Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) rode to a strong second-place finish at Brno this afternoon, chasing winner Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) all the way but finally having to settle for the runner-up spot.
Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez
After winning the last two races – in Germany and at Indy – Marquez never quite had the requisite race pace here, despite setting the fastest lap of the race on lap four. The 2013 and 2014 World Champion must therefore look forward to Silverstone in two weeks to reduce the gap to Lorenzo, who now leads the 2015 MotoGP World Championship, although he is equal on points with team-mate Valentino Rossi.
Marquez’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC213V) rode a heroic race to fifth place after starting from ninth on the grid. He was still in serious pain from a heavy tumble taken during Friday practice due to a technical issue.
Throughout the weekend high track temperatures and Brno’s bumpy surface dominated proceedings, with many riders struggling to find a machine/tire combination that would give consistent high performance over the 22-lap race.
Lorenzo was quickest away from the grid and was never headed after that, as was the case with his other four wins earlier this season. For the first third of the race Marquez was right behind, just as he had been the previous weekend at Indy, where he went on to win his third race of the year.
This time he hoped that his choice of a hard rear slick would give him a later advantage over Lorenzo’s medium rear, but instead from one-third distance he struggled to find good corner-exit traction and finally had to concede victory to Lorenzo by 4.4 seconds. With seven races remaining he trails his compatriot by 52 points; a not insurmountable difference.
Rossi completed the Brno podium, 5.9 seconds behind Marquez, while Pedrosa took fifth between the Ducatis of Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso. The Spaniard set the sixth fastest lap of the race as he bravely fought his way through from tenth at the end of the first lap.
Today was not the best of days for Honda’s other two factory-spec riders. Scott Redding (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda RC213V) took four more points for finishing 12th after a long tussle with Yonny Hernandez (Ducati).
Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda RC213V) was running well in tenth when he slid off at Turn 11 on lap 15. He was joined in the Brno gravel by Eugene Laverty (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) who fell at Turn 2 while 21st.
Nicky Hayden (Aspar Team Honda RC213V-RS) finished just out of the points in 17th, while rookie Jack Miller (CWM LCR Honda RC213V-RS) was 19th.Karel Abraham (AB Motoracing Honda RC213V-RS) finished 21st, riding his first race since June following major surgery on a foot injury.
Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport Kalex) scored a masterful Moto2 victory to increase his points lead in the Honda-powered championship. The Frenchman grabbed the lead on lap two and was never headed, feeling better on the bike as the fuel load reduced and then withstanding relentless pressure from reigning champion Tito Rabat (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex) who crossed the line just 1.4 seconds behind Zarco, who now leads the Spaniard by 79 points with seven races remaining.
Rabat tried everything he knew but could never quite close the gap, while he had to simultaneously mind his back, with Indy winner Alex Rins (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex) threatening all the way.
Reigning Moto3 champ Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex) had by far his best result of his rookie Moto2 season, chasing Rins for much of the 20 laps, suggesting that he is really getting to grips with his CBR600-powered Kalex.
Austin Moto2 winner Sam Lowes (Speed Up Racing Speed Up) was the first non-Kalex rider home, enjoying a superb ride to fifth after a machine issue yesterday left him 13th on the grid. The Briton charged through the pack from 12th on the first lap, passing Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten Kalex), Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten Kalex), Franco Morbidelli (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex), Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex) and Jonas Folger (AGR Team Kalex). He finished the race ahead of Folger, Luthi, Cortese, Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP 40 Kalex) and Morbidelli.
Niccolo Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold Honda NSF250RW) scored his first Grand Prix win in thrilling style today, coming out on top of a Moto3 race shortened to 12 laps after a first-lap incident brought out the red flags shortly after the start. The 19-year-old had to fight all the way to get to the front of the nine-man leading pack, finally crossing the line over a tenth ahead of title-challenger and fellow Honda rider Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Gresini Moto3 Honda NSF250RW). This was a very special occasion for Antonelli – it wasn’t only his first win, it was also his first podium.
Bastianini grabbed the runner-up spot in the final few laps to finish 0.15 seconds behind the winner and just 0.22 ahead of final podium man Brad Binder (KTM). A mere 1.18 seconds covered the first eight men home, with world-title leader Danny Kent (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) having a second consecutive difficult race, finishing seventh. Nonetheless he still enjoys a 45-point advantage over fellow Honda rider Bastianini with seven rounds remaining.
Efren Vazquez (Leopard Racing Honda NSF250RW) was fourth, just half a second off the win, with close fifth-place finisher Jorge Navarro (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda NSF250RW) making it four NS250Fs in the top five.
Kent ended the race seventh, still in the midst of the lead back, but 1.1 seconds behind pole-starter and winner Antonelli. Indy podium finisher John McPhee (SaxoPrint RTG Honda NSF250RW) was the last Honda rider in the top ten, in tenth.
The 2015 MotoGP season – following tomorrow’s Michelin tire testing for some MotoGP teams – continues at high-speed Silverstone, venue for the British Grand Prix on August 30.
Marc MarquezzoomMarc Marquez Dani PedrosazoomDani Pedrosa
Honda MotoGP Rider Quotes
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team: 2nd“Today Jorge rode a very good race. We knew we were not far off him, but we were not close enough and we tried to stick with him, at least at the beginning of the race. After six or seven laps I began to lose performance and he was able to maintain his pace. That's where the difference was made. We achieved the goal we had for today: to try and open a gap to Valentino and the others from the start so I’m happy about that. When we have difficulties, as we did this weekend, we still have to score points. I think that this second position is good.”Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team: 5th“Today I did not make a perfect start, but it was not that bad. However, when I entered the first corner Hernandez went very hard up the inside and I had to pick the bike up. I was able to save it but when I leant back over, coming out of the corner, his teammate caught up and also moved me off my line, so I lost positions and a lot of time. My pace was not as good as this morning and I did not have as good a feeling with the bike due to some problems with the front. It was hard for me to recover but eventually I caught up with Dovizioso and Iannone. The Ducatis are hard to overtake – on the straight they are very fast – but I managed to pass Dovi on the final lap. It's been a difficult weekend, even though today I could work better thanks to the physiotherapist and some medication.”Scott Redding, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS: 12th“It was another difficult weekend and in the race I was struggling to keep the speed. I feel so on the limit I don’t know where to push to find more time. The group in front can pull away easily and although it was another tough race I tried my best. I passed Yonny on the penultimate lap but made a mistake and he got back through. The longer we go without any results the more frustrating it is getting. My home race Silverstone is next and hopefully my previous success there, and a big home crowd, can spur me on. We are certainly not going to give up.”Nicky Hayden, Aspar Team: 17th“A tough day and a tough weekend. It was not easy. We made a little change this morning and created a bit more grip. The pace wasn’t too bad on used tires and in the race I made a good start and a good first lap. It was probably the best start and first lap I’ve had all year. I had the 14th best lap of the race but the track felt really slippery compared to the rest of the weekend. [Hector] Barbera came past and tried to get away from me but I pushed to catch him. Finally I caught him with five or six laps to go and got in front of him for a few laps. Then I made a little mistake and him and [Loris] Baz came past.”Jack Miller, CWM LCR: 19th“It wasn’t the best start I’ve had. We got in a decent rhythm, then when Eugene went off I had to go off track to avoid him. After that I really pushed to close the gap between me and Baz. We were doing it and once we got past Di Meglio I started putting in a decent race rhythm. I pushed for five or six laps and then the thing started to get a little shaky – I started getting a lot of spin, so we backed it off a little to bring it home, but then I couldn’t do anything when Di Meglio came back. Whenever I had grip the bike started wheelying and wouldn’t stop till the next braking point! But it was good to finish the race and get some valuable time on the bike. This morning we made a big step with the front end and I hope to improve that further.”Karel Abraham, AB Motoracing: 21st“We always knew that this race would be very, very difficult, because of my foot injury, and that’s how it was. The pain in my foot has been getting worse with all the riding and so it was really tough to keep going until the checkered flag. Anyway we finished, so we can try to start towards the next race and see what happens there.”Cal Crutchlow, CWM LCR: DNF“I’m really disappointed with today’s race, and first and foremost I’m very sorry for the team because I made a mistake and crashed. We haven’t been happy with the set-up we’ve had all weekend. We tried to improve my feeling on the bike, but even in the race I had some trouble maintaining the pace I wanted to maintain. But we go to the next race – my home Grand Prix at Silverstone – with higher hopes and hoping we can find some solutions. Tomorrow we have a test here, so I hope we can do something that helps us get a better result in Silverstone.”Eugene Laverty, Aspar Team: DNF“I’m okay and I was lucky because when I crashed Jack hit me when I was on the ground so I was fortunate not get injured. At least that was one positive from today, the only one. Things didn’t feel good right from the start. It also happened in yesterday during qualifying. In Q1 we had two tires and the first one was a disaster. The next one had incredible grip. Today I was going to crash and lap six was as far as I could make it. I tried to push on the sighting lap but on the warm-up lap I knew something was wrong – I was spinning even then.”
Honda Moto2 Rider Quotes
Johann Zarco, Ajo Motorsport: 1st“Even if we didn’t have a great battle like we had at Indy I enjoyed that race. I felt so, so good on the bike, so I could enjoy every corner during the race and could lead all the way from the second lap. The gap was close all the way through but it wasn’t difficult even though I couldn’t be faster. When Tito got quite close I found I could push some more in a few corners and improve the gap again. This is my fourth win, which shows we are in a good place.”Tito Rabat, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS: 2nd“I got a good start and the first two laps were great, but then I made a mistake coming onto the back straight on lap three. Unfortunately that allowed Johann to open a big gap and the whole pack opened up a bit, all of us with very similar rhythms. But second place is good after a couple of quite difficult races, so we leave Brno with a good feeling.”Alex Rins, Paginas Amarillas HP 40: 3rd“We did not win this race but once again we proved we can run the same pace as the best guys in the class, which makes me and the whole team feel very optimistic. I am still a rookie in Moto2 so I am still learning with every race, and that is always the main target!”
Honda Moto3 Rider Quotes
Niccolo Antonelli, Ongetta-Rivacold: 1st“My first victory is a great emotion for me, I am really happy! I knew I was fast but I didn’t expect the victory. I really want to thank the team, we have been great and we worked well. Now we have to improve again and be in the front in all the races.”Enea Bastianini, Junior Team Gresini Moto3: 2nd“This morning we made radical changes to the bike set-up, in order to find more confidence and we succeeded. I’m happy with the result, but also because we were able to come out of a difficult situation. The bike today was not bad, but I struggled to hold the line at Turn 1, so in that point many riders often passed me, also touching me, such as Navarro and Vazquez. In the final stages of the race in that point due to a contact I lost valuable ground and I had to recover, but we know that the fight is always very tight, we are always many riders fighting and anything can happen. I thought it would be hard to beat Kent today, but actually we recovered 11 points in the standings and now Danny is closer to us. He will always be very fast on all tracks, however, and he makes few mistakes, so it won’t be easy to beat him in the future. We hope to continue to reduce the gap on him in the coming races.”Efren Vazquez, Leopard Racing: 4th“I think fourth place isn’t a bad result because we collected 13 important points for the championship and we could reduce our gap to the guys ahead of us. But I’m a bit disappointed because we delivered a strong and consistent performance all weekend. So I expected to be able to fight for the podium more clearly. But during all these hard fought battles for positions I made two mistakes with other riders for which I lost too much time in the end. At this point I’ve to admit that we need to work more on the engine side of our bike, particularly for fast circuits like this. I don’t know the reason, if it’s due to the weather with these warm and hot temperatures. Anyway, it must be the main point where we need to try something for the next races, because already at Silverstone we see a super-fast layout again.”
Dani PedrosazoomDani Pedrosa
MotoGP World Championship Grand Prix 2015
Round 11: Czech Republic Race
MotoGP Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
F/O
1 Jorge LORENZO (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) F
2 Marc MARQUEZ (Repsol Honda Team) F
3 Valentino ROSSI (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) F
4 Andrea IANNONE (Ducati Team) F
5 Dani PEDROSA (Repsol Honda Team) F
6 Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Ducati Team) F
7 Bradley SMITH (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) F
8 Pol ESPARGARO (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) F
9 Aleix ESPARGARO (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR MotoGP) F
10 Danilo PETRUCCI (Pramac Racing) F
11 Yonny HERNANDEZ (Pramac Racing) F
12 Scott REDDING (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) F
13 Alvaro BAUTISTA (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) F
14 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) F
15 Loris BAZ (Athinà Forward Racing) O
* F=Factory option, O=Open category
Moto2 Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Johann ZARCO (Ajo Motorsport)
2 Tito RABAT (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
3 Alex RINS (Paginas Amarillas HP 40)
4 Alex MARQUEZ (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS)
5 Sam LOWES (Speed Up Racing)
6 Jonas FOLGER (AGR Team)
7 Thomas LUTHI (Derendinger Racing Interwetten)
8 Sandro CORTESE (Dynavolt Intact GP)
9 Luis SALOM (Paginas Amarillas HP 40)
10 Franco MORBIDELLI (Italtrans Racing Team)
11 Simone CORSI (Athinà Forward Racing)
12 Takaaki NAKAGAMI (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia)
13 Dominique AEGERTER (Technomag Racing Interwetten)
14 Hafizh SYAHRIN (Petronas Raceline Malaysia)
15 Mika KALLIO (Italtrans Racing Team)
Moto3 Class
Rank
Rider (Team)
1 Niccolò ANTONELLI (Ongetta-Rivacold)
2 Enea BASTIANINI (Gresini Racing Team Moto3)
3 Brad BINDER (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
4 Efren VAZQUEZ (Leopard Racing)
5 Jorge NAVARRO (Estrella Galicia 0,0)
6 Romano FENATI (SKY Racing Team VR46)
7 Danny KENT (Leopard Racing)
8 Miguel OLIVEIRA (Red Bull KTM Ajo)
9 Jakub KORNFEIL (Drive M7 SIC)
10 John MCPHEE (SaxoPrint RTG)
11 Jorge MARTIN (MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA)
12 Francesco BAGNAIA (MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA)
13 Andrea MIGNO (SKY Racing Team VR46)
14 Juanfran GUEVARA (MAPFRE Team MAHINDRA)
15 Philipp OETTL (Schedl GP Racing)
