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/972780
IN THE WIND P54 a go in FP4 this morning," said Gagne Saturday. "However, after a couple of laps I was really strug- gling so decided to come back to the box. We then decided to head to the local hospital and a CT scan there showed I had a small contusion on my back. It could've been a lot worse so I was happy to walk away from that crash. It's a shame I couldn't race today and won't race tomorrow, but the most important thing now is to heal up and be ready for the next round at Imola." Jacobsen said, "It was quite dif- ficult for us this weekend, espe- cially not having the other Honda riders, Leon Camier and Jake Gagne, here to see where every- thing is. It was not one of our best weekends but hopefully we can go to the tests in Brno this week and see all the problems that we are having out on track. We will work with what we have now to get the chassis in a better position for me. I have not been really com- fortable in that direction all week- end. Neither the team or me want to be riding around in 13th and 14th, to be honest. At the moment it is very difficult for Honda with both riders out in the factory team, and me struggling a bit this week- end. I have a Honda contract so whatever Honda needs me to do I will be doing. There has been no discussion at all [about going over to the Red Bull Honda WorldSBK team to ride] but whatever they need me to do, media stuff, ride for them, I'll do anything." In the championship fight, Rea has 159, Davies 129, Melandri 115, van der Mark 103 and Sykes a much happier 101. WorldSSP A WorldSSP race win was cer- tainly overdue for Jules Cluzel (NRT Yamaha) and it came after a simply classic race, with a cast of seemingly a thousand fast Yamaha riders, one rapid MV Agusta and dramas you could hardly fit in a cinemascope format screen. Cluzel was the front-runner, and the eventual winner, but by only 0.291 seconds. The run though the entire field from Randy Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) was epic. Last off the grid, and passing riders with seeming ease, "Krum- mi" was quicker than the front guys for much of the race but then just could not get past Cluzel. As they lined up, he had noticed his tank was not filled up, had to go back to the pits to get fuel, and therefore he missed his grid slot and had to start from absolutely last. Third, and on a podium step after previous disappointments and a broken bike last time out in Spain, was Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse by Vamag). He was the first non-Yamaha rider on the podium in 2018, and only 0.315 of a second from the win in another tough Assen elbow-athon. Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team) scored fourth, a whole 0.341 of a second from the win. Luke Stapleford (Profile Racing Triumph) was brilliantly competi- tive to be less than a second from Cluzel, even if he had been given a penalty at one time as Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha) fell. It was all cleared up to Stapleford's benefit and he was rewarded with a reinstated fifth. Sandro Cortese (Kallio Racing Yamaha) was therefore sixth, not fifth as he had been for a while after the checkered flag. In the points, it is Mahias 71, Krummenacher 70, Cortese 64 and Cluzel 50. Gordon Ritchie WORLDSBK RACE ONE 1. Jonathan Rea (Kaw) 2. Mark van der Mark (Yam) 3. Chaz Davies (Duc) 4. Tom Sykes (Kaw) 5. Xavi Fores (Duc) RACE TWO 1. Tom Sykes (Kaw) 2. Jonathan Rea (Kaw) 3. Mark van der Mark (Yam) 4. Xavi Fores (Duc) 5. Chaz Davies (Duc) WORLDSSP 1. Jules Cluzel (Yam) 2. Randy Krummenacher (Yam) 3. Raffaele De Rosa (MV) 4. Lucas Mahias (Yam) 5. Luke Stapleford (Tri)