ON A ROLL: Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez of Spain celebrates after winning the Czech Grand Prix in Brno yesterday. (Reuters)
AFP/Brno (Czech Republic)
Spanish Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez captured the Czech MotoGP here yesterday for his fourth successive win and extended his lead at the top of the overall standings.
Marquez won a thrilling race ahead of compatriots, teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha rival and defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo, as the Spanish trio dominated proceedings. Marquez finished the 22-lap race of 118.866 kilometres (74 miles) in 42 minutes 50.729 seconds, 0.313 seconds ahead of Pedrosa and 2.277 ahead of Lorenzo.
The 20-year-old leads the championships on 213 points after 11 of 18 races, ahead of Pedrosa with 187 points and Lorenzo with 169.
“I enjoyed the victory but also the battle with Jorge, and also Dani was there,” said Marquez. “So I’m very, very happy. Jorge and Yamaha were so strong here (and) Dani won last year. I didn’t expect a victory, I expected to finish on the podium,” he added.
In his first MotoGP season, Marquez has scored his fifth victory and fourth in a row, beating a 35-year-old record by American Kenny Roberts who won three straight premier-class races as a rookie in 1978. In that same year, Roberts also won the championship—a feat unrivalled by a rookie to the present day.
Starting fifth, Lorenzo sneaked into the lead before the first turn and widened the gap on the Honda duo to 1.4 seconds by the end of lap two. Marquez and Pedrosa then worked patiently to narrow his lead.
Marquez then struck three times in lap 16 and got ahead of Lorenzo, who however took the lead back two laps later. But Marquez fought back immediately and then widened the lead on Lorenzo who also gave up to constant pressure from Pedrosa two laps before the end.
The gap between reigning world champion Lorenzo and fourth-placed Valentino Rossi reached almost eight seconds. Pedrosa and Lorenzo, both recovering from fractured collarbones, did not conceal their disappointment.
“I was trying to follow the train. I just wasn’t able to do the overtaking—I wasn’t that strong in braking today and also I was losing touch in the exit of the corners,” said Pedrosa, who won at Brno last year. “I wasn’t able to get close and to make a pass. I think my attack was a little, one lap maybe, too late and I missed one lap in the end.”
Earlier in the Moto2 race, Finland’s Mika Kallio won ahead of Japan’s Takaaki Nakagami and Switzerland’s Thomas Luthi. And Luis Salom of Spain widened his overall Moto3 lead after winning a last-lap thriller ahead of compatriot Maverick Vinales and Jonas Folger of Germany.
Results
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 42:50.729s
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.313s
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +2.277s
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +10.101s
5. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) +10.178s
6. Stefan Bradl (Honda LCR) +19.807s
7. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) +35.015s
8. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) +35.354s
9. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) +51.149s
10. Aleix Espargaro (ART) +56.392s
Standings
1. Marc Marquez...................... 213 pts
2. Dani Pedrosa....................... 187
3. Jorge Lorenzo..................... 169
4. Valentino Rossi................. 143
5. Cal Crutchlow...................... 127
6. Stefan Bradl.......................... 103
7. Andrea Dovizioso............ 96
8. Alvaro Bautista................... 92
9. Nicky Hayden..................... 80
10. Aleix Espargaro............... 62