had claimed eight fallers at the fast turn eight
alone. Vinales was one of the first down in the
high-speed right hander, and Lorenzo’s crash in
the same turn was perhaps the most debilitating
of the weekend. Curiously, the master of line
accuracy appeared to have touched the white
line on the inside of the turn and his performance
subsequently remained subdued for the weekend.
To be fair, title contender and Ducati teammate
Andrea Dovizioso struggled with pace all though
practice too, which was a big disappointment
to at least one of our tour group.
By the time the races rolled around there
had been plenty of work in the garages across
all the classes and a few more riders had
also been added to the injury list, but there
was still plenty to keep us all guessing. 10th victory of the year, and a warning to Moto2
racers for 2018, as he will come under Kiwi Pete
Benson’s charge in the Marc VDS team for 2018.
Moto3 Moto2
The Moto3 race and championship were wrapped
up as Joan Mir rode to victory when the red flag
came out early due to the heavens opening. The
early laps had been the usual 10-plus bike group
ding-dongs we’ve come to expect. This was Mir’s The Moto2 championship had its big shift in
morning warm up with championship leader
Franco Morbidelli (Team Marc VDS - Crew
Chief, Peter Benson) the fastest rider not to
fall in that wet session. Riders were all pushing
Photo: Mad Love Media
Kiwi Brent Stephenson, Rossi’s long-time mechanic
Photo: Halflight Photographic
Mir is to come under Marc VDS
Team crew chief Kiwi Pete
Benson’s charge in 2018
KIWI RIDER 69