Jorge Lorenzo took his seventh victory of the season at Brno

Series leader Jorge Lorenzo celebrating his seventh win of the season. © Fortuna Aprilia. Series leader Jorge Lorenzo took his seventh victory of the season at the Czech Republic Grand Prix held today at Brno. The Fortuna Aprilia rider now has a seven-point championship lead over closest rival Andrea Dovizioso who was second in Sunday's race ahead of Hiroshi Aoyama. As usual in the Spaniard rider, Lorenzo lost a few positions with a bad start, but quickly got them back in the opening exchanges.

Initially he battled against Alex de Angelis, Hiroshi Aoyama and Dovizioso, but soon it was just the Japanese rider who was with him as he began to drop his title challenger. The decisive action came on lap 15 when Lorenzo began to lap at around 203"5, almost half a second quicker than his main rivals. Lorenzo finished some two and a half seconds clear of the field, with Dovizioso overtaking Aoyama at the death.

Jorge Lorenzo: “I am a very happy because previously I have lost momentum after the summer break. Any doubts I had started to disappear in qualifying and it was the same in the race. The first part of the race was difficult and dangerous as I had to fight in a group of a few riders who wanted to get past me. What's more my rear tyre was sliding a bit and I could not go as fast as I wanted. But at the halfway stage I managed to get to the front and then started lapping at 2'03.5 which allowed me to open up a gap and race alone at the front without any danger. I want to thank the team because they have done a great job on the bike's set-up, the engine was excellent and we have taken another step towards our objective.” (Fortuna Aprilia)

Dovizioso tried in every way to stay with Jorge Lorenzo, being able to lead the race for few laps, but Andrea moved down in third position and when it started the last lap, the Humangest Racing Team rider was at 0.486 from Aoyama. It seemed difficult to close the gap but with a perfect lap and an incredible overtaking, Dovizioso could take the chequered flag in second position. In this way, he could get four important points for the championship.

Andrea Dovizioso: “The four points difference between second and third are really important for the championship. This track is a bit difficult for us and it favourites a lot Aprilia; the only chance to beating Lorenzo was to stay close to him. But when Locatelli caught me and pass me, I lost the contact with him and couldn't do anything else. I have to be happy with this and wait more favourite circuits like Motegi and Estoril. This second place is for sure a good result, and I gathered important points in the last curve, but I'm not completely satisfied because I want to win and not arrive second. In the last lap I didn't think I was able to beat Aoyama; then, though, I brake hard in the last corner being able to stay close and keep a good speed in exiting. He, probably, didn't expect it and didn't close the way. The championship is still open; I believe I can do it at 100% because we have just 7 points gap and my team works very well. My bike is always competitive as far as chassis concern”. (Humangest Racing Team)

Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama - racing in his 50th Grand Prix - was outfoxed for second place in the final stretch by Italian Andrea Dovizioso, just before going through the checkered flag: “I had a good start and I planned to lead the race but then de Angelis was riding aggressively and when he passed me I thought I should keep some distance and overtake him safely. Then he crashed out and I tried to close up the gap but I was just not close enough to be able to do it. My KTM is working really well. We have installed a new fuel injection system and this is going well, even though we are still working on it. I want to thank my team because they did a great job for me.” (KTM)

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