Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso took victory in today’s Brno MotoGP, fending off a challenge from Jorge Lorenzo and reigning champion Marc Marquez to win by less than two-tenths of a second in the Czech Republic.
Dovizioso and Lorenzo, who proved he can scrap it out if he wants, traded places five times in the last two laps while Marquez had two goes at Lorenzo. The Repsol Honda man claimed second place on the penultimate lap, passing at turn three but Lorenzo came back a lap later to reclaim the runner-up spot.
Their fighting allowed Dovizioso to pull a three-tenth gap but Lorenzo pulled some of it back, setting the fastest lap of the race on the final circulation, a 1’56.640.
Valentino Rossi, who used the medium front tyre where everyone else used the hard, grabbed fourth place from Cal Crutchlow at the final corner while Danilo Petrucci completed the top six. Maverick Vinales’ challenge lasted three corners as he went down in a tangle with Bradley Smith and Stefan Bradl after another dreadful start.
In a game of cat and mouse, the top six were all lapping in the mid-1'57s until the last quarter of the race when Lorenzo dropped down to a 1'57.0. Then, with three left, Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Marquez upped the pace and dropped into the late 1'56s to which Crutchlow and Rossi had no answer.
Lorenzo tried a move on Dovizioso in to turn five but ran wide and then tried it again a lap later. Marquez had a look at Lorenzo into turn 14 on the penultimate lap. Marquez then passed Lorenzo but couldn't make it stick and had to settle for increasing his championship lead.
Crutchlow looked like he had the pace for a podium but just ran out of pace, allowing Rossi - who led from the line and kept the top spot until Dovizoso made a pass at just before half distance. Lorenzo and Marquez quickly followed him and Crutchlow also pounced but the wily old fox just got him back on the last lap.
Petrucci also had pace earlier on but faded as he ran out of tyre while Johann Zarco, who returned to his favoured soft rear Michelin, finished in seventh. Dani Pedrosa, who suffered in the relatively cooler conditions, ended in eighth with Alvaro Bautista and Andrea Iannone completing the top ten.
