MotoGP – The Czech Republic Grand Prix MotoGP lap by lap –

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Lap-based MotoGP Czech Republic Grand Prix

MotoGP - The Czech Republic Grand Prix MotoGP lap by lap -

It’s the carnage in MotoGP: after Hayden’s forced withdrawal and Pedrosa’s convalescence, here is Stoner decked out with a strange fever and Rossi with an ear infection! And what about the agony of the manufacturer Michelin… Round by round !

Built in 1987 and modified in 1996, the Brno circuit offers 5,403 m of a wide, technical and fast track that all the pilots approve … All? In this case, despite the ceremony organized at the beginning of the weekend by the IRTA for the attribution of the "Best Grand Prix" trophy to the Czech organizers, many are the boxes where the revolt rumbles. !

Zoom on…

Michelin, in clear difficulty on the new coating of Brno: "we have tried all the tires provided to us but nothing works", accuses Colin Edwards,"we have one that can do two laps, another four, but we’ll have a problem when it comes to 22 laps. We are in trouble". An exasperation shared by his teammate, Toseland, but also Dovizioso and Lorenzo:"I had bad days like that, but I can tell you that this is not my fault at all. It is also obvious that our tires do not work. But I am first and foremost a professional and I must trust Michelin", advance the Mallorcan in view of his 17th time in qualifying session.

Because, on the evening of qualifying for this 39th edition of the Brno Grand Prix (note that only two circuits have hosted more Grands Prix: Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, with 40 Grands Prix, and Assen, which has been on the program for 60 years of the World Championship), a terrible wind of defeat is blowing over the entire Michelin clan: "we have been going through a difficult period for several Grands Prix", summarizes Jean Philippe Weber, boss of the Michelin competition.

Missing completely in the dry (Friday), as in the wet (Saturday), the tire panel chosen by Michelin does not seem to mix well with the new coating of the circuit and this, to the dismay of the pilots (read " Focus on … Michelin ") !

Ranked seventh three seconds from pole, Randy de Puniet is the first Michelin representative at the end of a qualifying session which took place under a downpour: Pedrosa fails in twelfth position – still visibly suffering from his injured hand in Germany -, while Andrea Dovizioso, Colin Edwards, James Toseland and Jorge Lorenzo pitifully closed the starting grid. Worse for the two rookies: their times being too far from pole, it is thanks to the draft that the n ° 48 and n ° 52 will be able to line up on the grid !

A worrying situation at a time when the specter of the mono-brand is insidiously reappearing, especially after the demonstration of Rossi and Stoner at Laguna Seca (read). However, on the side of the two pillars of Bridgestone everything looks auspicious this weekend, despite slight physical ailments:

"I was not feeling very well before I left Australia, I thought it was a head cold"Says Casey Stoner,"we don’t really know what it is. After a cold sweaty night I woke up with an even worse cold, but I was in better physical condition", concludes the world champion, who nevertheless seizes his sixth consecutive pole !

Second on the grid – one second behind Stoner – Valentino Rossi suffers from an ear infection, but is satisfied with his second place: hoping for the return of good weather for the race, the No.46 is certainly looking forward to try to repeat his feat of the last race! Third time, despite his long absence and his injuries, John Hopkins proves that he should not be buried too quickly, just like his teammate, Anthony West, who appears in a beautiful sixth place behind Alex de Angelis and Chris Vermeulen.

The race !

Departure : Excellent start for Casey Stoner who takes the lead in the first corner. In his wake, John Hopkins slightly forces Valentino Rossi to move away on the first right, then follow Chris Vermeulen, the returning Anthony West and the accustomed to the gun starts, Dani Pedrosa.

Aware of the speed of its rival, the Doctor doubles illico Hopper thanks to an impeccable interior. In front of the two men, Casey Stoner does not intend to make the same mistake as in Laguna Seca and leads his Ducati brilliantly to immediately widen a slight gap.

Hopkins’s ZX-RR now precedes his teammate’s Suzuki, Chris Vermeulen’s Suzuki, Dani Pedrosa’s Honda, Randy de Puniet and Andrea Dovizioso’s, Sylvain Guintoli’s Ducati and Loris Capirossi’s Suzuki. The new driver with the most starts in GP (276 tied with A. Barros) achieves the interior on the Drôme, but the French fights, tries to resist and … will have to give in to the "veteran" !

2nd round : Continuing at his high pace, the current world champion crosses the finish line in front of Rossi, the astonishing Kawa’s Boys, the no less surprising Chris Vermeulen, Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso, Randy de Puniet, Loris Capirossi, Sylvain Guintoli, Toni Elias and Shinya Nakano.

Usually only (very) efficient in the wet, Vermeulen and especially West start a tough fight: the Suzuki n ° 7 tries a manly interior at the entrance of a fast left, but West resists, contains his opponent and easily passes him back to the favor of the following right! Certainly a bit surprised by the regained competitiveness of his compatriot, Vermeulen wisely resumes the aspiration of the Kawasaki, to better spill it into the left of the chicane at the finish !

3rd round : Casey Stoner crosses the timing line with more than 1.2 seconds ahead of Valentino Rossi who will have a priori, very difficult to replay the same lap as in the USA for the Ducati rider! Loris Capirossi achieves the interior on Dovizioso, while two turns further, it is the turn of Toni Elias to take the best on Dani Pedrosa: the convalescent of the HRC is indeed the victim of his uncertain trajectories, which shamelessly benefits the bubbling Ducati-Alice rider !

4th round : Beating the lap record in the race, Casey Stoner accentuates his lead over Valentino Rossi who nevertheless has nothing less than 5.177 seconds ahead of John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen! Loris Capirossi got the better of West, which however still contains sizes like Dovizioso, Elias, but especially Dani Pedrosa who was almost two seconds behind the n ° 24 and now finds himself under the threat of Sylvain Guintoli !

5th and 6th rounds : Very lively, Chris Vermeulen is already starting to circle John Hopkins, under the greedy eyes of his teammate! Stoner and Rossi are already almost six seconds ahead of the three men, separated from each other by just over a second..

Big fight a little further: Sylvain Guintoli passed Pedrosa and appeared ninth, just behind his teammate Elias. If we can only rejoice for the French driver, the small form of Pedrosa is nevertheless worrying for the rest of the championship: after his two white results, the HRC jockey is in dire need of points to come back in contact with Rossi and Stoner !

Confident in the front of his machine, Chris Vermeulen brakes in the middle of the track near a fast left and easily taxes the John Hopkins Kawasaki! Just behind, Loris Capirossi seeks the opening on the American, but fails to overtake the No.21.

In a perfect demonstration of his "all gliding" driving style, Toni Elias made a prodigious comeback, since from his thirteenth position on the grid, here is the Spanish seventh just behind Anthony West: unable to resist the Ducati, Andrea Dovizioso had to bow to an unstoppable interior of No.24 !

Confirming everyone’s fears, Elias’ overtaking gives the Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone the first seven places in the race: of course, Hayden is absent, Pedrosa injured and Lorenzo transparent, but all the Michelin drivers seem clearly dominated by their competitors and that ‘bodes nothing good for the Auvergne house…

Bad GP also for the LCR team: wanting to tax Dani Pedrosa, Randy de Puniet loses the front in a left and once again (the one too many?) To make a mistake. The Frenchman manages to start again, but wastes a lot of time.

7th round : Stoner is still in the lead, while Rossi alone carries all of Yamaha’s hopes: the other three tuning machines appearing in the last places, Lorenzo, Edwards and Toseland exchanging their unenviable positions in favor of the laps with Marco Melandri…

And the Tavullia prodigy may not disappoint his employers once again: against all odds and for the second time in two races, Casey Stoner also makes a mistake and loses control of his bike in a right turn! Is it the effects of this pernicious fever that led the Australian to irreparable, where only the pressure that Valentino was putting on him by managing to run in the same lap as him? ?

The champion managed to start again last, but all hope of victory and a podium was compromised and the condition of his machine did not bode well for the pursuit of the race: the GP8 would eventually capitulate after a few meters, removing the last ones. hopes of the pilot and his fans.

Valentino Rossi now finds himself alone in the lead, more than ten seconds ahead of his closest opponent and facing his fate: his lead over Stoner was already considerable before the race (25 points) and with the poor performance of Pedrosa, n ° 46 could set off from Brno one step ahead in the general classification !

8th and 9th rounds : Passing the finish line in the lead for the first time in the race, the n ° 46 does not have time to be flagged for the abandonment of his rival: the latter having just retired, the Doctor’s team did not have enough time to prepare the information on the notice board! Therefore, it is advisable for Rossi not to take too many risks in believing his opponent still in the race. !

However, the fight behind the leader of the race and the championship continues to rage: Capirossi successively passed Hopkins and Vermeulen and is now second in a race that has always been successful! Conceding nothing to his experienced teammate, Vermeulen retorts immediately, but the n ° 65 regains the advantage in the first chicane of the layout. !

On the lookout for an error by the two drivers, Hopkins did not realize that Toni Elias had literally pounced on him: attempting a slightly optimistic attack, the No. 24 must wisely line up behind the American !

Far behind, Dani Pedrosa brings up the rear, preceded by Edwards and Toseland: the Tech 3 riders overtook No. 2 in the same sequence of turns, with an ease that speaks volumes about Asimo Pedrosa’s lack of competitiveness.

10th round : Rossi concrete in front, behind the explanation persists: it is now Toni Elias who follows the Italian! Taking advantage of his incredible speed, the Spaniard crunched Capirossi thanks to formidable braking, while Vermeulen appeared sixth after a failed entry into the curve !

Between the two Suz ‘, the two Kawa’ are not left out and Anthony West seems to be able to gain the upper hand over Hopper! The Australian does not deprive himself of it, making all his detractors lie by brilliantly passing his illustrious teammate from the inside !

11th, 12th and 13th laps : Taking advantage of the higher extension of his factory RCV, Nakano passes Dovizioso on the circuit’s first braking. The Italian of the JIR team precedes Guintoli and the threatening of Angelis.

Valentino Rossi has more than sixteen seconds ahead of Elias who easily contains Capirossi. Next come West and Hopkins, then a little further, Vermeulen and Nakano. Dovizioso is still the first Michelin driver, but the gap he already has over the Japanese team member Gresini says a lot about the Michelin’s competitiveness against the Bridgestones. !

Sylvain Guintoli could also take the opportunity to gain a position and get rid of Alex de Angelis who has been sticking to his exhausts for five laps! Marco Melandri is eleventh, just ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, James Toseland, Colin Edwards and Dani Pedrosa who – with his 54 seconds behind Rossi – may simply take a lap before the end of the race !

14th, 15th and 16th laps : The leading order does not change, but Shinya Nakano does the HRC honor by being very threatening to Chris Vermeulen! The Japanese move inside in the pit straight and pass the # 7 Suzuki under braking. Fearsome riding the same machine as Dani Pedrosa, Nakano performs the same lap at John Hopkins the next lap !

In front of the two men, West continues to amaze, while Capirossi has made up part of his delay on Elias. Shinya Nakano is simply on a different pace now: No.56 turns more than a second faster than West who precedes him and happens to be the fastest driver on the track !

17th round : Valentino Rossi flies to his second victory in a row, far ahead of Elias, Capirossi, West, Nakano, Hopkins and Vermeulen. Dovizioso sees his exciting start to the season marred by an anonymous race: Sylvain Guintoli and Alex de Angelis have indeed just stolen his eighth position! There is only one Bridgestone rider left behind the Italian: his compatriot, Marco Melandri on the handlebars of the official Ducati !

18th, 19th and 20th laps : In the fight for several bends, West and Nakano come out of the last straight neck and neck: once again taking advantage of the extension of his bike, the Japanese will make the Australian bend when braking the first right of the track! The n ° 56 misses a little at the entrance of the first chicane, but Anthony West does not manage to pass him.

Last round : On his way to his sixth victory on this circuit (all categories combined), Valentino Rossi concedes nothing to his pursuers: despite Elias’ impressive pace, the Doctor is 17 seconds behind the Spanish’s Ducati-Alice! Capirossi is now off the hook almost four seconds behind his rival.

Ultimate surprise, Marco Melandri sounds the charge: passing in turn, Dovizioso, Guintoli and Hopkins, here is the n ° 33 in the exhausts of the Honda of Alex de Angelis! Turning in more than two minutes per lap, Sylvain Guintoli is now eleventh, under the threat of Jorge Lorenzo !

And the Mallorcan does not hesitate to dispossess the French of a good result: barely delaying its braking at the entry of a left, the n ° 48 takes the ascendant on "Syl" which seems to be in agony on his machine !

Valentino Rossi crosses the finish line solo and in wheelies in front of Toni Elias and Loris Capirossi who score their first podium of the season! Nakano is brilliant fourth, ahead of West, Vermeulen, Melandri – who passed de Angelis in the final loops -, Dovizioso, Lorenzo, Hopkins, Guintoli, Toseland, Edwards and Pedrosa.

In the championship, Rossi takes a formidable advantage over his opponents: the fall of Stoner relegates the "Aussie" to 50 points behind the Italian, while Pedrosa is 65 points behind the winner of the day! Jorge Lorenzo remains fourth with 120 points, almost half of his teammate !

Dovizioso follows the Spaniard to ten lengths, maintaining an eight-point advantage over Colin Edwards. Shinya Nakano, Loris Capirossi and Toni Elias take advantage of their excellent results to move up the rankings and appear in 9th, 10th and 12th position.

They are explained:

Valentino Rossi (1st) : "I knew it would be tough against Casey and his first laps were really impressive. I lost some time with John in the first corner when he passed me. This time we had Stoner’s beat and I was catching up to him. I knew my settings and my tires were working perfectly. I think I could have beaten him if the duel had taken place. Unfortunately he crashed and I ended up in the lead with an eleven second lead. If he hadn’t fallen things would surely have been more complicated".

Toni Elias (2nd) : "So far the season has been difficult. The situation has changed since the Sachsenring where we received new parts. In Laguna Seca I made a mistake, but here I knew I could be on the podium. We had a lot of problems yesterday and I had to start from behind on the grid. I passed a lot of riders and felt great in the last seven laps".

Loris Capirossi (3rd) : "I am very happy. After Barcelona I had problems driving. Thanks to the three week break I am back in shape. It’s great for the team to be on the podium, not just for me. A new season is starting now and I’m about to test the new machine here".

Casey Stoner (fall) : "It’s a big disappointment for me because we had a good package. I really thought I could have attacked long enough. Things were going as planned until I fell. The turn was not very complicated to pass but I lost the front and fell suddenly, not really understanding why. We will see the data but I think that at this level, it is rather my fault. I had to win this race to close the gap on Valentino, but things are getting even more complicated now. Anything can still happen, but with a competitor as consistent as him, it will be extremely difficult. We will not let go. In Misano, we’ll be almost home. We will therefore have an additional reason to win".

Sylvain Guintoli (12th) : "This morning everything was going well. I had managed to find a very good rhythm which allowed me to slip into the top 5. Unfortunately, after only a few laps I lost the grip of the front tire. I had to give up my hand and ride a second slower on the lap than during the warm up. I’m really disappointed that I wasn’t able to do the race that I should have done this weekend. This is the second time this has happened after Laguna Seca, and we now need to find a solution to this problem".

Dani Pedrosa (15th) : "I would say it was the hardest race of my career. I did everything I could from the start and almost fell three or four times. I feel humiliated – I don’t think I’ve ever felt so humiliated – because of the feeling of helplessness I had on the bike … the tires weren’t performing at any time this weekend, that was a disaster".

Randy de Puniet (16th) : "I am very unhappy. I got off to a good start but I didn’t manage to keep up the pace I hoped for because I suffered a lot from the front end. Many riders overtook me and I was often at the limit. I preferred to slow down the pace but it was not getting better. When I tried to overtake Pedrosa in the chicane, I fell but was able to start again. This fall looks like the one I suffered on Friday. We have never been able to find a solution to this problem despite the work of my team".

Alexandre BARDIN – Photos DR

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