BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC – Spaniard Marc Marquez continued to destroy the idea of a “rookie” in Moto GP with another comfortable win. His fifth victory of the season and his fourth in a row makes a bit of a mockery of the multiple world champions he’s racing against.
Once again, at the race in the Czech Republic’s fabulous Brno circuit, the Repsol Honda pair of Marquez and Dani Pedrosa plus Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo were really the only riders in contention for the top spot. Tech 3/Monster Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow, fresh from signing for Ducati for 2014-15, grabbed pole and was close to the leaders early on, but crashed out. He managed to restart, but didn’t score any points.
Lorenzo qualified on the second row, but made a demon start and led the first 2/3 of the race ahead of Marquez and Pedrosa. He opened an initial gap that slowly closed, and late in the race Marquez pounced; Lorenzo fought back and Marquez stalked him again, finally passing him for keeps. With two laps left Pedrosa also squeezed by Lorenzo, giving the Repsol Honda team a 1-2 finish.
Marquez said, “I’m so happy! Before we came here I didn’t expect (to) win, … This was a very hard fought win and I enjoyed myself a lot. The battle with Jorge was really good!”
His team-mate said, with slight regret, “I am very happy with the result, generally speaking, because after all the problems with my injury and the doubts we’ve had at the last few races, we took a big step forward … I think that I made my final attack one lap too late. If I had passed Jorge one lap earlier, maybe I would have been in with a chance of the victory … I just needed another lap in order to catch him!”
Following the top three came Valentino Rossi and Alvaro Bautista, who brawled most of the race, Rossi coming out on top after many back and forth passes. The rest of the top 10 were Stefan Bradl, who’s just signed a continuation of his contract with LCR Honda for 2014, the three Ducatis of Andrea Dovizioso, Nicky Hayden, and Andrea Iannone, and the top CRT rider, Aleix Espargaro.
Moto 2
While the Moto GP was terrific for the top three spots, the Moto 2 race was perhaps one of the best half-dozen races this writer has ever seen. Even down to the last lap, any of five riders could have won, and the amount of scary-close passing was astounding.
Mika Kallio, a previous victor in 125 and 250 GP racing and a veteran of two seasons in 500 GP / Moto GP, won in Moto 2 for the first time (no doubt helping his search for a ride in 2014). He celebrated his victory at the end of a dramatic and closely-fought battle with as many as 10 other riders who wanted the top spot on the podium.
Eventually, the Finn shared the podium with Takaaki Nakagami and Swiss Tom Luthi (coming back from a bad early-season accident), as championship leader Scott Redding limited the points loss by finishing four places behind Pol Espargaro.
Redding had a terrible qualifying session, struggling with chatter on his bike, but had a superb race, fighting back from 14th in qualifying to run as high as sixth and eventually finishing eighth. His championship rival Pol Espargaro qualified second, but was never able to control the race and was lucky to finish fourth.
The net result was that Redding lost four points in his series lead, but still carries a 21 point lead into next weekend’s race in the U.K. (there are 25 points for a win.
Moto 3
The Moto 3 race was nearly as exciting as the Moto 2 race as Moto 3 championship leader Luis Salom returned to winning ways despite still recovering from a broken heel. He picked up his fifth victory of 2013 at Brno on the final lap with a daring pass, and was able to open up a small cushion as four rivals squabbled over second place behind him.
The race itself was superb; 10 riders fought over first for most of the contest, 10 more were fighting over 11th, and the final 13 squabbled madly over 21st. It was great stuff.
Salom is still in the lead for the Moto 3 title ahead of Maverick Vinales and Alez Rins (second and fourth today), but his 14 point lead is hardly insurmountable.
Most noteworthy ride of the day was probably from Jack Miller on the Carreta Technology FTR Honda. Heavily out-horsepowered by the mostly KTM opposition and riding with a collar bone he broke only a week ago in a huge highside, the tough young Aussie hung with the leading group, fading only in the last few laps and finishing seventh. He’s on a lot of lists for rides for 2014.
Moto GP World Championship standings after 11 of 18 races
1. Marc Marquez, Spain, Repsol Honda, 213 points
2. Dani Pedrosa, Spain, Repsol Honda, 187
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain, Yamaha Factory Racing, 169
4. Valentino Rossi, Italy, Yamaha Factory Racing, 143
5. Cal Crutchlow, U.K., Tech 3 / Monster Yamaha, 127
6. Stefan Bradl, Germany, LCR Honda, 103
7. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy, Ducati Team, 96
8. Alvaro Bautista, Spain, Go&Fun Honda Gresini, 92
9. Nicky Hayden, U.S.A., Ducati Team, 80
10. Aleix Espargaro, Spain, Power Electronics Aspar Aprilia, 62
AAAHH! Don’t tell me how great the racing was!
I fell asleep (was watching snooker from Germany)
and did not wake ’till after the Moto2.
Then, screwed up the times and missed GP, whilst
watching the Spa pre-race show.
Andy is an idiot.
“AAAHH! Don’t tell me how great the racing was!”
Now would be a good time to break out that credit card and get that video subscription that you’ve been on the fence about. Every race on-demand available back to 1992. You can’t lose, man.
“Every race on-demand available back to 1992. You can’t lose, man.”
Actually, Trane, it is a good idea in theory but I refuse to watch sports
tape-delayed. Have never pvr’ed or recorded sports. Once I know the
result, for me it is spoiled. Just one of my many peculiarities.
There are, of course, certain moments of magic such as hockey hi-lites,
Villeneuve v. Arnoux (Dijon), or magical frames of snooker that must be
re-visited from time to time. I have a site where I could see Sunday’s
race, but it is not the same. Have skipped many a Champions League
football match when a pal has blabbed.
Almost certainly, I shall subscribe for next season.
(Any relation to Don, the actor?).
“(Any relation to Don, the actor?).”
#1 son from his first marriage. They divorced when I was 5. A few years later, dad met Lily on the set of Finian’s Rainbow and the rest, as they say, is history. If you like jazz at all, you should check him out. He still does shows in Toronto occasionally and even in his later years, the boy’s got serious pipes.
As for knowing the outcome, I’m pretty careful to block out results for races I haven’t seen yet. I’ve only managed to watch FP1 from Spa last weekend and keeping F1 out of my news feed is a challenge. And going back in time isn’t a problem for me. Over the last couple of years, I’ve run all the way through from 1992 to the end of 2001. It’s been a fun journey reliving moments. Now that I’m older, I’m seeing the rivalries from a different perspective. Good fun.
Besides which, in 1992, I was watching races in Japanese here in Tokyo. Getting the commentary in English has been really enjoyable. I had no idea how much I was missing. 😀
Brno offered stellar racing. That Moto2 race was nuts!