Pedrosa wins as Marquez streak ends

In the Brno MotoGP™ race Dani Pedrosa won for the first time since Malaysia last year as he ended the winning streak of Marc Marquez, with Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi second and third, while Marquez came home just off the podium.

From fifth on the grid Pedrosa returned to his best form to blast through the pack and eventually take victory by 0.410s from Lorenzo in front of more than 138,000 fans.

Pedrosa made a lightning start, settling in behind Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) as the Italian pair led in the early stages.

Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) made an early break, reminiscent of his past wins. Pedrosa set consistent laps and overtook Lorenzo on the sixth lap and extended his lead to over a second and a half.

The closing stages saw Lorenzo make a spirited charge, reducing the gap to just 0.410s at the end of the race.

“I didn’t plan the race in the way it went. Jorge was very strong in the first laps so I had to change my plan and push to catch him. I was able to have a good rhythm and manage the gap. We had some problem with grip and corner exit after the first laps. This year it has been a tough road to victory, but today everybody in the team is very happy,” said the race winner.

“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.”

For Lorenzo it was his third successive podium result and he also produced a great ride, having started in sixth on the grid.

Lorenzo commented, “Finally we beat Marquez, though sadly it was Dani who got the win. I felt good in the Warm Up and at the start of the race. After two laps I lost some feeling and Dani caught me and passed me. I tried to be more aggressive and the bike improved at the end of the race. But by then he was too far ahead, maybe with one more lap I could have fought for the victory.”

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.

Rossi was able to overcome a finger injury sustained in FP4 to beat Marquez (Repsol Honda) for the first time this season and claim another podium. Rossi made a solid start from seventh and began to battle with Marquez from the first lap.

The battle lasted for several laps, with Rossi eventually gaining the advantage on lap 13. The experienced Italian went on to finish five seconds ahead of Marquez, but five seconds behind his Yamaha teammate.

Rossi stated, “I am very happy for this result because it was a tough weekend. I crashed yesterday and injured the finger. In Warm Up we had some pain and a bad setting. We made a good setting for the finger for the race though.

“I was able to have a good race and had a high pace. Sadly I lost a little in the first laps, as I wasn’t sure on the pace. It was a great pleasure to beat Marc for once! He had some problems, sliding a lot. I’m very proud to be on the podium.”

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. Marquez is of course still in a commanding position in the standings with a 77-point lead.

Marquez had a close fight with Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) in the opening laps – with the two former Moto2™ rivals clashing on two occasions.

Iannone would later get the better of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) for fifth in the final stages.

The top 10 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).

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, while Danilo Petrucci (IodaRacing Project) and Yonny Hernandez (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing) both retired with technical issues.

Moto2™ World Championship leader Tito Rabat scored a dominant win at the bwin Grand Prix České republiky, with Mika Kallio and Sandro Cortese joining him on the podium.

Starting on pole for the seventh time in 2014 Rabat stormed away from the line, leading from start to finish and opening up a clear gap at the front. The Spaniard crossed the line three seconds ahead of Marc VDS Racing Team colleague Kallio to increase his championship lead to 12 points.

A first Moto2 podium for Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP) was secured by a two-second gap from Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2). Dominique Aegerter (Technomag carXpert) crossed the line just behind Luthi in fifth, with Maverick Viñales (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) nearby in sixth.

Another superb Moto3™ race saw Alexis Masbou secure victory after a long battle featuring a huge leading group, with Enea Bastianini and Danny Kent joining him on the podium.

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. The win for experienced Frenchman Masbou makes him the rider to have competed in most Grands Prix before tasting victory.

Kent (Red Bull Husqvarna Ajo) returned to the podium in third, 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, while his teammate Alex Rins finished ninth, having remarkably celebrated a lap early, thinking he had won the race.

A fifth placed finish for Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was enough to increase his championship advantage to 23 points.

–From motogp.com

MotoGP Race Results (courtesy Repsol Honda)

MotoGP Standings (courtesy Repsol Honda)

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