VOL. 55 ISSUE 22 JUNE 5, 2018 P65
go fastest, but could maintain the
speed over the full 23 laps.
It was a trademark win, in
defiantly dominant style.
"A lot of people were saying
my mentality was not right, and
I just said I needed to be more
comfortable and save more en-
ergy," he said. "And finally, when
the team gave me a bike to feel
comfortable, I could keep a con-
stant pace, and today nobody
SO LONG SMITH?
Briton Bradley Smith, out of the Red
Bull KTM team next year, would rather
retire than move to any other rac-
ing series. He had every respect for
riders in World Superbike, he said,
but at this stage couldn't contemplate
production-bike racing. "I've spent all
my racing career on prototype bikes,"
he said. "I'm happy. At 28, I've had a
good run at it, and enjoyed every part
of what I've done. Results are fun but
what gets you motivated is knowing
you are in the top one percent. You
work with the best people, the best
factories, on the best tires. If that's no
longer my situation I don't know how
interested I would be to carry on."
BOOM GOES THE
DYNAMITE
Dovizioso's smoky top-speed engine
blow-up on Friday was the result of
over-revving as the back wheel left
the ground, Ducati's team principal
Davide Tardozzi confirmed. The hop
comes at full throttle at the end of the
long straight, and was the cause two
years ago of a double blow-up for
both factory Yamahas, with Lorenzo's
failing in morning warm-up but Rossi's
in the race. The desmodromic valve
gear should make the Desmosedicis
more capable of over-revving without
damage, but everything has a limit.
"We have put the rev limiter down a
bit," Tardozzi told media.
THE LAST OF THE
LATE BRAKERS
Mugello's first corner is both spec-
tacular and daunting—as demon-
strated by Ducati wild card Michele
Pirro's lucky escape from a top-speed
accident (see In The Wind). It also
yields possibly reluctant bragging
rights, from Brembo's annual publica-
Briefly...
Lorenzo (99)
rode just like
the old school
Jorge—even Marc
Marquez couldn't
stay with him.
