian rider Broc Parkes, who will take the vacant Monster Yamaha seat for his home GP next weekend, and also potentially for Yamaha Superbike rider Michael van der Mark, who is top of the list to com- plete the season for the team, if (as expected) Folger does not return. Veteran Parkes (35) ran a GP sea- son in 2014 on the PBM—a modified Aprilia ART run by the Paul Bird Mo- tors team. Three times in the points, his best finish was 11th at Assen. It is expected, however, to be just a one- race deal, because van der Mark will be unavailable, fulfilling his full-time duties with the Yamaha Superbike team at Jerez. The rising Dutch star was called up to replace the injured Valentino Rossi at Aragon, but found upon arrival that his services would not be required. For the Japanese race, Yamaha factory tester Kohta Nozane was pressed into service at the last minute on the Monster Yamaha, and distinguished himself by placing 13th in the first day of free practice, two tenths and one place down on Rossi. The more experienced Ya- maha tester Katsuyuki Nakasuga was already entered as a wildcard (he placed 24th and last). This made three Japanese riders in the Motegi race. Former 250 champion and MotoGP rider Hiroshi Aoyama, a factory tester for Honda, was entered in place of the injured Jack Miller on the VDS Honda. He was 22nd. Nakasuga finished 12th in the race, but Nozane crashed out, while Aoyama was out of the points in last. Suzuki has joined the "go fly a kite" group, with its latest "aero body- work" making its debut, and cast in the same mold as that of Ducati and Aprilia. Like those two, the modified fairing—tested for the first time after the last GP at Aragon—comprises a box-section slapped on the side. It is a bit lower than Ducati's very obvi- ous units, and less obtrusive. While both riders Iannone and Rins gave it the thumbs up, it was the weather rather than the wings credited with the team's best result this year, when they finished fourth and fifth, as well as fruitful tests of several up- dates after the last race at Aragon. All factories are allowed one aero update per rider in the first season, and these complete the full set. Marc Marquez's flag-to-flag jinx struck again at Motegi, when for a third time the defending champion had to miss a formal practice of the new bike-swap procedure—and for the same reason as before. The new practice was first tried at Silver- stone, and tested again at Misano and Aragon at the end of the FP2 sessions. But two out of three times, Marquez had crashed late in the sessions, so did not have two bikes available to practice the changeover. He did it again at Motegi. The other notable crash on Friday came when Cal Crutchlow was taken by surprise under braking by Jorge Lorenzo, ahead of him but traveling slower than he had ex- pected. Braking to avoid the bump, Crutchlow lost the front, and his sliding bike cannoned straight into Lorenzo's Ducati. It was a somewhat spectacular crash, and the pair had a heated exchange in the gravel. Later, Crutchlow acknowledged that "I look like the villain," but added that the slow-moving Lorenzo should share the blame. Valentino Rossi fans (as well as his crew and the rider himself) were much relieved in the morning FP3 session when the heroic injury return victim was quick to his feet after a high-side crash, and strong enough not just to walk away, but to attempt to bump-start his M1 Yamaha. Rossi broke his right tibia and fibula just over a month ago. But when he got thrown off at Motegi, he admitted, "I was lucky." The bike had "rotated below me," he told press in the paddock. "I have some more pain now, but it's okay. I didn't hit the leg a lot." The worse injury was to a finger. "It was good, because it was quite a big crash," he said. As a result, he lost his pre- ferred bike for qualifying, and had to go through FP4 and the qualifying session with just one bike. Briefly...