The podium at the Czech GP was filled by Honda motorcycles. Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso took the two top spots for the Repsol Honda team, while Marco Simoncelli claimed his first ever MotoGP podium to make it three Hondas on the rostrum.
Stoner, who took his 6th win of the season at BRNO, now leads the series by 32 points ahead of Jorge Lorenzo.
"We knew we could make a strong podium challenge today, but we didn't really expect the race win," Stoner said. "As soon as the race got underway I was having a good battle with Andrea, but this cost me a little time and I was afraid that Jorge and Dani would stretch away from me.
"But when I got past I found I had plenty of speed to catch up and the bike felt great. I passed Jorge and then Dani sadly crashed out, so I pushed to see if I could pull a gap and I was able to do so quite quickly.
"I'm very sorry for Dani, he would have been hard to beat today. After such a hard weekend it's fantastic to come out with a comfortable win, a big thanks to my team who never give up."
Andrea Dovizioso took his fifth podium of the season this weekend and currently sits in third place behind Stoner and Lorenzo. Dovizioso is just 23 points away from second place, but 55 points off of first place.
"I'm really happy to be back on the podium, it's a good result after a difficult weekend and second position is so important for the Championship," Dovizioso said. "I made a very good start from seventh position and in the first laps I was riding cautiously to save the tires. When Dani crashed I tried to stay with Casey, but I made a mistake at turn 13 and I almost went off the track.
"I'm happy of how I managed the race first with Lorenzo and then with Simoncelli to maintain second position. In the final five laps I pushed harder to maintain the margin from Marco. I didn't want to fight with him in the last corners. I want to thank Honda and the team for the good work, we have demonstrated again that in the race we are there and I'm really looking forward to Indy in two weeks time."
Simoncelli put one more Honda on the podium. Simoncelli has shown great potential this year with 7 front row starts and two pole positions, but the Gresini Honda rider has had a hard time turning those starts into podium finishes. Simoncelli claimed his first MotoGP podium at BRNO and is hopeful that he'll be able to build on his success.
"I am really happy," Simoncelli said. "I have been very strong this year but it has been tough because we have had some difficult situations to deal with. The team and I have never lost faith and finally the result has come, so I want to thank all of them, as well as Honda and anybody else who has maintained their belief in me.
"On the last lap today I just wanted it to be over and nothing bad to happen and thankfully it all worked out. I didn't make a great start and had to pass Valentino, who fought back for three corners and I have the tire marks on my leathers to prove it! It was a nice battle even though it was short. I tried to attack Dovizioso at the end but he was pushing hard and I decided to settle for the position because I knew Lorenzo was making up ground behind me."
