Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1151987
MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 12 / AUGUST 2-4, 2019 AUTOMOTODROM BRNO / BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC P62 three seconds down the track. Miller set the fastest lap on the second; Rins went even quicker on the third lap, and, on the fourth lap, Rins was ahead of the Pramac Ducati, seeming set for a podium. But there was still a long way to go, and Miller was ready to wait. The front four started to spread out a bit after half dis- tance. There was a gasp from the Repsol pit as the cameras picked up Marquez having a slip at the Kevin Schwantz corner at the bottom of the hill, outside foot off the peg. But it was a mi- nor save for him, and in no way daunting. "It was time to push more," he said. And now the gap began to open. By lap 14, he was two seconds clear of Dovi, and the race was won. Rins was closer to Dovi, but Miller's watching brief was encouraging, as he saw him running out of rear grip. It took master of mixed conditions, agreed. "There were a lot of wet patches, and a whole lot of bikes on slicks would have been like 10-pin bowling, so thanks to Dorna for the delay." Marquez surged away, fol- lowed by Dovi, Miller and Rins, with Pol Espargaro's Red Bull KTM behind them after a flier from row two. Teammate Johann Zarco had the opposite experi- ence after giving KTM a first front-row start in wet qualifying, and was 12th at the end of lap one and fading. Maverick Vinales (Monster Yamaha) was no better, dropping to 15th from the third row of the grid, and he would languish near the back until almost one-third distance. Espargaro's role was crucial— he was hard to pass, but al- lowed the front four to get away, as Rossi's Monster Yamaha snapped at his heels. It was not until lap five that Espargaro was able to get through, and by now the leaders were better than IIIMY OWN RACE: 9 DANILO PETRUCCI 8TH MOTOGP "For sure this was the most difficult race of the year for me," Petrucci said. "I missed out on being able to lap in the dry yesterday, because already on Friday I was struggling a bit at this circuit. The race was tough because right from the start I didn't have much grip and the lead- ers went away immediately, and then it was also difficult to fight with the others because in the final stages I had finished the res. Pity, because Rins made up a few points on me in the standings even though I'm s ll in third, but luckily tomor- row we'll have an en re day of tes ng to understand what to improve." PAIN FOR JOE American rider Joe Roberts' hopes of reliving his top 10 grand prix debut at a rain-hit Brno in 2017 were severely dented by a painful high-side in an equally wet Q1 qualifying session, and then destroyed when he was ruled unfit to race. The 22-year-old from Los Angeles, the only U.S. rider in any class, had dislocated his left shoulder with his heavy landing. Rid- ing a KTM in the American Racing squad, Roberts has struggled for results this year, scoring points only twice, with 14th places at Le Mans and Assen. THE ONCU ONSLAUGHT The Oncu arrival in MotoGP took a step forward at Brno, with second twin brother Deniz making his GP debut on an Ajo Moto3-team Red Bull KTM alongside Can. Deniz had to wait until his 16th birthday before he was permitted a wild card ride. His twin brother had been allowed in a year early as a concession for winning the Red Bull Rookies Cup. Entered in last year's season- closing Valencia GP as a wild card, he became the youngest-ever race winner in a wet race that saw more seasoned riders pay the price. But a similar fairy-tale start for Deniz seemed remote, after he qualified 27th on the second-last row of the grid, compared with Can's fourth at his Valencia debut. Can finished 14th, Deniz 18th in the race. Briefly...