Michael Scott | June 2, 2018
2018 MotoGP News Saturday from Mugello
The Keys to Lorenzo’s Front Row Start
Lorenzo’s first access to the front row this year was the consequence of two improvements.
The first, as reported yesterday, was extra padding at the back of the fuel tank, giving him physical support under braking.
The second was a pair of new chassis, improving mid-corner performance.
2018 MotoGP News Saturday from Mugello
He’d had only one at Le Mans, which hindered his progress in setting; but having two the same meant easier progress.
“I just missed out on my first pole position with Ducati by a few thousandths, but I’m satisfied with the work we’ve done. The new fuel tank helped a lot with confidence but mainly energy,” he said. He had complained of fatigue spoiling his late-race performance at the last two or three rounds.
Others also had fruitful modifications.
At Movistar Yamaha, Maverick Vinales’s crew had shortened the bike, making it less stable but improving rear grip with greater weight transfer.
Suzuki also had a revised chassis, with carbon-fibre cladding that altered stiffness ratios.
Over-Rev Cause of Dovi’s Ducati Blow Up
Dovizioso’s smoky top-speed engine blow-up yesterday was the result of over-revving as the back wheel left the ground, Ducati’s team principal Davide Tardozzi confirmed today.
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.
Is Rea Heading to Repsol Honda?
The last factory seat still going begging is one of the most desirable – alongside Marquez at Repsol Honda. But will Dani Pedrosa keep the ride he has had since 2000?
A run of injury and poor results cast doubt over his continued tenure, but we should know within two weeks, according to team manager Alberto Puig.
“We said at the beginning of the year we would make a decision by the Catalunyan GP,” he said.
If not Dani, then who?
One name mentioned is multi-Superbike champion Jonathan Rea, who told press recently that he was considering “an attractive offer” to move to MotoGP.
Rossi Says Tires Will Be Critical on Sunday
Tyres will determine the outcome of tomorrow’s Italian GP, according to pole qualifier Valentino Rossi. “Tyre choice will be crucial,” he said.
The view was echoed by championship leader Marc Marquez, who said in his media debrief: “This is not a race to attack, but to take points.”
It is the front tyres causing concern in the high track temperatures, in spite of Michelin adding an extra asymmetric front to the usual allocation.
A rash of crashes in FP4 – both Tech3 Yamaha riders Zarco and Syahrin, plus Dani Pedrosa (Honda), Alex Rins (Suzuki) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) – all happened with riders using the hard front option, which lacks grip, but at least offers better hopes of endurance.
According to Marquez: “Here the tyre allocation is a bit too soft for us, especially in the afternoon when the temperature is higher. In qualifying when I started pushing hard I overheated the front in the space of three corners.”
Crutchlow, who also uses the front end hard, had been running with the latest large Honda wings, but removed them for qualifying, to reduce the stress on the front tyre.