Jorge Lorenzo took an impressive seventh win of the season in Brno this afternoon with a clinical performance that saw him lead from the first lap to the chequered flag. In doing so he becomes only the third premier-class rider in history to finish in the top two at the opening ten races of the season. In stark contrast to his Fiat Yamaha team-mate’s good fortunes, Valentino Rossi ran into problems from the start and could only finish fifth.
Despite surrendering pole position for the first time in six races, some bold moves from the Spaniard around the first two turns saw him take the lead before the first split and he looked in imperious form on his Yamaha M1, with yesterday’s front-end troubles clearly a thing of the past. Dani Pedrosa kept close on his heels for the first few laps but every time his fellow countryman closed the gap a few tenths Lorenzo responded with renewed vigour and by the tenth lap he was a second clear. From then on he was unchallenged and he crossed the line 5.494 seconds clear of Pedrosa to take the 33rd win of his career and his 12th in MotoGP.
With the weather looking favourable following heavy rain this morning, Rossi was confident that he would be able to mount a strong challenge for honours this afternoon but it was not to be for the Italian today. He had felt strong all weekend despite sliding off yesterday but he never had the same confidence in the race and was unable to ride as he would have liked. He had dropped from fifth on the grid to eighth by the end of the first lap before rallying to pass Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden to move to fifth by lap six, but from then on he could make no further headway and rode a lonely race to the flag.
Another maximum-points haul for Lorenzo leaves the young Mallorcan 77 points clear of Pedrosa in the standings, with eight rounds remaining. Rossi holds on to fifth, 14 points behind Andrea Dovizioso. Tomorrow will see both Fiat Yamaha riders back out on track, weather permitting, for a one-day test before the bikes are shipped off to Indianapolis for the second US round of the season in two week’s time.
Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 1stTime: 43’22.638
“After my problems yesterday and the crash I didn’t expect this today, I thought it would be much more of a struggle. Once I got to the front I expected Dani to come with me and I knew it was my moment and that I had to push as much as possible. I thought he would try to overtake me but I felt good, pushed hard and little by little I was able to lose him. I know I said I was riding for the championship now and that’s still true but when there’s the chance to win I have to take it! To take my seventh win in one season is fantastic, thank you to all of my team for such a good job after we had difficulties yesterday. Tomorrow we have an important test which we hope will help us in the last part of the championship and then we go to Indianapolis, a track that I love.”
Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi – Position: 5thTime: +17.930
“We are really disappointed tonight because we had hoped to do a good race and I was confident that I could challenge at the front today. It seemed everything was right and yesterday we had a good pace but today we just weren’t as fast and I couldn’t stay with the leaders. We are sad but tomorrow we will have the chance to test and try to understand what went wrong today, which will help us to be in better shape in Indianapolis. As for my future, you will know something at 6pm today.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“A surprisingly good result because after the crash of yesterday and Dani’s speed in qualifying we had some doubts about today. Jorge really stuck his neck out to put in a great first half of the race and actually Dani couldn’t stay with him. The lap times were equal or even slower to yesterday so we didn’t make a huge change to the bike, so we really have to put this down to Jorge doing an excellent job and the others struggling a bit today. Well done to everyone for another great weekend.”
Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Unfortunately during the race Valentino never felt good with the front and this made it very difficult for him in corner entry. Luckily we have a test tomorrow so this will give us the chance to really investigate what happened. We had a good pace throughout the weekend and we hoped to be able to stay with Lorenzo and Pedrosa but we weren’t able to today so we’re a little bit disappointed. Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for us to improve and work towards our target of a good end to the season.”
Big points haul for Spies and Edwards in Brno
Ben SpiesA strong weekend concluded in fine style for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team squad in Brno today with Ben Spies storming to a superb fourth position and Colin Edwards equalling his best result of the season.
Starting from the front row of the grid for the first time in his MotoGP career, Spies made a blistering start and led momentarily off the line before giving way to a typically fast starting Dani Pedrosa.
Spies swept by the Spaniard later on the first lap to engage in an exciting early battle with Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo. Despite launching a concerted effort to stay in contention at the front, Spies was unable to maintain his impressive early rhythm.
Battling a small front-end grip issue, the Texan tenaciously fought to keep Casey Stoner at bay until the Australian relegated Spies to fourth position on lap nine. Spies dug deep again to try and keep himself in contention for a second rostrum of the campaign but he was unable to keep close to Stoner, the reigning World Superbike champion settling for a comfortable fourth position that moved him to within 25-points of fourth place in the overall rankings. He was once again leading non-factory rider and second best Yamaha as Jorge Lorenzo triumphed in emphatic fashion again.
Colin Edwards also made a brilliant start from the third row and he was involved in one of the few battles unfolding in front of a bumper crowd of 148,120.
The experienced 36-year-old fought tirelessly to close in on compatriot Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi before he too encountered some small front-end grip issues.
He settled for a seventh place that moved him into the top ten in the overall rankings and today’s 22-point haul – the second best of the season for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad – further consolidated the team’s position in fourth place in the Team World Championship classification.
Ben Spies – Position: 4thTime:
“I got a good start and was staying right with Jorge and Dani for a few laps and had a comfortable pace. But after about lap seven I starting having problems with the front that I hadn’t experienced all weekend. It’s a shame because while I know I definitely didn’t have anything to fight Jorge with because he is riding so well, maybe I could have stayed close to Dani. I’m not saying I’d have beaten him but I’d have been closer to put up a challenge. I had one second on Casey when I started having the problems but I had to slow my pace quite a bit and that was a bit frustrating because it meant he caught me quite quickly. I couldn’t run his speed so when he passed me I didn’t worry about trying to run with him. I’m not upset though because without that small problem I could have easily battled for the podium. I’d have loved the podium to give me a big lift before going home to Indianapolis, but I’m really happy with my recent performances and once again I was the top satellite team rider and I can’t be unhappy with fourth place.”
Colin Edwards – Position: 7thTime:
“I gave it everything I had and I can’t be disappointed with the way I rode. I thought it was going to be a good race because I’d been strong all weekend and really happy with the new front-end geometry setting that had helped the bike turn much better. And when I got a good start I felt confident that I could challenge for my first top six of the season. But in the race I didn’t have the same feeling with the front tyre and I don’t think I was the only one that had a small issue. When I tried to push a bit harder I had a moment and I lost contact with Valentino and Nicky in front of me. I took some risks to keep close to them but there was nothing I could do. Seventh is not a great result but it’s better than where I have been finishing and hopefully we can make some more progress in Indianapolis and be closer to the front.”
Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“I am a happy man tonight because Ben and Colin were really strong all weekend and today was no exception. We scored a good amount of points that really helps us in the Team Championship and once again thanks to Ben and Colin we are the leading non-factory squad. I think Ben gave everything he had and at one stage early on we were thinking that he might be able to challenge for another podium. But he had some small issues that prevented him from staying close to Jorge and Dani and then Casey. He kept the pace he was comfortable at and it was another very strong result from Ben who can be proud of another impressive weekend. I’m also happy with Colin because he has been riding very well at the last two races and he helped Yamaha occupy an incredible four places in the top seven. We are really confident for the rest of the season that Ben and Colin can be consistently together in the top six. Now we look forward to another trip to America where both will be determined to put on a good show for the fans.”
Circuit Length: 5403
Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 1’58.787 (Valentino Rossi, 01/01/2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1’56.145 (Valentino Rossi, 16/08/2009)
Last Years Winner: Valentino Rossi
| Race 1 – 22 Laps |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
| 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | ESP | 43’22.638 |
| 2 | Daniel Pedrosa | Honda | ESP | 0’05.494 |
| 3 | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 0’11.426 |
| 4 | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 0’13.723 |
| 5 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 0’17.930 |
| 6 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | USA | 0’26.815 |
| 7 | Colin Edwards | Yamaha | USA | 0’33.396 |
| 8 | Marco Melandri | Honda | ITA | 0’39.406 |
| 9 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | ESP | 0’39.639 |
| 10 | Randy De Puniet | Honda | FRA | 0’40.893 |
| 11 | Marco Simoncelli | Honda | ITA | 0’42.032 |
| 12 | Aleix Espargaro | Ducati | ESP | 0’47.091 |
| 13 | Alex De Angelis | Honda | SMR | 0’51.368 |
| Rider Standings | 15/08/2010 | |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Points |
| 1. | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | ESP | 235 |
| 2. | Daniel Pedrosa | Honda | ESP | 158 |
| 3. | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 119 |
| 4. | Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | ITA | 115 |
| 5. | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 101 |
| 6. | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | USA | 99 |
| 7. | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 90 |
| 8. | Randy De Puniet | Honda | FRA | 75 |
| 9. | Marco Melandri | Honda | ITA | 61 |
| 10. | Colin Edwards | Yamaha | USA | 57 |
| 11. | Marco Simoncelli | Honda | ITA | 54 |
| 12. | Hector Barbera | Ducati | ESP | 48 |
| 13. | Loris Capirossi | Suzuki | ITA | 36 |
| 14. | Aleix Espargaro | Ducati | ESP | 32 |
| 15. | Mika Kallio | Ducati | FIN | 31 |
| 21. | Wataru Yoshikawa | Yamaha | JPN | 1 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 15/08/2010 | |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1. | Yamaha | 240 |
| 2. | Honda | 195 |
| 3. | Ducati | 149 |
| 4. | Suzuki | 48 |
