MotoGP Sunday guide: Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky
MotoGP™
Andrea Dovizioso starts his 100th Grand Prix race with Ducati from pole position. This is his 6th pole position in the premier class, his first since Sepang back in 2016 and his first in dry weather conditions since Qatar in 2015.
Andrea Dovizioso’s pole position is his fifth with Ducati and the 39th for the Italian manufacturer in the MotoGP™ class since 2002. From his five previous appearances on a Ducati at Brno, Dovizioso has never finished higher than sixth.
Valentino Rossi, who won his first ever Grand Prix race in Brno back in 1996, starts from second on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole position at his home round in Mugello earlier this year.
Valentino Rossi (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc and 4 x MotoGP™) is the most successful rider of the current grid at the Brno circuit with 7 wins. He will be aiming to finish inside the top ten to become the first rider in history to reach the milestone of 6000 points scored in Grand Prix racing.
Yamaha riders have not won since Assen last year with Valentino Rossi (19 successive races). The last time Yamaha had a winless streak of more than 19 races was the 22-race sequence including the 15 races of 1997 and the opening seven races of 1998.
The winner last year at the Czech GP, Marc Márquez completes the front row of the grid. It’s the 78th time he has qualified inside the top three on what is his 100th Grand Prix race in the premier class.
Heading the second row on the grid is Jorge Lorenzo who will be aiming to win for the third time at the Czech GP in the premier class after 2010 and 2015, which was also the last victory for a Yamaha rider at this track.
Cal Crutchlow, who won his first Grand Prix race in 2016 at Brno from tenth on the grid, has qualified in fifth as the highest-placed Independent Team rider, which is his best qualifying result since he was second at the Dutch TT earlier this year.
Danilo Petrucci starts from sixth, which is the sixth time this year he has qualified on the first two rows on the grid.
Johann Zarco, who won the Moto2™ race at the Czech GP in 2015, heads the third row on the grid as the third Independent Team rider, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole at the French GP earlier this year.
Andrea Iannone has qualified in eighth for the second successive time, which is the best qualifying result for Suzuki at Brno since Aleix Espargaró was fourth in 2016. He will be aiming to become the first Suzuki rider to stand on the podium at the track since Loris Capirossi back in 2008.
Dani Pedrosa, who won in both 2012 and 2014 in MotoGP™ at the Brno circuit, starts from tenth on the grid for the second successive time.
Maverick Viñales, who crossed the line in third last year in Brno, has qualified in 12th, equalling his worst qualifying result this year so far along with Qatar.
Alvaro Bautista, who makes his 150th Grand Prix start in the premier class, starts from 14th on the grid. He will be aiming for top five finish in back-to-back races for the first time since 2013.
Moto2™
Luca Marini starts from pole position for the first time – his third successive front row start – on what is the 46th Grand Prix race of his Grand Prix career, 22 years later after his half-brother Valentino Rossi won his first race at this same track.
Luca Marini became the ninth Italian rider to start from pole position since the introduction of the Moto2™ class back in 2010.
Álex Márquez has qualified in second on the grid, which is his sixth front row of the year and the first since the Catalunya GP. He will be aiming to win for the first time since Japan last season.
Mattia Pasini completes the front row, which is his first back-to-back front row start since last year. He started from pole position last year in Brno, but he crashed out on the first lap of the restarted race.
Heading the second row on the grid is Miguel Oliveira as the highest-placed KTM rider, equalling his best qualifying result from Qatar this year.
Marcel Schrötter has qualified in fifth for his 149th Grand Prix race, which is his best qualifying result since he was second in Assen earlier this year. He will be aiming to stand on the podium for the first time of his career.
Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia starts from sixth on the grid, which is his worst qualifying result since he was the 15th fastest qualifier in Argentina earlier this year.
The winner of the German GP, Brad Binder, has qualified seventh on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since fifth in Barcelona this year.
Moto3™
Jakub Kornfeil has qualified on pole position for the first time in what is 155th Grand Prix race, becoming the first Czech rider to qualify on pole position since Lukas Pesek in San Marino in 2007. This is the fourth overall pole position of a Czech rider in Grand Prix racing (Since pole positions are officially recorded in 1974).
This is the first pole position for a KTM rider since Nicolò Bulega in Japan last year and the first in dry weather conditions since Gabriel Rodrigo in Austria also last year.
Third at the Sachsenring before the summer break, John McPhee has qualified in second on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole in Mugello last year. The Scotsman won his only Grand Prix race so far in Brno two years ago.
Marcos Ramírez has qualified in third place on the grid, which is his second successive front row start. He will be aiming to stand on the podium for the third time of 2018.
Heading the second row is Philipp Öttl, which is his best qualifying result since he was second in Jerez earlier this year on his way to win his first Grand Prix race.
With Kornfeil, McPhee, Ramírez and Öttl, this is the first time that four KTM riders have qualified within the top four since Japan back in 2013 when Friday free practice sessions were cancelled due to the weather.
Fabio Di Giannantonio has qualified fifth as the highest-placed Honda rider, which is his best qualifying result since he was third in Jerez earlier this year. He will be aiming to win for the first time on what is his 47th Grand Prix race in the Moto3™ class.
Nakarin Atiratphuvapat starts from eighth on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was the fourth fastest qualifier last year in Assen in wet weather conditions.
Second in the Championship behind injured Jorge Martín, Marco Bezzecchi has qualified in 14th, which is his worst qualifying result since he was 28th last year in Valencia.
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