Lorenzo Takes the Lead in Brno
This weekend saw the three championship leaders, Rossi, Lorenzo and Marquez all make it to the front of the grid to do battle in Brno. The three riders all chose different tyre set ups for the race, which not only added to the intrigue, but also demonstrated that all three beat to their own drum and know how to get the best out of their bike.
Many hoped for a three-way battle, however Rossi was unable to get a good enough start and dropped back a few places on the first corner. Lorenzo kept the lead with Marquez following at his back wheel in the early stages, reminiscent of his performance at Indianapolis in which he held back until the final few laps.
Rossi was held up by Dovizioso who was defensive in the early stages, leading to a gap being created between the front two riders and the chasing pack. Lorenzo went on to win the race in a commanding victory with no noticeable errors. Marquez finished second with a margin of 4.4 seconds on the Spaniard, and Rossi completed the podium in a very lonely third place.
Iannone had an incredible battle with his teammate Dovizioso in which he came out on top and went on to bag a fourth place finish. Dani Pedrosa arguably had one of the best performances on the grid overall, able to work his way through the pack from 9th on the grid to scrap with Dovizioso in the final few laps, despite his badly bruised left foot which he obtained in a rather nasty high-side in FP2. It was evidently worth the risk, however, able to overtake the Italian and gain a 5th place finish only a tenth of a second in front of the Italian.
Bradley Smith had a fantastic start rocketing up to third in the first corner, however was unable to capitalise on it and finished overall in a still respectable seventh place. His teammate Pol Espargaro finished in eighth with his brother Aleix hot on his heels finishing in ninth; Danilo Petrucci completed the top ten.
Eugene Laverty, Cal Crutchlow and Maverick Vinales all crashed out unhurt.
Lorenzo has drawn level with Valentino Rossi on points at the top of the championship, however with five wins to the Italian's three it means that if the season was to end right now he would be champion. The next round is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which will be the perfect place for the MotoGP grid to do battle! Bring it on!
17.08.2015 - MCE Insurance
