We are at the Automotodrom Brno in the Czech Republic, for the latest race in MotoGP. This is round eleven of the championship.
It was supposed to be a drying track here at the Brno Autodrom, but it seems MotoGP and it seems we will declare this one a wet race. Hard and soft tires are available for front and rear via Michelin. Will we need slick tires in the Czech Republic? We have never had a wet race at Brno since the World Championship first came here in 1987 with the monstrous, glorious 500cc machines. The riders are on their sighting lap. Maverick Vinales qualified eighth after having brake problems. But, Aleix Espargaro is fourth. He did very well. Jorge Lorenzo isn't on pole. Marc Marquez is. Lorenzo was way down in 17th, in the very wet morning warmup and Dani Pedrosa was off the pace. This might be a flag to flag race.
Some chaps might be on the harder option rear tire. Some riders ride through the pits, straight to the starting line. Marc Marquez is on pole. He's won here in MotoGP and in Moto2. Marquez had a brave outing the last time we spoke to you, from Austria, when he was battling that dislocated shoulder he suffered. Jack Miller, has to watch the race in the Czech Republic, from the sidelines. He is ruled out due to injury. He was declared fit after his wrist and back were hurt in Austria, where he did race. But he won't race today at Brno. Marc Marquez, again, is on the pole. He has scored points in every single race so far in 2016.
Jorge Lorenzo rolls off second. Third place on the grid, on the outside of the front row goes to Andrea Iannone. Danilo Petrucci says he is not sure how the conditions will play out, and that it will be difficult. Aleix Espargaro is fourth. The team manager's are running to the grid, with different tires. We see Yamaha's Massimo Merigali down there, and Ducati's pit crew also down there, waiting to see what tires they'll use for this race, before we get started. For the third time in four races, we are plunged into a wet race. Assen, Sachsenring, and here in Brno. Austria last time, was a dry race. Valentino Rossi is sixth, and Hector Barbera is fifth. A great performance for Barbera. 20 years ago, here in Brno, Valentino Rossi won his first ever race in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, winning the 125cc race in 1996.
Andrea Dovizioso starts seventh. He is starting his 250th consecutive motorcycle Grand Prix. He is the first rider in history to make that many starts. Rossi has his worst qualifying effort since France, at Le Mans. Maverick Vinales rolls off eighth, after having that braking issue in qualifying, and he had no rear grip on the sighting lap. This weather is tough to figure out. Riders and team managers are both scratching their heads. Ten minutes to go before we start round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship. It'll be a heck of a race. Will we have a surprise winner, like we did with Jack Miller at the Dutch TT?
Rossi has a new front tire on his motorcycle. Dani Pedrosa rolls off ninth. Cal Crutchlow completes the top ten. He had a crash in qualifying, but has a good record at Brno. He scored a podium in 2012 and has one of two career poles in MotoGP, that came here at Brno. Pol Espargaro is 12th. The tension is unreal. This is the 400th Grand Prix in the 25 year history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing's modern era with Dorna and IRTA. Bradley Smith qualified 11th. Scott Redding is 13th. Riders are back and forth with what tires they want to use. It's a massive concern. No rear grip. Every time I crack the throttle, I've got no grip!
The safety car pulls away. 22 laps scheduled. Everyone is on the soft front tire, but every rider has the hard option rear tire. Ianonne, Lorenzo, Marquez, the front row;. We're ready to get underway. This is Marc Marquez's 63rd career pole. 20 bikes start. No Jack Miller for this race. It's the final sighting lap. Tire choice has been made. Lorenzo is the only rider on the hard option rear tire. Maybe Valentino Rossi does, too. Our post time weather, looks like this. 17 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature. 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature. The wind is out of the northwest at 13 kilometers an hour (9 miles an hour). It has not rained for a full hour.
82.000 fans are here to watch this race. The first race here was in 1965, on the streets in the town of Brno, long before the track was built. The first proper race at the circuit, was in 1987. Marc Marquez leads the championship on 181 points, with a 43 point cushion over Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo is on 138, and Valentino Rossi remains third, 57 markers behind Marquez with 124. In fourth, Dani Pedrosa, 76 points behind the leader, on a total of 105. Could the conditions favor an independent rider over a factory rider for the race win today? We'll see. The decisions have been made. We're ready to start the MotoGP race at Brno in the Czech Republic. Let the tradition continue!
Round 11 of the MotoGP 2016 is set. Red lights, on. Red lights, out! Away we go! Jorge Lorenzo makes a brilliant start from the middle of the front row. Andrea Iannone gets a flyer from third and takes the lead into turn one. Iannone runs wide, and Marc Marquez sweeps through on the Ducati and the Yamaha, aiming to put his Honda in first place. Great move by Marquez! He takes the race lead! They rush down between the trees to the first section of s curves. Into turn three, Andrea Dovizioso is trying to make a move. He's trying to pass Aleix Espargaro, and Valentino Rossi. Jorge Lorenzo though, is beginning to sink through the field. He's been passed by both Aleix Espargaro and Pol Espargaro.
Valentino Rossi qualified sixth, but he's now fallen outside of the top ten. They come to the stadium section for the first time, and Marc Marquez is opening up a lead. Michelin has confirmed that Rossi and Marquez are both running the soft tires. Rossi is way down the order, under pressure from Danilo Petrucci. They've made it to the bottom of the circuit through Kevin Schwantz corner, named after the 1993 500cc World Champion. They climb up the hill through turns 11 and 12. Rivers of water might just be beginning to form on the road. Jorge Lorenzo has dropped down to tenth. Lap one done and dusted. Andrea Dovizioso has moved from seventh to second.
The top ten right now is:
1. Marc Marquez
2. Andrea Dovizioso
3. Andrea Ianonne
4. Aleix Espargaro
5. Maverick Vinales
6. Scott Redding
7. Pol Espargaro
8. Hector Barbera
9. Bradley Smith
10. Jorge Lorenzo
Redding passes Vinales in turn three, for fifth place. Rossi, on lap one, ran 4.1 seconds behind Marquez. Spare bikes are being prepped in pit lane should this become a flag to flag race, as Andrea Dovizioso is still hounding Marc Marquez for the top spot. Redding makes an inside pass on Aleix Espargaro for fourth. The bikes race up "horsepower hill" towards turns 13 and 14. Andrea Dovizioso makes an inside move on Marquez for the lead! Scott Redding sets fastest lap so far at 2:10 flat. 2:10.010. Both Ducati's run 1-2. Scott Redding is now trying to make a pass on Marc Marquez. Will he do it? No.
Redding now moves to third through turn five. It is an all Ducati top three at Brno right now, ladies and gentlemen. Marquez runs fourth on the factory Honda. Both Suzuki's still run fifth and sixth in the hands of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales. Clarification from Michelin is that only the Yamaha's of Rossi and Lorenzo are running the hard rear tires. Dovizioso wants revenge on his team mate Ianonne. He was the quickest man last time around cutting a 2:09.661. Valentino Rossi is 12th, and ran a 2:11.813 after being stuck in the 2:13 lap time bracket. Scott Redding is drawing a bead on the two factory Ducati's at the moment.
Spray appears from the rear wheels of the motorcycles, meaning there are still wet spots here at Brno. Three other riders have gone with the option hard rear tire. Cal Crutchlow, Loris Baz, and Tito Rabat, are those riders. Crutchlow runs way down in 15th spot at the moment. Loris Baz is behind Crutchlow in 16th. There's been a lead change, as Andrea Ianonne goes to the front. Redding, meanwhile, resets fast lap at 2:09.440. Into the esses another time, and Scott Redding makes a move on Andrea Dovizioso for second place! The Ducati's are much faster than Marc Marquez, who is also falling into the clutches of both factory Suzuki's, of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales.
This is a great effort for Suzuki, because they were way off the charts in the two previous wet races in Holland and in Germany. Marc Marquez will be happy if the Yamaha's don't bother him. But, he's under pressure from another blue motorcycle, the Suzuki, of Aleix Espargaro. Hector Barbera runs seventh at the present time. Jorge Lorenzo's race is going from bad to worse, as he drops to 16th, out of the points paying positions. Loris Baz, Cal Crutchlow, and Stefan Bradl have all passed Lorenzo. Andrea Ianonne is setting sail at the front, running another fastest lap at 2:09.203. Ianonne is going for it. He's won here at Brno, in Moto2, and has had good showings in MotoGP races here as well. Hector Barbera has made a pass on Aleix Espargaro.
Valentino Rossi has waited five laps to get enough heat into the hard option rear tire on his Yamaha YZR M1. Rossi is running a full ten seconds behind the leaders. Points as they run now, would see Marc Marquez open his lead over Jorge Lorenzo to 56 markers, 194-138. Rossi is 66 markers back on 128. Andrea Iannone is 81 points behind on 113. Spare bikes are at the ready in the lane right now. Will we have a flag to flag race? We'll see. Dovizioso's spare Ducati GP16 has carbon brakes and possibly slick tires, which is a general dry weather setup for a MotoGP motorcycle. The track isn't drying as quickly as we thought it would. The wind has died down and it's cool.
The softer tires will start giving way quicker than the hard ones will. Could Valentino Rossi have made a good call with his tires? We'll find out in the next 16 laps. Cal Crutchlow seriously tussles with Valentino Rossi, and nearly nudges the multi-time world champion out of the way! Hector Barbera is quite the surprise, folks. This chap has just set the fastest lap of the race at 2:09.090! Crutchlow outdoes Barbera, and lowers it further to 2:08.760! Wow! This makes him the first rider to break into the 2:08 bracket. It is true, though. Hector Barbera is the one who is flying in this race right now.
Cal Crutchlow is a rocket right now. He's passed Dani Pedrosa, and Bradley Smith, and is looking to make a move on Aleix Espargaro. Keep an eye on Crutchlow. He's got the harder option front Michelin tire. Has he pulled off a tactical masterstroke? He is slicing through the field like a hot knife through butter. Ianonne leads Redding by 8/10ths of a second. A good scrap is heating up for tenth with five riders. Valentino Rossi is going to make a move on Pol Espargaro, and we also have Cal Crutchlow, Danilo Petrucci, Maverick Vinales and Aleix Espargaro up ahead. Cal Crutchlow is moving up, and so is Jorge Lorenzo. He's fighting his way back up the order and is currently in 15th position.
Crutchlow passes Petrucci, and, sets a new fastest lap at 2:08.216! Oh no! One of the factory Ducati's is slowing! It's Andrea Dovizioso! Oh deary me. Not sure if he crashed, or if he just ran wide in turn one. It's game over for Dovizioso, with mechanical issues on the bike. Game over indeed as Gigi Dall'Igna and Paolo Ciabatti look on. Dovizioso will stay in the race, if he can get his spare bike for dry weather. But it isn't dry. So, they have the change the setup. Cal Crutchlow scythes past Maverick Vinales, up to seventh. Is Andrea Ianonne en route to his second consecutive MotoGP win? Scott Redding runs second. Scott Redding is piling the pressure on Ianonne. Valentino Rossi has moved up to ninth.
Andrea Dovizioso is in pit lane, but he's not sure he wants to go back out on the spare bike. The battle rages between Aleix Espargaro and Cal Crutchlow for fifth. Ah. Check what we said earlier. Dovizioso is going back out, on the spare bike, on intermediate Michelin tires. Andrea Ianonne is being hotly pursued by Scott Redding. Crutchlow is coming, and we're only halfway home. We work lap 11 of 22. Dovizioso's tire had the center part of the tread come off entirely! Redding is really closing on Ianonne. Faintly, a dry line is beginning to appear on the road. Hector Barbera is reeling in Ianonne and Redding, while Cal Crutchlow is closing in on Marc Marquez as we speak.
Crutchlow passes Marc Marquez for fourth. Loris Baz is now closing up on Valentino Rossi. Rossi is ninth. Baz, is tenth. Jorge Lorenzo is also charging up through the order. Rossi closes on Maverick Vinales who will be his team mate at Yamaha during the 2017 season. Rossi wanted seventh, but Vinales went down the inside to take the spot away. Rossi ran wide into the turn. Rossi and Crutchlow are the only two riders in the race who have made it into the 2:08 lap time range. Is history in the making for Ducati? Crutchlow tries inside Barbera. No dice. He'll bide his time. Rossi is now seventh, having passed Maverick Vinales for that spot.
Crutchlow passes Barbera, and Barbera, fights back. Bradley Smith takes his motorcycle to pit lane. Smith switches to slick tires on his spare bike. Wow. Smith, really has nothing to lose with making this gamble. Smith will have to be careful as there is still a damp track surface out there. Redding still holds second, and Hector Barbera tries to defend from Cal Crutchlow, but no. Crutchlow makes the pass. Crutchlow moves past Redding into second! Barbera takes third from Redding, and isn't done yet! He's trying Cal Crutchlow! Crutchlow holds firm at the top of horsepower hill. Aleix Espargaro is out, as his Suzuki was on fire before the marshal with the extinguisher put it out.
Andrea Ianonne's advantage over Cal Crutchlow has shrunk to 4/10ths of a second. Eight laps left. It has been 35 years, since a British rider has won a Grand Prix in the premier division. Barry Sheene pulled it off, 35 years ago, way back in 1981. That was in Sweden, in August of '81 at the Anderstorp circuit. Sheene, at the time, was riding for Yamaha. Valentino Rossi, though, will stay have a say in this race. He's getting closer behind the battle for the lead between Iannone and Crutchlow. Jorge Lorenzo has cracked the 2:08 lap time range at a 2:08.828. Crutchlow is closing right onto the back wheel of Iannone. Crutchlow tries, and can't quite make it. It is a matter of when, not if. Alvaro Bautista is in the lane, and has gone to intermediate tires.
Hector Barbera runs wide, and now, Crutchlow is going to make his move! No dice this time. Valentino Rossi is also coming back into the frame, but it could be too little too late for "The Doctor". Dry lines begin to form on the speedway. Jorge Lorenzo hits the pit lane. Bradley Smith has also come to pit lane. Lorenzo was told to stick with the wet weather bike, but is ignoring that idea, and swapping to the spare motorcycle with the dry setup for the final seven laps here at Brno. Crewman Ramon Focada is not happy with Lorenzo's decision. Lorenzo was one of the quickest riders on the track. That's a real odd decision for Lorenzo. Yours truly, is surprised.
Marc Marquez passes Scott Redding, and, you get the feeling that Crutchlow is going to have to make a move on Redding very soon. He's running out of time. Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez are coming, fast. This is it. This could be the move of the race. Crutchlow passes Ianonne on the outside, down the back straight. Rossi tries Redding and can't do it. Marc Marquez runs horrendously wide at turn ten. Rossi goes through on Redding, as Redding is losing grip on his Ducati. Crutchlow makes his move on Ianonne and makes it stick! Meanwhile, Rossi gets better grip on his hard option rear tire and passes Redding.
Does Crutchlow have the pace to pull out a gap on Andrea Iannone in these last six laps? Andrea Dovizioso is back in pit lane. It's been a nightmare race for Dovizioso, that he'll erase from his memory bank here in Brno. Game over for Dovizioso. Crutchlow leads, with five laps left. LCR Honda team manager Lucio Cecchinello can barely watch. Cecchinello is a former racer himself. He ran in the old 125cc class. Jorge Lorenzo returns to pit lane. It's been a nightmare race for him. Lorenzo makes a blunder and goes back out on the track on his wet weather bike, with no change from the spare he came in on. What a fraught race for Lorenzo and the factory Yamaha squad.
With five laps left, Crutchlow's lead is now two seconds over Andrea Iannone. Here's how the world championship looks as we approach the finish at Brno. Marquez leads Lorenzo by 54 points, 192-138. Rossi, is just a single point behind (55 points behind Marquez), on 137. Dani Pedrosa is 82 points back, on 110 points. Four and a half laps left. Rossi passes Hector Barbera, and is now closing in on Andrea Iannone. If Crutchlow doesn't make a mistake, the only bloke who can beat him right now, is Rossi. The soft option Michelin tires are getting eaten alive. They will be like racing on jelly for Andrea Iannone. Rossi is the shark, smelling blood in the water. Crutchlow is the fish, swimming away from Rossi.
Rossi has to pass Ianonne because Crutchlow is outta here! He's three seconds up the road. Rossi knows he must make the move now. He's up the inside of Iannone. Rossi moves into second. Iannone isn't finished yet! He's coming back on Rossi! 82,000 fans here at Brno, go crazy, for the nine time world champ. The gap between Crutchlow and Rossi is 4.7 seconds. Cal Crutchlow will become the first British rider to win a MotoGP race in 35 years, and of course, back then, it was still the 500cc class. Scott Redding is down to sixth. Rossi blitzes away from Iannone and Barbera. Crutchlow leads by 5.2 seconds. He won't have a better opportunity than now, to win a MotoGP race. Just amazing!
Jorge Lorenzo is a lap down. Crutchlow leads by six seconds. LCR Honda formed in 2006. It's their tenth anniversary. They are close now, to winning their first race. Marc Marquez is right back in the fight for the final podium spot. Check that. For fourth place, is what this battle shapes up to be. Hector Barbera has it. Marc Marquez wants it. Barbera moves to third, ahead of Andrea Iannone. But, Barbera runs wide, so he has to give it up. Barbera thinks he has Iannone and then, Iannone fights back. Marquez passes Barbera for fourth. Marquez will lose some points to Valentino Rossi. Marquez is now third. Two laps left for Crutchlow. He's running in the 2:08-2:09 range. Rossi's tires came to the fore too late.
The championship shuffles. Here's how it stands just before the checkers in the Czech Republic. Marquez on 197 points, leads Rossi, by 53 markers. Rossi is on 144. Lorenzo drops from second to third, six points behind Rossi, and 59 behind Marquez on 138. Dani Pedrosa is mathematically out of contention, 88 points behind on 109. Hector Barbera could get his first MotoGP podium, having passed Marc Marquez. Look out, too, for Loris Baz! Baz has come out of nowhere, and is fighting for the top spots! Wow! Andrea Iannone's front Michelin tire is shot. Chunks of rubber are flying off the center like you can't believe. This is exactly what happened to Andrea Dovizioso's tire, earlier.
Proceed with caution. The front tires are lunching themselves. Eugene Laverty has moved to seventh. Loris Baz passes Hector Barbera. The nerves are beginning to fray. Fingernails are being chewed down to the quick. It's the final lap. 3.357 miles left at Brno, to end the drought for British Grand Prix motorcycle racers! Cal Crutchlow, will make history! Half a lap left now, and the wait for Britain in MotoGP will be over! Five corners left of the Brno Autodrom for Cal Crutchlow. Rossi has fought his way back to second. But, Cal Crutchlow, on a cloudy afternoon in Brno, will have his moment in the sun.
Three corners to go for the LCR Honda rider. Left, right. Up "Horsepower Hill" for the final time. Two corners to go. What a time in the life of Cal Crutchlow, who has just become a dad for the first time. One corner left. History is made! Cue "God Save The Queen"! Cal Crutchlow does it for England in MotoGP! The 35 year wait, is over! Crutchlow wins it!
#35 Cal Crutchloow GBR. Honda
Rossi and Marquez complete the podium. They are followed home by Baz and Barbera in the top five. Six through ten, is Eugene Laverty, Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Iannone, Maverick Vinales, and Tito Rabat. Lucio Cecchinello has been in racing for 30 years, and the team has been around for 20 years and in MotoGP for ten. Jeremy McWilliams, Bradley Smith, and Scott Redding, have all tried to win for England. Now, Cal Crutchlow has done it. Hard front and rear tires were the combination to go for in this race.
The next race, is in England, believe it or not, at Silverstone. Stay tuned. The report on that race is coming soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment