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ROUND 11/AUGUST 25, 2013 BRNO CIRCUIT/BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC MOTOGP P68 MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES while Pedrosa was pushing and shoving at Marquez behind to try and chase. Soon enough, though Marquez was going faster than the leader, and by the time Crutchlow went down the gap was notional. It was only a matter of time before the youngster would engage. His first attack was firmly repulsed. One lap later, the 16th, Marquez was ahead, but Lorenzo fought back and led again on lap 18. Then Marquez was past for good. Lorenzo described the difference, though it was obvious from the TV. "I did my best start in my career, but finally I couldn't keep the distance," he said. "Especially under braking and on the straights they were faster than me." What was true of Marquez was also true of Pedrosa, but slightly less so, because he too complained of problems under braking. All the same, with three laps to go he too was ahead of the Yamaha, with Lorenzo now accepting third. "When Dani passed me it was too far to fight back. I didn't have CRUTCHLOW DOES IT AGAIN There was great relief all round after Indy to be at a real big racetrack with fast corners and a smooth consistent surface, and a few surprises through qualifying – culminating in a second pole position for satellite Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow. The English rider served notice in free practice, topping the timesheets, but most expected Marc Marquez to come through in final qualifying. Instead the fans and his own expectations were dashed when he was pushed to third, at the far end of the front row. Especially by the way it happened. Crutchlow first, and he was in feisty form, saying: "It's been a long way from the first session, struggling all weekend. At first the pace just wasn't there, and we changed the bike a lot." He'd found the pace for a single fast lap, but perhaps not over race distance… he was again using the same works-team rearward-shift tank/seat combination as at Indy. It had been good there in the early laps, reversing his usual problems with a full tank, but slower at race end, his previous strong point. At least it was, in his opinion, a real pole: the one before had been in the absence of Jorge Lorenzo. "I hate to get beaten, but I don't like to win when there's no-one there," he said. He claimed his first front-row here last year and his first rostrum, finishing third. "My style isn't suited to long corners, but obviously the Yamaha is," he said. A best so far second went to a Honda, but not a factory bike. It was Alvaro Bautista's satellite machine instead, a quarter of a second off Crutchlow, and a mere tenth ahead of Marquez. He'd done the lap following the rookie star, and admitted "I have to pay Marc." But as he pointed out, "It's not easy to follow these fast guys, and I still did the time." He'd been struggling for grip in free practice, but a tweak before qualifying meant, "I could push the the rear tire or the physical condition," Lorenzo said. He was 2.2 seconds down at the flag. By half distance, Bautista and Rossi had been fully engaged for several laps, and remained so. Rossi had finally got ahead on lap 10, but he couldn't escape, and the Honda was ahead once more with five laps to go, and even opened a small gap. Rossi may be qualifying badly and falling short of expectations in the races, but he is still a fighter. He closed again, attacked on the final lap, and was ahead by bike like I want." Marquez was a little miffed, for he'd expected to better his previous time in his second run in the 15 minutes of qualifying. "I felt ready for pole, my rhythm was good, I felt good on the bike." On his second run he'd slowed down to prevent anyone else following him, and as a result his tires had lost temperature. "When I pushed again, the tire was too cold." But he was ahead of his title rivals, particularly Lorenzo. He was in turn a hair's-breadth five thousandths ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa, also a title rival, with Pedrosa till struggling somewhat with pain and weakness from his still-healing left collarbone. He'd also been troubled finding a set-up. "In the last minute we could improve it to something that allowed me to ride more comfortably." He expected a tough race, with times close, and another battle to hold up physically. Lorenzo had looked like a serious

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