Marc Marquez came to Brno last July to prepare his Czech Republic Grand Prix of this weekend. He impressed during FP4, but he never stopped asserting that the Ducati had better potential. The race proved him right and he had to settle for third place behind the two red motorcycles. However, he has every reason to rejoice...
First of all, this third step on the podium is the worst result of his season if we except his two retirements. This shows the influence that the Honda official has on this title race that he now leads with practically two victories ahead of a Valentino Rossi which he took care to keep behind him…
Then, he surrendered with honors: 0.368 seconds separated the first three in this race in Moravia at the finish. This is the second smallest gap in MotoGP history, the first coming at Estoril 2006 where Tony Elias, Valentino Rossi et Kenny Roberts were united in 0.176 seconds.
On his performance, the teammate of a Pedrosa who risks ending his career in a season without a victory, which has never happened to him, comments: “ I felt good during this race, my speed was good. I was able to save my tires. But the Ducatis were too strong. They accelerated better and braked very well. I didn't want to try everything. My goal was to finish ahead of Rossi for the championship. I succeeded and Dovizioso is still at 68 points. We are on the right path ».
He finishes : " I'm happy because this track has always been difficult for us. And this time, I wasn’t far from success.” A victory acquired last year thanks to a racing strategy adapted to the particular circumstances. “The pace of the race was quite slow. But it was good for me, that way, I didn't take any risks! »
Grand Prix of the Czech Republic Brno MotoGP J.3: Ranking
| 1 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 41'07.728 |
| 2 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | +0.178 |
| 3 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | +0.368 |
| 4 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +2.902 |
| 5 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +2.958 |
| 6 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | +3.768 |
| 7 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | +6.159 |
| 8 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | +7.479 |
| 9 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | +7.575 |
| 10 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | +8.326 |
| 11 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | +8.653 |
| 12 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | +16.549 |
| 13 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | +19.603 |
| 14 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | +21.381 |
| 15 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | +23.159 |
| 16 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | +27.673 |
| 17 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | +28.311 |
| 18 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | +41.172 |
| 19 | 50 | Sylvain GUINTOLI | Suzuki | +42.411 |
| 20 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | +50.941 |
| Not Classified | ||||
| 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 13 lapses | |
| 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | 16 lapses | |
| 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 20 lapses | |
| Not Finished 1st Lap | ||||
| 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 0 laps | |
| 6 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | 0 laps |
