Dani Pedrosa has taken victory in the Brno MotoGP ending the winning streak of team-mate Marc Marquez, with Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi in second and third place.
From fifth on the grid the Repsol Honda Team rider returned to his best form to blast through the pack and eventually take victory by 0.410s from Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) in front of more than 138,000 fans. For Lorenzo it was his third successive podium result and he also produced a great ride, having started sixth on the grid.
Pedrosa started well from the second row of the grid and steadily worked his way to the front, setting a new lap record and then grabbing the lead from Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) at Turn Three on lap six. Although Lorenzo tried everything in his power to stay with the Honda he couldn’t quite manage it around the fast, majestic Brno circuit.
At one point Pedrosa built a 1.7 second advantage over his closest rival, finally crossing the line 0.410 seconds ahead as he battled some front-end chatter issues during the final laps. After the race he strongly congratulated his team for his first win since Sepang 2013.
Dani Pedrosa: “I am very happy to have won this race! This year it has been a tough road to victory, but today everybody in the team is very happy. Seeing their smiling faces makes me happy as well, because you always try to get the best results but don’t always manage to do so.
“This year we have an amazing rival in Marc, who has had great performances at every round so far. Maybe today wasn’t his best day, but I think that we also worked very well this weekend. Bringing home the win for the team feels fantastic.”
Pedrosa’s 26th MotoGP victory strengthened his second place in the World Championship standings and moved him to within 77 points of Marquez with seven races remaining.
Marquez had won the previous ten races and looked likely to continue his winning streak after yesterday taking his ninth pole position of the year, but it was not to be. With Marquez finishing fourth it is the first time this year that he did not win the race and this is the first time he has finished a MotoGP race off the podium. The reigning World Champion is of course still in a commanding position in the standings with a 77 point lead.
Jorge Lorenzo: “Finally we beat Marc, but unfortunately it was not me who got the victory this time. I had a chance to get the win because I was feeling good during the warm up and also on the first laps of the race. The only problem was that the feeling of the bike changed after a few laps and Dani caught me. I need to be more aggressive, because he managed to get away.
“The bike was not so bad at the end of race but I was on the limit to catch him. If there would have been one more lap I would have been able to try and beat him, but it was too late. I wanted to try and fight for the win, but Dani rode a really good race. It was a good opportunity for us to win because Marc was not fit enough, but we didn’t plan the race perfectly so we have to learn from this experience in the future.”
Rossi got his seventh rostrum result of 2014 in his 245th premier class race as he equaled the all time appearance record in the top class, pulling level with Alex Barros on that front.
Valentino Rossi: “I’m very happy about this result, because it was a difficult weekend. Yesterday I crashed and injured my finger. This morning it was very bad when checking the setting also with pain making it difficult to ride. This afternoon I visited the Clinica Mobile for my finger to prepare it for the race. With Silvano (Galbusera) and the whole team we were able to set up the bike and we were able to have a good race. I’m happy. We had a good pace and got another podium.”
Marquez lost out in a mid-race battle for third with Rossi, having earlier had a close fight with Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) in the opening laps – with the two former Moto2 rivals clashing on two occasions.
Marc Marquez: “Today was one of those Sundays in which I neither felt completely comfortable, nor had found the best set-up for the bike. It wasn’t down to a mistake by me or by the team, it was simply that we didn’t have the same feeling as on other Sundays. In a way it’s taken a weight off my shoulders, as now people won’t be asking me if I can win every race any more. It was also important that we were able to focus on staying in fourth, even though it was tough not to be fighting for the win.”
“We took 13 points that are important for the World Championship and we still have a big advantage. What matters is who wins the title, not who wins the most races.”
Iannone would later get the better of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) for fifth in the final stages.
The top ten was completed by Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP), Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing), Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini).
Stefan Bradl: After the last difficult weekends we had recently we can be quite happy with this result. Anyway it was a hard weekend for us because we lost our way a little bit on Saturday morning and we had to go through Q1 working hard to be back to our standard shape. I did not take a perfect start because we lost some acceleration due to some wheelie. I tried to catch the guys in front of me, Dovi and Iannone, but for some reasons I could not go the same speed as I was struggling with my front tyre as soon as the rear started to drop. Seventh place is quite good but it would’ve been even better to beat the Ducati guys.”
Home rider Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) scored points in 14th, with substitute rider Leon Camier (Drive M7 Aspar) scoring his first ever MotoGP point in 15th.
A crash and subsequent retirement saw Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team) end his race early. Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Michael Laverty (Paul Bird Motorsport) both crashed out, whilst Danilo Petrucci (IodaRacing Project) and Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing) both retired with technical issues.
MotoGP Race Results
1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 42m 47.800s
2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 42m 48.210s
3. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 42m 53.059s
4. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 42m 58.254s
5. Andrea Iannone ITA Pramac Racing (Desmosedici) 43m 5.439s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici) 43m 5.634s
7. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V) 43m 11.619s
8. Aleix Espargaro ESP NGM Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 43m 17.421s
9. Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 43m 18.164s
10. Alvaro Bautista ESP Go&Fun Honda Gresini (RC213V) 43m 25.439s
11. Scott Redding GBR Go&Fun Honda Gresini (RCV1000R)* 43m 43.404s
12. Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Test Rider (Desmosedici) 43m 44.527s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Drive M7 Aspar (RCV1000R) 43m 44.708s
14. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (RCV1000R) 43m 51.935s
15. Leon Camier GBR Drive M7 Aspar (RCV1000R) 43m 52.702s
16. Alex De Angelis RSM NGM Forward Racing (Forward Yamaha) 44m 8.466s
17. Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Avintia) 44m 12.082s
18. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (Avintia)* 44m 15.236s
19. Broc Parkes AUS Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM-ART)* 44m 26.667s
Danilo Petrucci ITA IodaRacing Project (ART) DNF
Cal Crutchlow GBR Ducati Team (Desmosedici) DNF
Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* DNF
Michael Laverty GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM-ART) DNF
Yonny Hernandez COL Pramac Racing (Desmosedici) DNF
*Rookie
Championship standings
1 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team 263
2 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 186
3 Valentino Rossi Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 173
4 Jorge Lorenzo Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 137
5 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team 118
6 Aleix Espargaro NGM Forward Racing 85
7 Pol Espargaro Monster Yamaha Tech 3 78
8 Andrea Iannone Pramac Racing 73
9 Stefan Bradl LCR Honda MotoGP 65
10 Bradley Smith Monster Yamaha Tech 3 65
11 Alvaro Bautista GO&FUN Gresini Honda 56
12 Scott Redding GO&FUN Honda Gresini 45
13 Hiroshi Aoyama Drive M7 Aspar 37
14 Cal Crutchlow Ducati Team 36
15 Nicky Hayden Drive M7 Aspar 29
16 Yonny Hernandez Emergy T.I. Pramac Racing 27
17 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 25
18 Colin Edwards NGM Forward Racing 11
19 Michele Pirro Ducati Team 11
20 Broc Parkes Paul Bird Motorsport 7
21 Danilo Petrucci IodaRacing Project 4
22 Mike di Meglio Avintia Racing 4
23 Michael Laverty Paul Bird Motorsport 2
24 Hector Barbera Avintia Racing 2
25 Leon Camier Drive M7 Aspar 1
Moto3 – Miller misses out on podium in Brno
A fifth placed finish for Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in a hotly contested finish that saw 15 riders crossing the line tightly packed in a front running group. Miller’s fifth place was enough to increase his championship advantage to 23 points.
Miller did admit he had made a small mistake in the final fight for the podium places: “On the last chicane I had a good position, but I made a small mistake on the corner leading onto the straight and lost four places. The race could have gone better, but we should be happy because we have extended the lead in the Moto3 World Championship standings by two points.”
Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold) secured his first career victory with Enea Bastianini (Junior Team Go&FUN Moto3) and Danny Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) joining him on the podium. The win for experienced Frenchman Masbou makes him the rider to have competed in most Grands Prix before tasting victory.
A deserved win for Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold) in his 133rd Grand Prix race came by just a 0.157s margin from Bastianini (Junior Team Go&FUN Moto3), who rode bravely with a broken heel. with 15 riders crossing the line tightly packed in a front running group.
Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) just missed the podium in fourth having led on several laps, whilst his teammate Alex Rins finished ninth, having remarkably celebrated a lap early, thinking he had won the race.
The top ten was completed by Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing), Miguel Oliveira (Mahindra Racing), Efren Vazquez (SAXOPRINT RTG), Rins and Isaac Viñales (Calvo Team).
With local rider Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) finishing just 1.838s behind winner Masbou but back in 15th place, the race produced the closest ever top 15 in the history of the World Championship.
Jorge Navarro (Marc VDS Racing Team) and John Mcphee (SAXOPRINT RTG) crashed out on the first lap, with wild card Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA Racing Team) and Luca Grünwald (Kiefer Racing) also suffering crashes. None were seriously injured. Ana Carrasco (RW Racing GP) retired with a technical problem.
Moto3 Race Results
1. Alexis Masbou FRA Ongetta-Rivacold (Honda) 40m 59.759s
2. Enea Bastianini ITA Junior Team GO&FUN Moto3 (KTM) 40m 59.916s
3. Danny Kent GBR Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo (Husqvarna) 40m 59.946s
4. Alex Marquez SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (Honda) 40m 59.959s
5. Jack Miller AUS Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 40m 59.976s
6. Brad Binder RSA Ambrogio Racing (Mahindra) 41m 0.069s
7. Miguel Oliveira POR Mahindra Racing (Mahindra) 41m 0.229s
8. Efren Vazquez SPA SaxoPrint-RTG (Honda) 41m 0.308s
9. Alex Rins SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 (Honda) 41m 0.669s
10. Isaac Viñales SPA Calvo Team (KTM) 41m 0.768s
11. Romano Fenati ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 41m 0.801s
12. Niklas Ajo FIN Avant Tecno Husqvarna Ajo (Husqvarna) 41m 0.820s
13. Niccolò Antonelli ITA Junior Team GO&FUN Moto3 (KTM) 41m 0.950s
14. Jakub Kornfeil CZE Calvo Team (KTM) 41m 1.568s
15. Karel Hanika CZE Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) 41m 1.597s
16. Juanfran Guevara SPA Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3 (Kalex-KTM) 41m 1.703s
17. Francesco Bagnaia ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 (KTM) 41m 12.523s
18. Jules Danilo FRA Ambrogio Racing (Mahindra) 41m 14.518s
19. Scott Deroue NED RW Racing GP (Kalex-KTM) 41m 14.938s
20. Matteo Ferrari ITA San Carlo Team Italia (Mahindra) 41m 14.952s
21. Alessandro Tonucci ITA CIP (Mahindra) 41m 15.017s
22. Zulfahmi Khairuddin MAL Ongetta-AirAsia (Honda) 41m 21.418s
23. Bryan Schouten NED CIP (Mahindra) 41m 21.480s
24. Philipp Oettl GER Interwetten Paddock Moto3 (Kalex-KTM) 41m 26.551s
25. Andrea Locatelli ITA San Carlo Team Italia (Mahindra) 41m 26.587s
26. Arthur Sissis AUS Mahindra Racing (Mahindra) 41m 26.792s
27. Eric Granado BRA Calvo Team (KTM) 41m 36.511s
28. Hafiq Azmi MAL SIC-AJO (KTM) 42m 4.156s
29. Gabriel Ramos VEN Kiefer Racing (Kalex-KTM) 42m 6.046s
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