Brno (Czech Republic) (AFP)
Spaniard Marc Marquez (Honda), five-time MotoGP world champion and current championship leader, once again crushed the competition at the Czech Grand Prix on Sunday, signing his sixth victory of the season and his 50th in the queen category.
At 26, the Catalan equaled the number of successes in the legendary category of the legendary Mike Hailwood. It now has the objective of Mike Doohan (54) and, even further, that of Valentino Rossi (89), the latter still running. The day before, Marquez had already equaled Doohan's pole position record (58).
He dominated the race from start to finish on Sunday, as did Argentina, Jerez and Germany. At the finish, he was 2 sec 452 / 1000th ahead of Italian Andrea Dovizioso, his runner-up in the overall standings, and 3 sec 497 / 1000th Australian Jack Miller, both on Ducati.
Well on the way to his sixth World MotoGP crown, Marquez won in Brno in the top class for the third time, after his previous victories in 2013 and 2017.
- A "crazy weekend" -
"It was a crazy weekend," he said, referring to specific weather conditions.
Indeed, the start of the race was given with more than half an hour late, because of a short downpour that hit a portion of the track located near the stands and the first turns, while the rest of the circuit remained perfectly dry.
It would have been too dangerous for the drivers to opt for the slicks, but at the same time not too advantageous to start with rain tires, on a track that was drying little by little.
The organizers have decided to reduce the length of the race to 20 rounds instead of 21, and proceed to a quick start procedure.
"I concentrated a lot from the start of the race because there were still wet parts in the first corner but I decided to give everything from the start and keep my pace," explained the Spanish motorcycle champion.
"I knew that the Yamaha riders who went behind were very fast in the morning warm-up and then Dovi (Andrea Dovizioso) was behind and kept pushing," he continued.
- 7th Quartararo -
He also reported a "little warning" on the 11th lap when he almost lost control of the front wheel of his Honda.
For his part, Dovizioso also evoked a "strange race".
"Everyone was on the edge, I wanted to stay with him all the way (Marquez, ed) but his driving style is a bit different from last year and it makes us a bit difficult, but I'm happy to get back on the podium, "he said.
French rookie Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha-SRT), the fastest at the end of the 3 free practice sessions but only 10th on the grid, placed 7th, while another French driver, Johann Zarco (KTM), took the 14th place, having created the surprise the day before, achieving the 3rd fastest time in qualifying.
The 3rd Frenchman at the start, Sylvain Guintoli, who enjoyed a Suzuki wild card for this race, was 20th.
- Good deal for the Marquez brothers -
Like his older brother, Alex Marquez (Kalex) dominated the Moto2 race earlier in the day, ahead of Italians Fabio Di Giannantonio (Speed Up) and Enea Bastianini (Kalex). With 161 points on the clock, he now enjoys a 33 point lead in the standings on his dolphin, the Swiss Thomas Lüthi (Kalex), forced to retire after a fall.
For his part, Spaniard Aron Canet (KTM) took the lead in the provisional classification of the Moto3 World Championship thanks to his victory in Brno, ahead of Italians Lorenzo Dalla Porta and Tony Arbolino, both on Honda.
© 2019 AFP