Big announcements came out of Brno this week, with the 2010 season starting to shape up with riders solidify positions for next year. With plenty of silly season ahead of us, we can at least reflect on the racing from the Czech Republic, which has once again shaped the MotoGP Championship standings.
Out of the gates, it was Rossi, Lorenzo, and Pedrosa who broke away from the pack, clearly running their own race inside the main event. However on lap 4, Lorenzo got past Pedrosa, and it looked like another Fiat Yamaha battle to the finish as Rossi and Lorenzo traded off breaking lap records with each other.
With 6 laps remaining, and Rossi and Lorenzo swapped positions in Turn 3. A lap later, and again in Turn 3, Lorenzo broke late into the turn, trying to fend of Rossi’s advances. Walking the line too closely, Jorge found himself in the gravel trap, and likely handing Rossi the MotoGP Championship. Rossi now has a 50 point lead over Lorenzo in the standings.
All alone, Pedrosa came in an easy second, followed by surprise finisher Toni Elias 10 seconds later. Elias was a DNF at Donington before the summer break, but found himself in stellar form this weekend. He was followed closely by Andrea Dovizioso to the finish line, who in turn just barely beat out Capirossi.
Bad news came for Ducati this weekend. After playing a quick game of musical chairs, both Mika Kallio and Michel Fabrizio found themselves out of the race. Kallio, being more aquainted with crashing in MotoGP, set the standard and was taken out by Marco Melandri. Melandri was passing Kallio in the second to last lap, but found Kallio running too wide, and ended up slamming into the Finn. Fabrizio’s departure was less dramatic, as the Italian retired after 6 laps because of an arm injury from WSBK that has plagued him all week.
Holding it down for the Ducati loyal, was Nicky Hayden. Nicky rode a solid race, and finished 6th for the day, just ahead of fellow American Colin Edwards.
Hopefully, in two weeks we’ll be reporting MotoGP live to you from Indianapolis. That is of course, if Dorna ever gets back to us with our press pass. Apparently news that doesn’t take a week/month to reach people isn’t very legitimate in their eyes.
Race Results from MotoGP at Brno, Czech:
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Time | Diff |
| 1 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | YAMAHA | 43’08.991 | – |
| 2 | 3 | Dani PEDROSA | HONDA | 43’20.757 | 11.766 |
| 3 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | HONDA | 43’29.747 | 20.756 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | HONDA | 43’30.409 | 21.418 |
| 5 | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | SUZUKI | 43’30.529 | 21.538 |
| 6 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | DUCATI | 43’34.535 | 25.544 |
| 7 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | YAMAHA | 43’34.667 | 25.676 |
| 8 | 15 | Alex DE ANGELIS | HONDA | 43’43.100 | 34.109 |
| 9 | 52 | James TOSELAND | YAMAHA | 43’44.608 | 35.617 |
| 10 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | HONDA | 43’48.815 | 39.824 |
| 11 | 7 | Chris VERMEULEN | SUZUKI | 43’49.767 | 40.776 |
| 12 | 88 | Niccolo CANEPA | DUCATI | 43’59.652 | 50.661 |
| 13 | 41 | Gabor TALMACSI | HONDA | 44’08.179 | 59.188 |
| Not Classified | |||||
| 36 | Mika KALLIO | DUCATI | 39’38.278 | 2 laps | |
| 33 | Marco MELANDRI | KAWASAKI | 39’38.518 | 2 laps | |
| 99 | Jorge LORENZO | YAMAHA | 33’15.284 | 5 laps | |
| 84 | Michel FABRIZIO | DUCATI | 12’13.902 | 16 laps | |
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