Lorenzo hammers out fifth victory of the year at the Czech Republic Grand Prix; Marquez second, Rossi third

Brno (Czech Republic), 16 August 2015: Pole-sitter Jorge Lorenzo led from start to the finish to take his fifth victory of the year at the Czech Republic Grand Prix, the result meaning the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider now has equal championship points as his teammate Valentino Rossi.

Bridgestone release adds: After exhibiting lap-record pace in qualifying Lorenzo proved he had the best pace over race distance as well, as he led into the first corner and steadily built a gap over Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez, who was the only rider able to keep Lorenzo in sight in the early stages. As the race went on, Lorenzo’s lead grew and he ultimately took the chequered flag 4.462 seconds ahead of Marquez who finished in second place. Finishing a further six seconds behind in third was Rossi who kept his perfect podium record in 2015 intact. All three riders on the podium used a different combination of Bridgestone slick tyres for the twenty-two lap Czech Republic Grand Prix. Lorenzo used the medium compound slicks front and rear, Marquez used the medium front and hard rear slick, while Rossi used the hard compound front and rear slicks.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo put on an incredible show today at Automotodrom Brno, keeping rival Marc Marquez at bay for 22 laps to cross the line with a convincing 4.462s gap. TeammateValentino Rossi also put up a strong fight at the early stages of the race when he battled with Bradley Smith and Andrea Dovizioso to take the chequered flag in third place.Lorenzo had a brilliant start, taking the holeshot from pole and immediately tried to break away with Marquez running closely behind him. After the opening lap the X-Fuera rider posted times in the low 1‘56s for the next eight laps. Riding faster than anyone on track, the pair created a gap to the group battling for third, but with 14 laps to go the Majorcan‘s pace proved to be too hot for his rival, and he managed to break away.In his element, Lorenzo remained unthreatened for the remainder of the race and continued to manage the gap to Marquez perfectly, claiming a first victory in Brno for Yamaha since 2010 by a convincing length.

Starting the race from third on the grid, Rossi slotted into fifth place, but quickly fought his way back to the front, overtaking Smith for fourth, but he lost valuable time behind Dovizioso in their battle for third place. With Andrea Iannone looming in fifth, Rossi put extra pressure on the compatriot in front of him and made the pass stick at the end of the third lap.

The Doctor put his head down to close the over two second gap to the frontrunners, but was unable to claw back the lost ground. Riding a lonely race, he focused on holding off his trailing rivals and crossed the line in third place, 10.397 seconds from the front, to make it his eleventh consecutive podium of the season.

Today‘s race results have Lorenzo take over the lead from Rossi in the championship as the pair are on equal points, each having earned a total of 211 points so far, but Lorenzo having two more GP wins this season.

Pos	Rider	Team	Race Time	Gap	Front spec	Rear spec	Tyres
1	Jorge LORENZO	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	42’53.042		Medium	Medium	Bridgestone
2	Marc MARQUEZ	Repsol Honda Team	42’57.504	4.462	Medium	Hard	Bridgestone
3	Valentino ROSSI	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	43’03.439	10.397	Hard	Hard	Bridgestone
4	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati Team	43’06.113	13.071	Medium	Medium	Bridgestone
5	Dani PEDROSA	Repsol Honda Team	43’08.692	15.650	Medium	Medium	Bridgestone
6	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati Team	43’08.767	15.725	Medium	Medium	Bridgestone
7	Bradley SMITH	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	43’14.863	21.821	Medium	Medium	Bridgestone
8	Pol ESPARGARO	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	43’16.282	23.240	Hard	Medium	Bridgestone
9	Aleix ESPARGARO	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	43’36.826	43.784	Hard	Medium	Bridgestone
10	Danilo PETRUCCI	Octo Pramac Racing	43’38.303	45.261	Hard	Medium	Bridgestone

eom/Bridgestone, Yamaha team releases