This is an update to:
MotoGP: Czech Republic Grand Prix - Race Results
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa took a clear second place in the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic today, and his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso fought hard to join him on the podium - eventually finishing in a close fourth position.
Pedrosa shot from his third place grid slot into the lead through the first two corners before slipping back to second behind Valentino Rossi. The 23-year-old Spaniard looked capable of taking the fight to Rossi in the initial laps and managed to keep Jorge Lorenzo behind him until lap four when his compatriot snuck past. From then on Pedrosa consolidated third place as the front pair escaped. When Lorenzo fell with five laps to go however, a grateful Pedrosa inherited second place and came home with a comfortable 10s gap to third. Pedrosa’s RC212V was also consistently fastest through the speed traps this weekend, recording a maximum speed of 302.6km/h (188mph).
The battle for that third place was intense and involved the Repsol Honda of Dovizioso and the Gresini Honda of Toni Elias. Dovizioso rode with passion and commitment, passing Elias several times in the closing laps as he sought to follow up his win at the last race at Donington Park with a podium at Brno. However, the Italian just lost out to his fellow Honda rider and brought his RC212V home in fourth - a result which saw three Hondas in the top four places. With Lorenzo gone, Valentino Rossi rode to a lonely victory today.
The strong result for Repsol Honda cements the team’s second place in the Team World Championship standings. Tomorrow the factory Honda squad will join the rest of the MotoGP field back at Brno for the final day’s testing of the 2009 season.
DANI PEDROSA – 2nd – World Championship position: 4th - 135 points
“At the start of the race I pushed really hard to stay with the leaders and for the first few laps I was with them. Then they kept getting faster on every lap and, though I was pushing to the maximum, I couldn’t maintain that sort of pace today. So for the rest of the race I just had to concentrate on not making a mistake because there was a big gap in front of me and also behind me. Second place is a good result for me and the team, though obviously we would have wanted to be closer to front-running pace. It’s great to finish a race on the podium and feel in good physical condition after the problems I had in the first part of the season - especially because it was very hot out there today and this is a demanding track. We have a test tomorrow and it is going to be really important for us to work on the areas we still have to improve so that we can challenge for wins again.”
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – 4th – World Championship position: 6th - 107 points
“I was riding really hard out there and I had a tough battle for third place in the last few laps. From the start I tried to stay with Dani and the leaders but it wasn’t possible. The gap to Elias was always small and my pace was very similar to his which made it very difficult to overtake him. I tried really hard in the middle of the race without any success and then in the last few laps the front-end grip dropped off a little and to overtake Toni I had to take some risks. I really wanted that podium finish so I was pushing very hard, and also I had Capirossi behind who was putting a lot of pressure on too. Fourth is not a bad result but I can’t say that I’m satisfied with the result today. Still there is a day of testing tomorrow and this will give us a chance to make improvements to our machine package and prepare for the next races.”
KAZUHIKO YAMANO - REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER
“Both riders fought hard today and second and fourth places for the team reflects a useful weekend at Brno. We have mixed feelings because it would have been nice to see two Repsol Honda riders on the podium, and for a while it looked like that might happen. In the end though, Andrea just missed out and of course he’s frustrated not to follow up his Donington win with another top-three finish. Tomorrow we will work flat out to close the gap to our rivals. This is the goal the whole team is focused on.”
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