MotoGP Grand Prix of Czech Republic 2018 Result: Andrea Dovizioso Wins Thriller
Andrea Dovizioso led home a Ducati one-two on his 100th appearance for the team on Sunday, as he grabbed victory in a thrilling Czech Republic MotoGP Grand Prix.
In a race that took a while to get going, it was the Ducati man who eventually came through a brilliant battle involving team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and world champion Marc Marquez, who were second and third respectively on the day.
As we can see, there was little between the trio come the end of an absorbing tussle:
After this result, Marquez's lead in the championship has been extended to 59 points ahead of Yamaha's Valentio Rossi, who was fourth on the day.
By MotoGP standards, the start of the race was relatively tame aside for some jostling between Lorenzo and Marquez, as the leaders sought to save their tyres for later in the contest.
The most dramatic moment came on the opening lap, as three riders were involved in a crash at Turn 3, including Yamaha's Maverick Vinales. As we can see courtesy of FOX Sports Live, he wasn't pleased with Bradley Smith or Stefan Bradl, who were also involved in the tangle:
Up front, the three riders who started the race on the front row continued what was an almost processional affair early on, as Rossi and Marquez were content to sit behind pole-sitter Dovizioso.
With 14 laps to go, some action started, as Lorenzo overtook Marquez and Rossi leapt past Dovizioso into the lead:
Marquez wasn't in fourth for long, because as the pace increased so did his concentration. He was quickly past Lorenzo and then up into second; earlier Dovizioso had snatched the lead back from Rossi, as the racing started to simmer.
Cal Crutchlow also moved through the field to join the party, ousting Rossi, who was beginning to filter back down the field, dropping into fifth behind Lorenzo.
As noted by MotoGP journalist Simon Patterson, it was set up for a brilliant finish:
Still, as the riders entered the final five laps, there was a sense there were more gears to be found, with the fans at Brno holding their breath. With four laps to go, the front three all set their fastest lap of the day and the race really begun.
Lorenzo had joined the leading duo at the front, with the two Ducati's and the Honda putting some distance between the rest of the field. Lorenzo then breezed past Marquez with a fine move to give Ducati the top two spots:
On the final lap a blanket could've been thrown over the front three and Marquez was temporarily able to get past Lorenzo. However, the latter was back into second not long after, cutting off his compatriot later in the lap.
The scrapping between the duo allowed Dovizioso an incident-free final lap, as he marked a landmark day in his Ducati career with a big win. While the Italian is surely too far back on Marquez in the overall stakes, he's now up to third in the standings and just 19 points behind compatriot Rossi.
