Moto2 Brno: Marquez wins after Czech masterclass
Alex Marquez continued his Brno masterclass after dominating qualifying on his way to pole to do the same in the race and take control at the front for victory at the Moto2 Czech Grand Prix.
The EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex rider had a brief tussle for the lead with Sam Lowes on the opening lap but once ahead he pulled out a gap which he maintained and then grew as he remained untouchable at the front, eventually winning by a massive 3.018 seconds.
Marquez, who has now won five of the last six races, also increases his championship lead - not only did he gain maximum points but his main rival for the title Tom Luthi fell in the early stages, leaving Marquez with an advantage of 33, on a total of 161.
It was the intermediate class rookies who impressed for the rest of the rostrum slots at the Autodromo Brno - Fabio Di Giannantonio picked up his first Moto2 podium finish - he was equally as untroubled in second, and did his best to reel in Marquez for Beta Tools Speed Up, but settled for second, building on his previous best finish which was fourth last time out in Germany.
There was much entertainment in the battle for third with four riders in contention for much of the duration - Luca Marini, Jorge Navarro, Marcel Schrotter and Nicolo Bulega.
Jorge Navarro looked to be set for third as he did all the hard work to catch, join and then pass the group, making it seem a double Speed Up podium was on the cards.
But Enea Bastianini rallied and set about chasing down the the pack and then the Spaniard, passing him on the inside on the final lap as he seemed to have superior grip out of the corners. He too claimed his best finish in his rookie year with Italtrans in third.
That meant Navarro missed out on a podium finish in fourth, but was safe and clear of Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) in fifth.
Schrotter (Dynavolt IntactGP) was next to see the chequered flag in sixth, just ahead of rival Bulega at the line, forcing him to settle for seventh.
Augusto Fernandez was three seconds further down the road and crossed the line eighth, the best of the Flexbox HP40 bikes. SAG Team rider Tetsuta Nagashima claimed a solid ninth.
Iker Lecuona American Racing KTM) won his battle with the second Pons HP40 bike with Lorenzo Baldassarri aboard to claim a top ten finish. Lecuona was also the top KTM finisher.
Marco Bezzecchi faded to twelfth, though that is still his second best result since moving up to Moto2 with Red Bull KTM Tech 3.
He beat Red Bull Ajo team rider Jorge Martin over the line, who took 13th. The remaining points on offer went to Andrea Locatelli on the second Italtrans entry in 14th and Somikat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) in 15th.
Jonas Folger, a last minute replacement for Khairul Idham Pawi again at Petronas, placed 19th.
Jake Dixon (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) was 18th, much better than the self-predicted result ahead of the race for the Briton.
Xavi Vierge slipped into the gravel at turn nine on the first lap. He remounted for 24th.
Lukas Tulovic only lasted a couple of laps longer, with Mattia Pasini and Sam Lowes, despite an electric start, also failing to go the distance. Brad Binder was a late faller, hitting the gravel with six laps remaining.
Dimas Ekky Pratama withdrew from the weekend as he continues to recover from his Assen crash.
