MotoGP:After Lorenzo goes down at Brno, Rossi wins, giving him a 50-point advantage in the championship race

Tyler Hopper
AllAboutBikes Staff Writer

Valentino Rossi took a step up the ladder toward the 2009 MotoGP Championship with a win at Cardion AB Czech Republic Grand Prix. Rossi bested Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo with five laps remaining, when Lorenzo hit the gravel trap.

Rossi and Lorenzo duked it out for the majority of the race, building up a 10-second lead in front of the rest of the field. Lorenzo needed to perform ahead of his teammate if he wanted a chance at the Championship. When the man from Mallorca, Lorenzo, pushed to stay in front of Rossi, he lost the front in turn three. Lorenzo was struggling to stay ahead of Rossi to gain valuable points.

With Lorenzo no longer in the running, Dani Pedrosa moved into the second place slot. Toni Elias and Andrea Dovizioso were the challengers for the third place on the podium.  Elias narrowly outperformed Dovizioso with one half of a second separating the two Honda riders. Rizla Suzuki rider Loris Capirossi finished one tenth behind Dovizioso.

Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with Hayden moving up two places from the start and Edwards moving down three. Marco Melandri and Mika Kallio ended up track-side after Kallio improperly executed a turn, causing both riders to hit the gravel.

Following this week’s race at Brno, Valentino Rossi, “The Doctor”, sits in the top spot with 212 points. His teammate Lorenzo follows, trailing 50 points behind. Casey Stoner, while being absent due to heal reasons, still holds the number three position with 150 points. Dani Pedrosa and Colin Edwards round out the top five in Moto GP Championship standings, with 23 points separating the two riders.

Rider Reaction

Valentino Rossi - Position: First; Time: 43'08.991
“This is a very important victory for us! Jorge had shown all weekend that he was very strong and, when we still weren't feeling perfect after the warm-up, we decided to make one more small modification to improve the feeling with the front and the result was brilliant; my Yamaha really flew today. I got a good start and I was able to ride exactly how I wanted, using all of the track to get the best lines. At the end, when Jorge passed me, I thought that the fight was starting and I was really ready for it, but then he made a mistake and crashed. Of course I'm sorry; it's really bad for him but I have to say that it's great for us because now we have an advantage of 50 points with six races to go. However it would be very stupid to relax now because Jorge is very strong and for sure we expect another hard fight with him in Indianapolis. Today I arrived at the top of the all-time podium list and I'm very proud of this, especially here at Brno where I took my first victory 13 years ago! Thanks to Yamaha and my team for today, it was a great win.”

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: DNF
“I got a bad start and had to get by some people, and then I just didn't have the same pace that I'd had all weekend. I was slower than in the practices and it really wasn't what I was expecting. Unfortunately for me Valentino was just as strong as he'd been all weekend and I had to push very, very hard to stay with him. Towards the end I began to close the gap and after I passed him I was doing everything to stay in front, but then I made a mistake and crashed. There's nothing more I can say except that I'm so sorry to the team and to Yamaha and I will do everything I can to make it up in America.”