MARC MARQUEZ INCREASES MOTOGP LEAD WITH ANOTHER PODIUM FINISH

Repsol Honda team rider finishes third at Czech GP hit by rain.

The Czech Republic Grand Prix provided another show in the MotoGP class, contest on a wet track that never quite dried out enough to require slick tyres. Marc Marquez managed to overcome the tricky conditions to achieve a valuable third place at Brno. The Repsol Honda Team rider thus scored 16 points in a tough race, and moves his points total up to 197. Still the series leader, he has a 53 point advantage over his nearest rival.

Marc Marquez: “I’m happy with the end result because the most important thing is that today I extended my advantage over second in the overall standings, as I only dropped four points to Valentino [Rossi] while Jorge [Lorenzo] didn’t score points. We proved that we’re competitive both in dry and wet conditions. This year we’re working like ants, making gradual, steady improvements and having a very complete season without changing our mindset.

I made a mistake with the tyres choice, but it’s easier to judge things in hindsight. Perhaps the best tyre choice was the hard compound on both the front and rear, but I was expecting a flag-to-flag race since the track normally dries quickly, which wasn’t the case today. When I saw that there was less than 10 laps to go and the track was still wet, I started to manage my tyre wear. I saw that Crutchlow and Rossi had a faster pace, so I concentrated on my other rivals and I can say I won the battle with them“.