Features 19 Oct 2014

Rewind: 2013 Phillip Island MotoGP

CycleOnline recalls last year's bizarre Australian Grand Prix.

You couldn’t have scripted the 2013 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The event was turned on its head from the outset and the twists and turns continued until the final wave of the chequers on Sunday afternoon.

There was plenty of buildup to the perennially popular event but one of the main factors that set off a bizarre chain of events had occurred, or in this case, not occurred, many months prior.

Bridgestone had elected not to travel to Australia to carry out its regular tyre tests, meaning it relied upon its own data to determine which tyres to take to the event. Significantly the the circuit had been re-surfaced since the series’ last visit, adding an additional unknown to the mix.

The first day of free practice wasn’t unlike any other. The weather was fairly good and fastest for the day was Jorge Lorenzo, who had his Yamaha dialled as he sought to make a last-ditch attempt to stop rival Marc Marquez.

But by the end of Saturday questions had begun being raised about the durability of the tyre. The new surface, combined with unseasonally warmer temperatures, was producing severe graining and wear leading race direction to make a drastic decision for Sunday.

Source: MotoGP.

Source: MotoGP.

The race was shortened to 19 laps from its slated 26, and riders and teams were instructed not to turn more than 10 laps on a single tyre, effectively introducing an enforced pit stop to swap bikes.

What was renowned as a race of pace and high speeds was suddenly all about strategy. In warm up we were presented with surprising scenes of riders practicing their bike changes, each employing their own style to leap from one machine to the other in the least time possible.

The race was relatively uneventful in the early stages. Lap by lap the anticipation grew as the compulsory pit window approached.

Race control had specified the end of lap 10 as the final opportunity for riders to enter the pits and swap bikes, an instruction that was crucially overlooked by Marquez’ Repsol Honda crew as they sought to exploit a perceived loophole in the wording.

The first of the major players in was Dani Pedrosa, who made his own mistake on hauling into pit lane, exceeding the speed limit and instructed to drop a spot.

His error was minor compared to stablemate Marquez’, who was told to power on past the pits on lap 10 and pit for his second bike on lap 11.

Despite the confusion surrounding the race, instructions from officials were clear: “No rider is permitted to make more than 10 laps on any one slick or wet rear tyre. This means that a bike/tyre change before lap nine will require a second bike/tyre change to finish the race.

“Every rider will be required to enter the pits and change to his second machine with fresh tyres at least once during the race. In normal circumstances this means that the rider must change machine only at the end of lap nine or lap 10.”

His ‘vault’ from bike to bike was one of the more impressive, but didn’t earn him any extra points. In fact, he earned no points at all, with race control disqualifying the young Spaniard from proceedings much to the disbelief of those watching on (and Honda itself).

Source: MotoGP.

Source: MotoGP.

Further adding to the drama was the fact that Marquez and Lorenzo had collided when the former finally did exit pit lane, with the extension of the exit space catching a handful of riders out.

The rollercoaster race finally came to an end with victory going the way of Lorenzo. The Yamaha rider was fast but, in concert with his team, was able to best manage the unique set of circumstances thrown at riders.

Pedrosa came home in second, albeit seven seconds behind, with Valentino Rossi registering a popular podium in third.

It was a strange race too for the Australians taking part, with both Bryan Staring (Gresini Honda) and Damian Cudlin (Paul Bird Motorsport) excluded from the results after making the same mistake as Marquez.

Will we ever see a race like it again? Highly unlikely. Comedy of errors aside, it proved both perplexing and entertaining at the same time. And one only seagull was hurt in the making.

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