MotoGP comes to Brno in the Czech Republic for the latest round of the MotoGP World Championship. The question is, can anyone stop Marc Marquez. Grand Prix motorcycles began racing in the Czech Republic, in 1950. Marc Marquez is going for his fourth straight win. But, Cal Crutchlow also wants to win his first race. It's cool and cloudy, and rain could very well be a factor. Cal Crutchlow will race for Ducati next year, Also, Forward Racing is looking for new riders. Pol Espargaro, Nicky Hayden, or perhaps, Marco Melandri, could be in contention for this ride.
This is Colin Edwards' current team. Scott Redding might run for Gressini Honda. Also, Ben Spies has a more severe broken collarbone than first thought, and hopefully, he'll be back before the end of the year. In qualifying, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo will start fourth and fifth. Alvaro Bautista is second, and Colin Edwards is top CRT bike. Cal Crutchlow has the pole. Michele Pirro on Ben Spies' bike starts in row five. Karel Abraham has a good starting spot. His father, owns the Brno circuit.
We are ready to race. Brno was constructed in 1987, and modified in 1996. Momentum is big. 22 laps scheduled. Cal Crutchlow might have a small problem. Here we go. At the start, Dani Pedrosa gets swamped as Jorge Lorenzo takes the lead. Crutchlow and Alvaro Bautista fall back. Lorenzo has a great start, and here comes Valentino Rossi past Bradley Smith. Alvaro Bautista is pushing. Andrea Dovizioso and Stefan Bradl are moving up, going into the Kevin Schwantz corner.
Pedrosa and Marquez battle each other coming back to turn one. Marquez is hanging on, right behind Lorenzo, and Cal Crutchlow is fourth. Stefan Bradl is also working on Bradley Smith. Nicky Hayden is now tenth, passing Andrea Ianonne. Pedrosa still tries to pass Marquez. Pedrosa cannot pass his team mate. Lorenzo runs fast lap at 1:56.3. Hector Barbera has fallen down, and so has Claudio Corti. Both of them went down at the same time. Corti didn't even know Barbera was there.
Lukas Pesek also dumps his bike coming into the stadium section. New race lap record for Marc Marquez, coming into the fourth lap of this race. Can Bautista hold off Cal Crutchlow? Yes. He's up to fourth place. Bradley Smith is out. Game over. Lorenzo still has the lead. Cal Crutchlow retakes fourth place from Alvaro Bautista. No change at the front. Stefan Bradl is seventh. There are other riders still in contention. 20 bikes remain on track.
Pedrosa is right behind Marquez. The two Repsol Honda's are closing up on Lorenzo. Will they make an early move? There's still 12 laps left. The next lap, is halfway. Cal Crutchlow sets his personal best lap time. Bradl is closing in on Valentino Rossi. Martin Bauer, an Austrian wildcard rider, is lapped. Going into Kevin Schwantz corner, the lead battle is still red hot. Colin Edwards passes Michele Pirro. Edwards is behind Aleix Espargaro now. Will Marquez go for the lead? He'll push like crazy. No doubt about that. Crutchlow has ditched his bike! Ugh!
Can he get back in? No. He's a retirement. Both Tech 3 bikes are out. Darn. Lorenzo holds the lead of this race. Cal Crutchlow restarts the bike. He was riding the bike the wrong way. Mike Hailwood did that at the Isle of Man TT, once. This is Jorge Lorenzo's race to lose. He has to beat the Honda's. It's the familiar three riders at the front of this field. Valentino Rossi passes Alvaro Bautista into turn five. Pedrosa chases Marc Marquez. The two Repsol Honda tezam mates, are surely rivals.
Ten laps remain now. There are some small drops of rain. Will it pour? Not likely. There are spots of rain out there, as Dani Pedrosa is still pushing. Now, this track can be wet. But, the white flag is shown, so they can change to the spare bike if they want to. Hmmm. Has race director Mike Webb made a decision here? If it stays dry, they can run to the end of the race without pitting to get spare bikes. The wet weather tires are ready.
The rain might still be heavy. Jorge Lorenzo is going to keep going. He's been the last to come in for wet tires and a new bike, on a number of occasions. No intermediate tires in MotoGP. You either run slicks or wets. Lorenzo, Marquez, and Pedrosa, all run in the 1:56 bracket. Seven laps to go now. Since the white flag has been displayed, they can switch to the spare bike, if they want to. Marquez goes inside Lorenzo! Wow. Marquez is pushing. Lorenzo won't get away from the Repsol Honda's. Lorenzo and Pedrosa had a fabulous battle here, last year.
Marquez goes up the inside. Whoa! Marquez leads for the first time. Six laps remain. What does Pedrosa have left? Can he pass Lorenzo? Lorenzo is the meat in a Repsol Honda sandwich. Valentino Rossi continues to hold off Alvaro Bautista. This is a big deal for Lorenzo. Can he fightr Marquez? Marquez shuts the door. This is a big deal. It's now a head to head battle between these three combatants. Pedrosa and Lorenzo have been hurt. But, not anymore. They're healed, and they're giving Marquez what for.
Pedrosa has to go for it, and right now. Now, Alvaro Bautista has taken fourth from Valentino Rossi. Jorge Lorenbzo dives to the inside of Marc Marquez. But, Marquez wasn't going to be denied, as he's now in the lad, with just four laps left. What does Dani Pedrosa have? Three laps left. Dovizioso and Hayden are battling, too. But, it's now or never for Pedrosa. He's got to make the move on Lorenzo, with Marquez ahead. Pedrosa has to go, now. Pedorsa naps the line from Lorenzo. Does he have anything for his team mate?
Turns 13 and 14 will be key, 20 laps into a 22 lap race. Marquez is now leading this race. He won Moto 2 at Brno last year. There's nothing Pedrosa can do. Marquez could win his fourth consecutive race win. Alvaro Bautista and Valentino Rossi still battle for fourth, with Stefan Bradl, sixth. This race is pretty well over. Throw everything you've got at Marquez, including the kitchen sink. But, Marquez will dodge it. Rossi passes Bautista. Pedrosa will have to settle for second. Marquez is going to four in a row! It's his fifth win of the year!
#93 Marc Marquez ESP Honda
The next race for MotoGP is in Great Britain, at the Silverstone circuit, in Silverstone, England, next weekend. So, there's little time to rest. The race report, will be here. Stay tuned, fans.
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