2014 Brno MotoGP Results | Czech Republic Grand Prix

2014 Brno MotoGP Results

Spoiler Alert: 2014 MotoGP results from the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno listed below

The opening 10 rounds of 2014 MotoGP created a historic season for the 21-year-old Marc Marquez. The Repsol Honda RC213V pilot won every round, equaling the record set by 15-time Champion Giacomo Agostini back in 1968 and 1969.

But things were about to change.

Heading into the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno, Marquez was the immediate favorite. The reigning MotoGP Champion began Brno by topping Friday’s free practices, following this with qualifying on pole. It wasn’t a usual record-breaking pole, though; his time was just short of the pole record set by Cal Crutchlow last season (then Monster Tech 3 Yamaha).

From the first lap on, Marquez looked unfamiliar, dropping from pole to sixth. He rode smooth as usual, but appeared to be lacking something. What? Lack of comfort and proper bike setup – this ultimately would prevent him from once again rewriting the history books.

For the first time of the 2014 MotoGP Champion, the young sensation Marquez did not win. He also didn’t finish on the podium – only the third time of his premier-class career (crashed out at Mugello last season, and suffered a disqualified at Phillip Island).

When the 22-lap race at the 3.357-mile Brno Circuit was complete, Marquez would finish in a lonely fourth.

But it wasn’t all sour news for the factory Honda team; Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa was victorious, taking his first win since the Malaysian Grand Prix last season at Sepang, and his second at Brno (2012). This was also Honda’s fourth-straight win at Brno, and 11th straight of 2014.

Pedrosa, who now has 26 wins – equal to his race number – was joined on the Brno MotoGP podium by the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP duo of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, respectively.

Lorenzo, who led the opening five laps, took his third-straight podium of 2014 following an opening-season slump. As for Rossi, Brno was always a special circuit. The nine-time World Champion won his first Grand Prix race there in 1996 (former 125cc class), and finished his 245th premier-class race there Sunday. He has now equaled the record for most premier-class starts with Alex Barros.

A note for Americans: two riders were notably absent – Drive M7 Aspar’s Nicky Hayden and NGM Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards. Hayden had wrist surgery following the Germany GP, and was forced to miss his home race last week at Indy, and this week’s race. As for Edwards, he opted out of Brno; he previously stated that he would miss some races during his final season of GP racing before retirement.

This was the first time in 207 races that an American did not compete in a premier-class race.

When the 22-lap Czech GP began before over 138,000 fans, Pramac Racing Ducati’s Andrea Iannone got the holeshot. The Italian, who will join his fellow countryman Andrea Dovizioso on the factory Ducati Team in 2015, was followed to turn one by Dovizioso, Pedrosa, Marquez, Lorenzo and Rossi.

On the steep downhill run towards turn five, both Lorenzo and Rossi got pass Marquez, the young sensation shuffled back to sixth. Lorenzo then moved into second.

Iannone’s time out front was short lived. At the start of lap two, Lorenzo took the lead off Iannone. On the same lap, Pedrosa took second from Dovi at Scwhantz corner.

Lorenzo began opening a gap, and behind Dovi fell back to sixth. With 19 to go, Marquez looked to regain his rhythm, passing Rossi for fourth, and Iannone for third. A short battled ensued between Marquez and Iannone, the two touching twice. But Marquez would make the pass stick.

He looked like he would challenge Pedrosa, but couldn’t get near him. Behind, Rossi also passed Iannone, slipping into third.

With 17 to go, Pedrosa was right behind the Akrapovic exhaust of Lorenzo’s YZR-M1. The two battled, but Pedrosa made the pass stick into turn five. From here, Pedrosa began opening a gap, and him and Lorenzo remained untouchable for the remaining laps.

With these two comfortably out front, the battle began for the final podium position between Rossi and Marquez. Once near Marquez, Rossi tried every possibly way to get pass with 11 to go. By turn six, Rossi got pass, and though Marquez tried a few counter passes, he was not successful.

Pedrosa would finish 0.410 of a second ahead of Lorenzo, with Rossi taking a lonely third, 5.259 seconds back. Marquez finished the line in fourth, 10.454 seconds back.

After a long battle with Dovizioso, Iannone finished fifth, 0.195 of a second ahead of Dovi.

Rounding out the top 10 were LCR Honda’s Stefan Bradl, the top open-class rider so far this season, NGM Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro, Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Bradley Smith, and GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista.

As for Hayden’s substitute on the Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R, Leon Camier finished 15th, earning a single point in only his second MotoGP race this season.

Marquez now has 263 points, 77 ahead of Pedrosa and 90 ahead of Rossi.

Though his didn’t perform as his usual self, Marquez offered optimistic comment following Brno MotoGP:

“Today was one of those Sundays in which I neither felt completely comfortable, nor had found the best setup for the bike. It wasn’t down to a mistake by me or by the team, it was simply that we didn’t have the same feeling as on other Sundays.

“In a way it’s taken a weight off my shoulders, as now people won’t be asking me if I can win every race anymore. It was also important that we were able to focus on staying in fourth, even though it was tough not to be fighting for the win; we took 13 points that are important for the World Championship and we have a big advantage. What matters is who wins the title -not who wins the most races.”

MotoGP now breaks for two weeks before heading to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. Last season, Marquez finished second behind Lorenzo. Will the young sensation’s stellar performance return?

2014 Brno MotoGP Results:

2014 MotoGP Point Standings (after 11 of 18 rounds):