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/894643
VOL. 54 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 31, 2017 P65 The battle for the Moto2 champion- ship didn't have a lot of life left in it, but Thomas Luthi's last lingering hopes were dealt a fatal blow when the CarXpert Kalex rider crashed in qualifying. It happened at relatively low speed on Turn 2, but was a beyond-awkward high-sider that slammed the 31-year-old Swiss former 125 champion down hard on the track. He got to his feet, but then collapsed again, and was stretchered away. Luthi was taken to hospital where a fracture was found in his left foot. He elected to wait until Sunday morning to decide whether to race, but by then he was on crutches and was in any case ruled unfit. Luthi was within four points of Morbidelli after round 13 at Misano, where Morbidelli crashed out in the rain and Luthi was handed the win when compatriot Dominique Aegerter was later disqualified. But Luthi struggled to make it into the top 10 at the previous flyaway rounds, and Saturday's crash was his third over the last two races. His participation in the final round at Valencia is doubtful; likewise his first MotoGP test after that race. Luthi is to join his victorious Moto2 champi- onship rival Franco Morbidelli in the VDS Honda MotoGP team. Luthi's second place is safe, however. He is 59 points clear of current third- placed Alex Marquez. The paddock was rocked on the first day of practice by shocking news that Stefan Kiefer, the well- liked part-owner and team manager of the Kiefer Moto2 team, had died in Malaysia during the night, seem- ingly in his sleep. A statement from the team said: "The circumstances which led to this tragic incident remain unclear for the moment. With respect to the whole family and all other relatives, Kiefer Racing will not take part in the Malaysian Grand Prix." Kiefer Racing runs Dominique Aegerter and Tarran Mackenzie in the Moto2 class. The German, himself a former rider, founded the team with his brother in 1996, to run in the national and European cham- pionships. Kiefer Racing moved to the World Championships in 2003. Its greatest success came in 2011, when his rider Stefan Bradl won the World Championship. This year the team celebrated victory at Misano with Aegerter, only to have it taken away with disqualification on a tech- nical infringement. Aegerter posted a tribute on social media, saying: "It's a huge shock. My thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was definitely one of the best bosses I ever had, a fantastic person and a great friend." IRTA president Herve Poncharal spoke for the paddock, saying, "It is a sad and dark day. We have lost a true friend, and a very competitive team manager. He was full of passion and energy, and his death is a huge loss." Kiefer was remembered with another minute of silence on Saturday, in a year with too many sad events having to be commemorated. Michael van der Mark made his deferred MotoGP debut at Sepang, the first Dutch rider in the class since Jurgen van den Goorbergh in 2005. And the rider for the Ya- maha World Superbike team made a solid impression at his first attempt. Van der Mark was 19th (out of 22) in both wet and dry, within three sec- onds of the fastest time in the morn- ing, and barely more than that in the damp afternoon. Qualifying proved harder, when he was placed last after falling without injury, and while he ran in the points for much of the race, he was eventually dropped to 16th in the closing stages. Van der Mark had expected to get his first outing at the Aragon GP in September, in place of Rossi on the factory Yamaha after the Italian had suffered a double leg fracture, but was left on one side when the multi- champion made an early recovery. He is likely to get a second outing on the Monster Yamaha at the final round in Valencia in a fortnight, with no definite news on Jonas Folger, the rider he is replacing. Briefly... Stefan Kiefer