Since 1965, motorcycles have been racing in the Czech Republic. They began on public roads. Brno has been a fixture in the modern world championship, since 1987. Marc Marquez cannot make any mistakes. If he makes an error, he'll lose the championship. In 2010, Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi fought for the title. Lorenzo, won it. Last year, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo won two races each, and Rossi went on to the title. If Marquez won every remaining event this year, Rossi would have to win five races, and be on three podiums. Lorenzo would have to have seven wins. The championship is at it's best. Rossi wants his 10th title. Lorenzo is going for it. Marquez, wants three titles in a row.
Dani Pedrosa, won this race, last year. 22 laps scheduled for this race. On Friday, the track was really hot, and the grip levels were a real concern. Andrea Ianonne and Andrea Dovizioso will have updated versions of their Ducati motorcycles. Brno is very quick. Sports cars used to race on the old eight mile public road circuit, especially,five-time Le Mans winner, Derek Bell. It used to be called Masaryk Circuit. It is 3.357 miles, with 15 corners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaryk_Circuit
The last races on the public roads, took place in 1986. Braking will be over washboard style bumps. We are also a few hours away from great capital cities like Prague and Vienna. The track was modified in 1996. It has fourteen turns, with seven, short turns. Jorge Lorenzo was the last non Honda rider. It's a long home straight. Braking into turn one is really long. Come across into the second turn, the kink. Down a straight, and then, into three at 300 kilometers an hour on MotoGP bike. Turn four changes direction. After the highest point, go downhill.
You are in fifth gear in turn five, as you go down through turns five, six, and seven. We're into eight, a left/right, in the stadium section. Through nine, onto another straight that flies downhill. Into Kevin Schwantz corner in turn ten, named after Kevin Schwantz when he crashed in 1990. Through turn 11, it's all about horsepower, through turn twelve, and we brake into turn thirteen. Don't cut your momentum. It's a short race to the finish line. It's highly recommended.
It's great to race on any motorcycle. Now, in qualifying, Jorge Lorenzo will start from pole, as he set a new track record, dipping into the 1:54s. Marc Marquez got within seven hundredths of a second. Valentino Rossi qualified well for the first time since Assen. Dani Pedrosa did well, despite a major high side on Friday. Lorenzo is the first man to run in the 1:54 bracket, at Brno. Some riders will be riding hurt. Dani Pedrosa has a bruised leg, and Cal Crutchlow has a strained shoulder.
Storylines. Nail the setup. Avoid the bumps. Keep your speed up. If you fall behind, you can't recover, according to Valentino Rossi. Can Marc Marquez win his third straight MotoGP race? Or, will Yamaha, steal his thunder? Valentino Rossi has finished on the podium in every race this year. Jorge Lorenzo is only nine points behind Rossi. Can these boys keep Marc Marquez at bay? We'll find out, now.
It's the Automotodrom Brno. It's time to go racing. 22 laps of the 3.357 mile track, up, next! 1:54.989 was Jorge Lorenzo's record lap time yesterday. Let's enjoy this race. If Jorge Lorenzo wins and Valentino Rossi is third, they'll be equal on points. Here we go. It's time to race. Go! At ths start, Jorge Lorenzo gets the launch. Bradley Smith flies, too. Marc Marquez is second, with Smith third. Marcquez wants to make a move and Andrea Dovizioso tries to pass Smith. Valentino Rossi got swamped.
Lorenzo and Marquez are running away from the fiueld, and these two will be all over each other. Rossi passes Smith for fourth. He has to pass Andrea Dovizioso, and soon. They dive into turn ten, the lowest part of the track. Rossi is all over the rear wheel of the Ducati. Into turn thirteen, he can't make a move. We finish lap one. Rossi has lost 1.5 seconds. He has to book it, now! Rossi tries to move, and he does. He knows he's got to go now. Dovizioso fights back, but isn't close enough. Rossi's race, is starting to go pear shaped.
He has to get by, but has no way through. Lorenzo and Marquez are getting away. Andrea Ianonne wants to pounce on Rossi, too. He's surrounded from all sides. Can Rossi make the move? He does not have the pace. Here he is into turn fourteen. He gets a spot, but then, Andra Dovizioso tries to get back by. Rossi is into third. But Rossi and Lorenzo are getting away. Fast lap for Lorenzo at 1:56.243. Rossi is 1.1 seconds slower. He did make the move on Dovizioso stick.
Lorenzo is running a real fast pace. Can Marquez stay with him like Indianapolis last weekend? Lots of other riders have had a good start, further down the top ten. Watch the gap between Marquez and Rossi. The gap is not closing. Marc Marquez resets fast lap at 1:56.150. Rossi waits for the hard rear Bridgestone tire to settle in. Bradley Smith is sixth and is the top non-factory rider. Alex de Angelis has crashed. Game over. Dani Peedrosa gets past Maverick Vinales, and is behind Pol Espargaro, making his 150th MotoGP start across all three classes.
Dani Pedrosa has a bad foot. A broken foot, and is in a lot of pain. So, he too, is riding hurt, just as Cal Crutchlow is, with a shoulder injury. Valentino Rossi loses time to Marc Marquez who is still behind Jorge Lorenzo. Marquez ran up on the curb, giving Lorenzo an advantage. Is this Indianapolis all over again? It is. Marquez resets fast lap. Valentino Rossi, is out in the cold, at least right now. Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez still battle on lap six. Lorenzo has the medium tires on both ends. Marquez has a medium front and a hard rare. Rossi, has hard tires on both ends of the bike.
Rossi runs a 1:56,494. He's sitll half a second behind. If Lorenzo wins and Rossi is third, they will be level on 211 points headed into the next race. Dani Pedrosa is closing on Bradley Smith. Pedrosa has won two MotoGP races, and has also won in the old 125cc and 250cc divisions. He moves past Bradley Smith into sixth spot. Rossi is breaking away from the two factory Ducati's. Andrea Ianonne has been the best Ducati rider in the last five races. Andrea Dovizioso needs to step it up. Fifteen laps left now. We are on lap seven, four laps from halfway.
Cal Crutchlow is still in it, on the LCR Honda. Aleix Espargaro and Danilo Petrucci battle for eleventh spot. It's Ducati vs. Suzuki. Andrea Ianonne has moved to fourth. He passes Dani Pedrosa and Bradley Smith. Marquez and Lorenzo are a half a second apart. Lorenzo is stretching his advantage consistently. 1:56.4 for Lorenzo. 1:56.7 for Marquez. Dani Pedrosa is booking it. He's 9/10ths quicker than Andrea Dovizioso and also quicker than Ianonne.
Lorenzo is flying. Marquez might not be able to catch him. The gap is up to 9/10ths of a second. Lorenzo continues to lead as Marquez flicks the bike through turn 14. Rossi is 5.6 seconds behind Marquez. Lorenzo is breaking away from everyone. We work lap nine. Thirteen laps to go. Two laps from halfway, already. The gap is up to 1.2. seconds. Eugene Laverty had a horrendous high side. He's fine. He's made it back to the pits. He almost took Jack Miller with him. Rossi rues the bad start he had.
Andrea Ianonne is still the best Ducati. Dani Pedrosa is gaining time on Andrea Dovizioso. He is using a thumb operated clutch. Jorge Lorenzo is in the lead, fully concentrated on keeping the lead. There's a slight drop off in the tires according to Bridgestone. But, they should be fine. Andrea Ianonne drops into the high 1:56 lap time range. Bradley Smith runs seventh, as the top non-factory rider. Stefan Bradl is running well on the Aprilia. Right now, Jorge Lorenzo, though, is unbeatable. Medium tires on both ends of Lorenzo's bike.
Nine laps left. Lorenzo won't lose this race, unless the grip with the tires falls off a cliff. Lorenzo was the last non-Honda rider to win at Brno, five years ago, in 2010. Eight laps remain in this race now. No change in the top ten. Lorenzo leads Marquez by 2.5 seconds. Rossi is six seconds behind. These guys will be tied in the championship. We go to the checkers. Brno will remain on the championship calendar for the next five years. Stefan Bradl is fifteenth. Hector Barbera, Nicky Hayden, Scott Redding, Yonny Hernandez, and others, are fighting for places down the order.
Cal Crutchlow is out now. He's wrecked. Two riders that are waiting in the wings to get into MotoGP are Danny Kent from Moto 3 and Johann Zarco from Moto 2. No one can touch Lorenzo. People used to say about the great Mike "The Bike" Hailwood, you could put a coin in very corner, and he'd ride over it. Lorenzo, is doing the same thing, today, at Brno. Game over for Maverick Vinales. It's his first non finish of 2015. Meanwhile, Lorenzo reels off another great lap. There are still five or so laps left.
Dani Pedrosa will have to battle the Ducati's. That will be the race. Hector Barbera is 15th, and Barbera is under pressure from Nicky Hayden and Loris Baz in the Open class. Baz missed the race at Indianapolis last weekend. Hayden has had a podium in MotoGP, while Baz, had a podium in FIM World Superbike, here, too. Concentration time for the top three. Pedrosa is trying. But, he's riding on sheer guts. Adrenaline and painkillers have not helped the pain in his foot. Pol Espargaro runs his best lap of the race at 1:57.454.
Andrea Ianonne has gapped Andrea Dovizioso. They run through Kevin Schwantz corner. Dani Pedrosa closes on the Ducati's. He can't get by. But he's lining up a last lap pass. Pedrosa won this race, last year. Nicky Hayden passes Hector Barbera for Open class honors. Pedrosa is closing on Dovizioso. But, that Ducati GP15, is a hot bike. It's fast! Pedrosa tries on the Honda RC213V. Karel Abraham is 21st. He's thee crowd favorite. But, he's returned from injury, racing for the first time since Barcelona, Spain, back in May. Jorge Lorenzo is likely to win his fourth world championship title, if he is consistent for the rest of this season.
Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi have been soundly beaten here in the Czech Republic already today. Dani Pedrosa is still trying. Just two laps to go. Pedrosa has one chance to make a pass. Meanwhile. Lorenzo is going to win this race more than likely. Dani Pedrosa may have one more chance. Andrea Dovizioso is trying to hang onto fifth spot. Andrea Ianonne has a fourth place, signed, sealed, and delivered. Pedrosa can't get close enough in the braking zone. He's blocked by Dovizioso, and can't quite get there. He's not giving up, with a lap and a half to go.
Loris Baz is now leading the Open class in 15th ahead of Nicky Hayden. Pedrosa runs wide. Dovizioso will hold fifth. Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo has one lap left, to win his fifth race of 2015, but also, to take the lead of the MotoGP World Championship, from team mate, Valentino Rossi. Pedrosa wants to move past Dovizioso. Meanwhile, half a lap to go for Jorge Lorenzo. He's going to win the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic. Pedrosa is inside Dovizioso. Pedrosa has the inside line. Can Dovizioso pass?
JHorge Lorenzo will win. Dovizioso and Pedrosa are side by side. Jorge Lorenzo gets his fifth win of the year, and gets the points lead! Marc Marquez has been beaten. Valentino Rossi is third. Winning the battle for fifth, it's Pedrosa. Lorenzo leads the world championship, equal on points with Rossi. But, he's won more races. What a race this was! Loris Baz is the top Open class rider.
#99 Jorge Lorenzo ESP. Yamaha
He is now level on points with Valentino Rossi, his Yamaha team mate. It's his 58th race win. Because of a greater number of race wins, he is the new leader in the championship. Rossi has held the lead in the championship since the start of the season, until now. Tire choice was not a factor today at all. The next race on the calendar, is in Great Britain. It is at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, England, in two weeks, right at the end of this month.
No comments:
Post a Comment