Michael Scott | April 20, 2018
2018 Friday MotoGP News From COTA–The Marc VDS team remained at the center of the rumor mill – with the independent team linked with a switch from Honda to Yamaha. Or possibly Suzuki. Or perhaps to stay with Yamaha.
2018 Friday MotoGP News From COTA
Of the three, the smart money seems to be on becoming Suzuki’s first satellite team, and in spite of denials from both Suzuki and team boss Michael Bartholemy, some believe a deal has already been struck.
Yamaha’s interest is also acute, after losing their long-time satellite team partners Tech 3 to KTM next year; while Honda is anxious to retain the squad.
Aside from the squad’s success in Moto2, with world titles for Tito Rabat and Franco Morbidelli, the prize is that the last-named rider is under contract for next year. Morbidelli is considered a bright future prospect in MotoGP.
With Honda currently in hot pursuit of Johann Zarco for the factory Repsol team, other speculation continued about the second seat at Suzuki. Dani Pedrosa’s name has been linked to the ride, to replace Andrea Iannone alongside Alex Rins; but Jorge Lorenzo is also a possibility.
Lorenzo’s Old Package
A chassis adjustment to his factory Ducati had made the difference for Jorge Lorenzo, who has reverted to his preferred aero-package Ducati fairing.
It was something the team discovered at Argentina, said team manager Davide Tardozzi – specifically “a change of balance” that meant he switched to the latest box-kite fairing for that race and had both bikes so equipped at COTA.
There remained no agreement on the benefits of downforce. His team-mate Dovizioso stuck with his wingless preference; while factory Yamaha riders were also at variance, Rossi with wings, Vinales without. At Suzuki, however, both Rins and Iannone favored the aero bodywork.
KTM riders, however, were running with new-this-year boxy side-pods. Last year the Austrian manufacturer eschewed all wings.
COTA’s Bumps
There was widespread disappointment about the state of the COTA circuit, after a novel attempt at improving the bumps was barely partially successful, and also left the track dusty and slippery.
The bumps are especially severe in the hard braking zones, where F1 and other cars with substantial downforce cause the asphalt to ripple – a problem also at other tracks shared with F1, like Catalunya and Silverstone.
In place of the resurfacing the riders had requested, cash-strapped COTA instead used a pioneering surface-skimming technique to flatten the worst of the bumps … but the first day of practice saw the same complaints as before.
The process also left the track so dirty that on the main straight it looked almost as though it was wet, with bikes leaving plumes of dust.
Michelin’s technicians said that the level of dirt made the track so slippery it was as yet impossible to understand tire requirements.
Rider Saftey Commission
Dangerous riding was set to be the major topic at Friday evening’s MotoGP Rider’s Safety Commission, with feelings running high among past and present victims of Marquez, as well as some askance glances at Zarco, who has also earned a reputation for his merciless attacking style.
Riders were looking for some clear guidance from Race Direction. “We need to find out in the Safety Commission where the limit is,” said Vinales; while Aleix Espargaro on Thursday made an impassioned plea for some clear management. The black flag (of disqualification) might as well be thrown away, he told press, if officials were not prepared to use it.
Another calling for discipline was Jorge Lorenzo, a long-time advocate of harsher penalties, having had his own aggression tamed by a one-race disqualification in 2005. He told press-men: “If Race Direction gives hard penalties, next time the rider won’t make this action.”
Zarco, one of the hardest riders, said: “We try to race in a good way, but we must understand it is a fight.”
The wisest council came from Australian Jack Miller, who earned a round of applause at the pre-event conference. “The fight should stay on the track, not in the media,” he said, adding in a jibe at Rossi: “Riders need to be careful what they say.” Journalists on the lookout for a story asked provocative questions, and words could be twisted.
He concluded with a reminder of a feud in 2011 when Marco Simoncelli (already in trouble with Lorenzo) knocked Pedrosa down and injured him. Later in the same year, after harsh words had been exchanged, Simoncelli crashed fatally in Malaysia.
Miller referenced the pair, saying: “You have to remember life is short and we are risking our lives here.”
A Healing Pedrosa
Dani Pedrosa returned to the MotoGP track 12 days after a punt-off from Zarco left him with a fractured right wrist – he underwent surgery directly after returning from Argentina – but the Repsol Honda rider remains a doubtful prospect for the race.
One problem is the high physical stress at the circuit, including the multiple changes of direction in the early part of the lap, and severe braking from more than 335 km/h to less than 60 km/h at the end of the very long straight.
He placed 21st in the morning and pledged to try again in the afternoon, with a fresh dose of painkillers.
“Honestly, this first ‘test’ has been quite difficult,” he said. “This is a tough track, and I’m struggling a lot doing almost everything here, especially in changes of direction and on braking. The pain is what I expected, but I hoped to have more strength.
“The condition of the asphalt doesn’t help,” he continued, “as there’s no grip and the surface is quite dusty. The work they did didn’t help with the bumps, and it lowered the grip.”
The team was expecting a final decision overnight.