Motogp: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took a tactical win at Brno.

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Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) threw down the gauntlet to his Championship rivals in the Czech GP, with the race declared wet but the track quickly drying at the start – conditions made for a tactical masterstroke for those willing to gamble. And that’s exactly what the number 93 pulled off. A second consecutive victory saw him grow his Championship lead, with teammate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) closing in on those above him in the standings with an impressive ride into second – taking his 150th podium. Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) managed to charge back up through the field to complete the rostrum, limiting the damage caused by pitting later and keeping himself second in the standings.

With the field all on wets, Marquez got away in the lead at lights out, but a storming start for Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) from fifth saw him then moving through for the lead on Lap 1. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) slotted into P3, with Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) just besting Pedrosa to take fourth.

Lorenzo began to pull away with a good gap as Rossi swooped through on both Dovizioso and Marquez to take second, and a dry line was already appearing. The number 93 was dropping through the field and then dived into the pits as the first to try the switch to slicks – struggling on the softer tyre and taking the gamble early.

Rossi was hunting down Lorenzo as the track was drying and drying, before the ‘Spartan’ headed in – as did many of the front group. Meanwhile, Marquez was on a charge setting red sector after red sector back out on slicks, and it appeared he’d played his hand to perfection.

As the deck shuffled, he was soon taking the lead – and proving his decision to pit a tactical masterstroke as the dust settled and the gap back to P2 was around 20 seconds.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo was delayed in the pits as the riders around him – including Viñales – streamed out, with Rossi and Dovizioso steadfastly remaining out for another lap until both diving in together.

Viñales got the hammer down from the mid-pack as everyone shuffled back out on track, slowly starting to reel in those ahead of him. Picking them off one-by-one, the rider from Roses finally battled past Crutchlow, Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) to make it into some clear air, some six seconds off Pedrosa in second and the podium seeming decided. Pedrosa, meanwhile, ate a good number of seconds off Marquez’ lead, more than secure in second.

Slightly further back, Dovizioso had a simple mission: after both pitting late, the Italian needed to stay as close to compatriot Rossi as possible. Close on points in the Championship, ‘DesmoDovi’ managed some good damage limitation in managing to stay close enough, but Rossi kept the upper hand.

With Cal Crutchlow the last man in between the ‘Doctor’ and his teammate Viñales as they honed in on the top four, Rossi got his head down and pushed on – eventually catching the Brit and able to get past him on the final lap. Dovizioso followed the number 35 home and took P6, close but not quite able to shadow his compatriot over the line.

Petrucci took a solid result in seventh after losing grip in the latter stages, ahead of Aleix Espargaro after a penalty for an unsafe release in pit lane saw the Spaniard move back three places.

There was a rockstar performance in P9, with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crossing the line only two tenths off his older brother, taking a stunning result in a tough race and bringing some good points home for the Austrian factory.

Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) completed the top ten, with the German rookie slicing back through the field and escaping the clutches of fellow rookie Alex Rins. Folger had been well outside the points, and Rins’ result was the culmination of a promising weekend for the Spaniard as he comes back from injury – the second rookie home and ahead of Zarco, who was twelfth.

Karel Abraham (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) was running much further up for the initial stages until the pack shuffled around him, but the Czech rider nevertheless took solid points at home in P13. Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) was fourteenth after a more difficult weekend.

Jorge Lorenzo, after leading early on, found his delay in the pit lane costly. The five-time World Champion put in a good comeback, however, moving through from outside the top twenty to complete the points in fifteenth – bridging some big gaps along the way.

The next stop on the calendar will be heartening for Lorenzo and the Ducati team, as MotoGP™ heads to Austria – a track that suits the ‘Desmosedici’ like no other. And despite Marquez’ domination at Brno, everything remains very much an open book – with Viñales, Rossi, Dovizioso and Pedrosa still in hot pursuit ahead of next weekend’s visit to the Red Bull Ring.

MONSTER ENERGY GRAND PRIX ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY

MotoGP Race Classification 2017.

Pos.	Points	Num.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Km/h	Time/Gap
1	25	93	Marc MARQUEZ	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	161.1	44’15.974
2	20	26	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	160.3	+12.438
3	16	25	Maverick VIÑALES	SPA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	160.0	+18.135
4	13	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	159.8	+20.466
5	11	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	LCR Honda	Honda	159.8	+20.892
6	10	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	159.7	+23.259
7	9	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	OCTO Pramac Racing	Ducati	159.6	+24.079
8	8	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	159.2	+30.559
9	7	44	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	159.2	+30.754
10	6	94	Jonas FOLGER	GER	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	159.1	+33.236
11	5	42	Alex RINS	SPA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	159.1	+33.290
12	4	5	Johann ZARCO	FRA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	159.0	+34.595
13	3	17	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Pull&Bear Aspar Team	Ducati	159.0	+34.697
14	2	43	Jack MILLER	AUS	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	158.8	+38.062
15	1	99	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Ducati Team	Ducati	158.7	+40.100
16		45	Scott REDDING	GBR	OCTO Pramac Racing	Ducati	158.4	+44.376
17		53	Tito RABAT	SPA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	158.4	+45.454
18		22	Sam LOWES	GBR	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	157.9	+53.976
19		29	Andrea IANNONE	ITA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	156.2	+1’23.346
20		8	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	149.0	1 Lap
Not Classified
		38	Bradley SMITH	GBR	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	157.4	2 Laps
		76	Loris BAZ	FRA	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	156.7	7 Laps
		19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Pull&Bear Aspar Team	Ducati	154.0	10 Laps

MotoGP World Standing 2017.

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Marc MARQUEZ	Honda	SPA	154
2	Maverick VIÑALES	Yamaha	SPA	140
3	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati	ITA	133
4	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	ITA	132
5	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	123
6	Johann ZARCO	Yamaha	FRA	88
7	Jonas FOLGER	Yamaha	GER	77
8	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	ITA	75
9	Cal CRUTCHLOW	Honda	GBR	75
10	Jorge LORENZO	Ducati	SPA	66
11	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Ducati	SPA	44
12	Jack MILLER	Honda	AUS	43
13	Aleix ESPARGARO	Aprilia	SPA	40
14	Scott REDDING	Ducati	GBR	33
15	Loris BAZ	Ducati	FRA	31
16	Andrea IANNONE	Suzuki	ITA	28
17	Karel ABRAHAM	Ducati	CZE	23
18	Tito RABAT	Honda	SPA	23
19	Pol ESPARGARO	KTM	SPA	21
20	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	21
21	Alex RINS	Suzuki	SPA	12
22	Bradley SMITH	KTM	GBR	8
23	Michele PIRRO	Ducati	ITA	7
24	Sam LOWES	Aprilia	GBR	2
25	Sylvain GUINTOLI	Suzuki	FRA	1
26	Mika KALLIO	KTM	FIN
27	Takuya TSUDA	Suzuki	JPN

Credits : Photos and content courtesy of motogp.com

Motogp: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took a tactical win at Brno.

93-marc-marquez-esp_gp_3541_0_0.small

MONSTER ENERGY GRAND PRIX ČESKÉ REPUBLIKY

MotoGP World Standing 2017.

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