The amazing Marquez show continued at Brno,
where Repsol Honda star Marc claimed a sixth win in ten races. With just one
non-finish with a crash in Texas, Marquez has not finished lower than second so
far – and today’s start to finish win by an eventual 2.452 seconds over Andrea
Dovizioso extended his points lead over the Italian to a comfortable cushion of
63 points.
Weather struck the track on Saturday, leaving
all riders short of set-up time and giving Marquez the chance to claim a
blistering pole by some 2.5 seconds, with a high-risk run on slick tyres on a
damp track. Today, confounding dry-weather forecasts, more showers hit the
sweeping 5.403-km Brno circuit during the lunch break, forcing the start of the
premier-class race to be delayed by 40 minutes to allow the patchily wet track
to dry, and with race distance cut by a lap from 21 to 20.
Marquez led from the first corner to the last,
closely pursued the first half by Dovizioso, Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki) and
second qualifier Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati). After that, it was time to push.
Marquez survived a scare at the bottom corner but was soon drawing away
remorselessly. Dovizioso was safe in second; but Rins was struggling with
wheelspin at the end, giving the determined Miller the chance for a late
attack, to claim his second podium of the season.
Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) came through from
11th on the grid for fifth. His last victim had been Valentino Rossi (Monster
Yamaha), who was three seconds ahead of star rookie Fabio Quartararo (Petronas
Yamaha). Danilo Petrucci (Pramac Ducati) was ninth; Takaaki Nakagami (LCR
Honda) still close in tenth, managing to fend off a charging Maverick Vinales (Monster
Yamaha), who had finished the first lap 15th after a dismal start from the
third row.
Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM), who had given the
Austrian marque its first front row in wet practice dropped to a distant 14th
in the dry race. Marquez now has 210 points – an average of 21 out of a
possible maximum of 25; then Dovizioso 147, Petrucci 129, Rins 114 and Vinales
91.
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