MotoGP: Dovi wins at Brno as Ducati dominate

The Factory Ducati team took their fourth win of the season with Andrea Dovizioso heading home teammate Jorge Lorenzo as the Italian manufacturer scored another 1-2. In a race that only came alive with five laps to go, Dovizioso calculated each move to perfection, fighting straight back when Jorge Lorenzo challenged him and, in the end, pulled out enough of a lead to hold on to the win by the line.

The race itself got underway and despite Dovi and Lorenzo starting well, it was Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi that led at turn one. There was a big pile up at turn three when Stefan Bradl wiped out Bradley Smith and Maverick Vinales – the latter paying the price for another disastrous qualifying and lousy start to the race.

The race continued with Dovi now at the front, whilst Rossi, series leader Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo fought it out for 2nd place. Cal Crutchlow was closing in all the time and Danilo Petrucci was also having a tremendous ride in 6th. The leading group consisted of 11 riders with Tito Rabat at the back of it, setting two fastest laps on consecutive laps.

The pace picked up when Marquez passed Valentino Rossi at turn three, with Lorenzo getting the Italian in the final set of esses. This would be the last we saw of Valentino in the leading three, as he was now being chased hard by Cal Crutchlow on the LCR Honda.

Dovi managed to hold of Lorenzo’s late charge, whilst Marquez took 3rd. Rossi had initially dropped back to 5th place but pinched Cal Crutchlow on the last lap to keep up his record of not dropping out of the top five since COTA.

“It was an incredible win! Before this weekend I was excited because I felt that we could do well, but I never expected such a spectacular victory. I was very quick right from the first session on Friday, yesterday I did an awesome qualifying, today in the race I had a perfect strategy, and so I’m very pleased with everything,” said an elated Dovizioso, who took his first win since Losail at the beginning of the season.

“I managed the race lap by lap, trying to interpret what was happening around me and see how the other guys were riding: I raced well without ever misusing the rear tyre and, even though I was having a bit of difficulty in the final stages, in any case I was able to fight off Jorge and Marc, who today were both really on top form.”

The championship now moves on to the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring – a circuit that Ducati are undefeated on since it returned to the Grand Prix scene in 2016.