VOL. 55 ISSUE 20 MAY 22, 2018 P83
RINS SIGNS
Alex Rins is to stay with Suzuki for an-
other two years. This was announced
on the eve of the French GP. The
Spaniard was already earmarked for
a future with the third Japanese team,
after having once been expected to
join Yamaha. Second Suzuki rider
Andrea Iannone is still looking for a
job. A new rumor surfaced on Satur-
day at Le Mans, for the second factory
Suzuki seat alongside Alex Rins, that
the place is earmarked for his highly
fancied Spanish compatriot Joan Mir.
But at Le Mans, Mir signed a pre-
contract for the second seat at Repsol
Honda, which expires at the end of
May. Should Honda not take up their
option on Mir, he would be free to talk
to Suzuki, Yamaha or Ducati.
ESPARGARO IN AT
APRILIA
Current rider Aleix Espargaro has also
signed with Aprilia for another two
years, to the end of 2020. "I am really
pleased," the Spaniard said. "In nine
years in MotoGP I have not been with
any team for more than two years. This
will give me stability." While the latest
Aprilia has shown a big improvement,
good race results have been lacking,
with a single top 10 in Texas, and three
non-finishes. Teammate Scott Redding
is another who will be out of contract
at the end of this season, along with
fellow Briton Bradley Smith.
LE MANS STAYS
The French GP will stay at Le Mans
until 2026, after a renewal of the
contract between Dorna and promoter
Briefly...
one had the same pace," he
said. But he admitted he could
have gone faster at the end,
had he needed to.
It was his first three-win-
streak since his dominant
2014, and his 38th in the pre-
mier class.
With the field depleted and
Lorenzo losing ground, Valen-
tino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha)
was poised to take the benefit.
Qualified ninth, he'd finished
the first lap sixth, and was now
pursuing Petrucci, while Jack
Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati)
and a little further back the still-
hurting Dani Pedrosa (Repsol
perature. Then when Lorenzo
ran slightly wide, he cut inside.
Lorenzo, complaining later of
fatigue because "the ergonom-
ics of the bike don't support
my weight properly in braking,"
would continue to lose places.
Instead it was independent-
team rider Danilo Petrucci
(Alma Pramac Ducati) who, at
once, took up the chance, and
was pushing hard. But Mar-
quez had it under control, and
on lap 17 set the fastest lap of
the race to finally break more
than a second clear, finally win-
ning by 2.3 seconds.
"The race was tough—every-
