Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Hard, Extra Hard. Rear (asymmetric): Soft, Medium
Wet compounds available: Front: Soft. Rear: Soft

Tohru Ubukata – General Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department

The Czech GP was the first race for the new tyre regulations – how well did they work and how much difference did they make?
“From an allocation point of view, the new regulations worked just fine. They mean that we need to bring more tyres to each Grand Prix, simply because we are offering riders a greater choice, but the system of allocating them is largely unchanged. Once we have prepared the various compound options, it is the FIM’s Technical Director who actually determines which riders get which tyres, as by doing it this way round we can ensure complete impartiality.

“Instead of each rider receiving six front slick tyres on the Thursday of each Grand Prix, he now receives five but can choose an additional four after the second free practice, making a total of nine. Rear slick tyre allocation has also changed because riders now receive eight rear tyres on Thursday and can choose two more after FP2, allowing them more of the compound they prefer. These changes mean a little more work from our side, but this weekend the process worked without problem.

“The conditions this weekend in Brno were relatively warm though so there was no problem with warm-up performance, so consequently only Jorge, Alvaro and John used the third soft spec of front tyre on Friday morning. For this reason the regulation changes didn’t make such an impact this weekend, but crucially what riders now know is that we have a third soft spec of front slick tyre for emergency use in very cold conditions, such as those seen most recently in Germany and Assen. The rear tyre changes worked well too because clearly the softer rear tyre was preferred this weekend and the rule change meant that every rider chose six of this softer option, giving them sufficient pieces to use in every session and still have a new one remaining for the race. Overall, team and rider feedback of the changes is very positive, and I think it will only get more so when we do have another very cold session in which the third front slick option is necessary and really beneficial in terms of safety and warm-up performance.”

What did Bridgestone test during the one-day test following the GP?
“We made best use of the opportunity of another official test day and continued with our development of next year’s tyres, designed for the new 1000cc engine regulations. We offered one new front slick and two new rears to every rider, using a new construction and new compounds. The target for next year’s tyres is to offer improved warm-up performance and make their characteristics easier to ride. At this stage we are still doing fundamental study work to pinpoint the best development direction for our new family of tyres, and today we were able to collect a lot of very valuable data and information so for us it was an important test. I’d like to thank the riders and teams for taking the time in their own busy testing schedules to test our tyres, especially as it was an important 1000cc test too.”

Source: Bridgestone Motorsport

With eight hours of track time available and conditions for most of the day bright and warm, Crutchlow dedicated his efforts on improving the set-up of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team YZR-M1 machine. The prime focus was improving Crutchlow’s front-end confidence after the 25-year-old has recently experienced a difficult period in his rookie campaign.

Without the time constraints of a Grand Prix weekend, Crutchlow also concentrated on further adapting his riding style to suit the 800cc YZR-M1 machine. He was able to focus on improving his braking technique, and the British rider was satisfied with his progress after completing 74 laps before heavy rain started to fall with 30 minutes of the session remaining. His best time of 1.57.591 was over 0.2s faster than his qualifying time.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is now preparing for another trip across the Atlantic Ocean for the Indianapolis round on August 28, which comes hot on the heels of last month’s Laguna Seca race in California.

Cal Crutchlow – Position 8th – Time 1.57.591 – Laps 74
“This morning we didn’t change the bike and I just went out and did some laps and I was doing low 58s on old tyres, so that makes me feel even more disappointed with the crash in the race yesterday because that pace would have put me on for a good result. The front-end could still be better but we’ve definitely been working in the right direction and we’re trying to figure out how we can make more improvements. But this process isn’t just about working on making the bike better. I know I’ve got to improve myself and adapt my style more and I’ve worked on that a lot today. At the moment some laps I’m braking much better and how I should be and others I go back to my normal style, but that is all part of the learning process and why this test has been so valuable. I still need to release the brake earlier to help me carry more corner speed, so I’ll be working on improving more in that area in the future. My crew have worked really hard today after a long weekend, so credit to them for that. It was a good day and I can take some confidence to Indianapolis now.”

Source: Yamaha Racing

At Brno Kent was competing with his team mate´s Jonas Folger´s Aprilia RSA-bike because the German was unable to attend the Czech GP due to an illness.
- It´s a shame. Kent rode well at Brno straight from the first practice onwards and proved that he can quickly adjust to the new bike, team leader Aki Ajo said.

German Sandro Cortese won the GP. The victory was first one for Cortese who had his 109th GP at Brno.
The next GP of the season is held at the last weekend of August at the circuit of Indianapolis in USA.

Source: Ajo Motorsport

Starting from 16th on the grid, Smith produced his trademark aggressive first lap to gain nine places and force his way into seventh position.

Smith’s brilliant early work though was unfortunately undone by a crash on the second lap while he was trying to force his way back into the points after narrowly avoiding Jules Cluzel’s first lap crash.

The 20- year-old was able to walk away unhurt but he still lies seventh in the World Championship rankings on 79-points.

Bradley Smith DNF – 79-points:
“Obviously that is not the ideal end to a race and unfortunately that is two races in a row that we haven’t finished. From that point of view it is very disappointing, but we had so many positives this weekend. We struggled with the bike on Friday and a little bit on Saturday, but we were able to find big improvements for the race. I was a bit unlucky. I got a great start and put myself in a great position to fight with the group battling for the top six. I knew I had to pass (Jules) Cluzel early as he had already lost the front group on the first lap. Then he crashed in front of me and I was lucky I stayed on the bike. Then when I was recovering from that incident I got tangled with anoth er rider and I had nowhere to go and I went down. It is not a positive end to the weekend but once again we showed that we have the pace to fight at the front. The Tech 3 Racing Team did a fantastic job this weekend and we learned a lot of new things that will help us for the future and I’m sure we will get the results we deserve soon.”

Hervé Poncharal – Team Manager:
“This was another disappointing weekend for the Tech 3 Racing Team. Bradley was very fast this morning in the Warm-up and we were looking forward to him having a strong race to forget the bad luck of Germany. He made an awesome start and recovered a lot of positions and he was immediately close to the top six. Unfortunately again he had a little bit of bad luck. Cluzel crashed in front of him and Bradley told me that it was a miracle that he did not go out with him. He recovered but then there was another incident that he could not avoid and that is disappointing for the whole Team. When you have to push so hard in a class as competitive as Moto2, these things can happen, but we will look to bounce back strongly in Indianapolis and on a positive note he wasn’t injured.”

Source: Tech3 Communications

Crutchlow was able to walk away uninjured but the British rider was frustrated that his hard work throughout the weekend went unrewarded.

Cal Crutchlow DNF – 34 points:
“Nobody is more disappointed than me with what happened because another crash is the last thing I needed. I am currently having a difficult run of races but all I can do is get my head down, work hard with my crew and try and put things right in the future. At the moment I am struggling with grip in the front-end and we seem to have been going round in circles a little bit to find a solution. Today I was off brake and accelerating at the first corner when I lost the front. The last person who wants to crash is me, but I can only do my best. I am sorry to my Team and Yamaha but I am s ure they realise that I am trying as hard as I can to get a good result. We’ve got a test tomorrow and that is important because we can work on the bike without the time constraints of practice. We can dedicate all our time to trying to give me some confidence back in the front. I still believe in myself and I am determined to get a good result in Indianapolis.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager:
“With Cal, I always try to understand, support and help, but he doesn’t feel confident with the front for some reason. Part of this game is to adapt yourself and the riding style to the bike you have and we are crashing too much. And not finishing the races, I don’t think that this is the way to learn in your rookie year. I don’t want to blame anybody, but we need to be positive and think what we can do to help him in the future races. We know what he is capable of after the way he started the season so strongly, so we need to get back to that level of performance and hopefully it will come soon, starting at the next race in Indianapolis.”

Source: Tech3 Communications

MotoGP

Casey Stoner captured his sixth win of the season in front of 155,400 fans at Brno for Sunday’s Cardion ab Grand Prix České republiky, stretching his Championship lead to 32 points over Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing).

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) got the hole shot from his first pole position of the season, with Lorenzo taking the lead from him on the second lap. Stoner then took second from the Yamaha rider, just as Pedrosa crashed out of the front of the field, handing the Australian the lead.

While Stoner lengthened the gap at the head of the pack, Lorenzo came under pressure from Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), the Italian passing the Spaniard to take and hold second position for his fifth podium of the season. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) then caught and passed Lorenzo, moving into the third podium spot and keeping it until the finish line, the first podium of his MotoGP class career.

Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) slowly moved in on Lorenzo, but the American was unable to get close enough to make a move for fourth position, finishing the race behind his team mate in fifth.

Valentino Rossi was the first Ducati Team rider across the line, finishing sixth from his best qualifying position of the season, also sixth. The Italian’s team mate Nicky Hayden followed in seventh, with Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) rounding out the top ten.

Cal Crutchlow crashed out in turn one, resulting in the fourth DNF of the season for the British rookie. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) also had a fall; he rejoined the race but later retired with a mechanical failure. The two were joined in the pits in retirement by Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki), who low sided trying to make a move on Rossi for sixth position.

Moto2

Andrea Iannone took his first win, and consequently podium, since his triumph at the second round in Jerez. The Italian Speed Master rider crossed the line ahead of Marc Márquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol) in second, Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) in third and Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) fourth as the four riders scrapped for all podium positions, bodies and bikes touching in the struggle.

Championship leader Bradl led into turn one off the start, with Márquez and Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2) close behind. By lap three, it appeared the German rider had a solid lead, with De Angelis, Iannone, and Márquez forming the chasing pack, until Iannone took started his charge to the front, catching and passing Bradl on lap 13.

With three laps to go, it was a free for all between the four riders, with Iannone making a pass on Márquez on the last lap to take the top spot on the podium, moving the Italian from seventh to fourth in the Championship chase. Fourth place for de Angelis moves the San Marino rider up into third in the Championship.

Lüthi crossed the line in fifth, followed by Aleix Espargaró (Pons HP 40), Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX), Dominique Aegerter (Technomag-CIP), Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Technomag-CIP) in tenth.

Randy Krummenacher (GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing), Carmelo Morales (Desguaces La Torre G22) and Bradley Smith (Tech 3 Racing) all had falls and retired from the race.

125cc

A great start from pole sitter Nicolas Terol (Bankia Aspar) put him in the lead at the start of the 19 lap race, where he was joined Sachsenring race winner Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar) and Sergio Gadea (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team), who got a tremendous launch off the fourth row. Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo) quickly passed into the second position, and the two Championship leaders broke from the pack.

But with 11 laps to go, 22 year old Terol dropped out of the lead with a mechanical problem, forcing the Spaniard to retire and opening the class Championship charge up. The battle for first then ensued between Zarco and 21 year old Sandro Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany). A lead swapping battle ensued, their lap times dropping as both fought it out for their first Grand Prix win.

Side by side in the last corner, Cortese took the inside line and fiercely held onto the lead, the Frenchman making an attempt to pass and nearly going down, giving the German rider his first victory and moving him up into the fourth spot in the Championship. Zarco finished second yet again, his fourth of the last five races, the final race denying him the win by a photo finish in Germany.

The last podium spot was up for grabs after Terol retired, and a five man skirmish unfolded between Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team), Faubel, Gadea, Alberto Moncayo (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) and Miguel Oliveira (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica). Moncayo crossed the line at the front of the pack taking his first podium, as Oliveira crashed in the last corner.

Faubel took fourth, followed by Gadea, Viñales, Jakub Kornfeil (Ongetta-Centro Seta) and Simone Grotzkyj (Phonica Racing). Zulfahmi Khairuddin (AirAsia-SIC-Ajo) and Jasper Iwema (Ongetta-Abbink Metaal) had their best finishes to date, finishing in the ninth and tenth positions.

Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) had a crash in the morning warm up, fracturing his right hand and leaving him unable to participate in the race.

Source: motogp.com

With the timing monitor showing 19 riders vying for the lead it was as intense as physically possible. Too intense at times with riders and machines touching as they battled for position. Spanish 15 year old Xavi Pinsach crashed spectacularly out of the lead group when another rider inadvertently nudged his brake leaver, he was not seriously hurt.

“It was the most incredible race,” said Techer. “So close, we were touching at almost every corner. I didn’t get a good start and I just had to fight my way through. Then in the last three laps it was a battle between myself, Tomas, Scott and Arthur. We thought he had got away on the last lap but he crashed and it was between the three of us at the last corner. I opened the gas as early as I could through the last corner, I had a bit of a slide but I hung on and won.”

“An incredible weekend,” he added. “I was so upset yesterday after Lukas (Trautmann) and I collided and I crashed that I was determined to do something good today. It was such a tough race, hot and hard, so great to win.”

It was the last corner battle on the penultimate lap that set up victory for Sissis following an incredible 13 laps where no one had any kind of an advantage. As Deroue and the others got a little tangled Sissis was gifted a half second lead and the momentum going onto the 14th and final lap.

Sissis put his head down and never looked back, normally the perfect thing to do. This time a glance over his shoulder with half a lap to go would have revealed that he had opened that advantage to almost a second as the others fought over every section of tarmac. Changing direction for the final time to get the drive up the hill to the finish he was too hard on the throttle, the rear came round and he was off.

Deroue had done most of the leading in the closing stages but a couple of mistakes on the last lap cost him. “The first mistake was that at the first corner on the last lap I changed up 2 gears and the engine bogged, I was furious with myself and had to fight back to the front. I got back into the lead up the hill into the last corner battling with Alan and Tomas but went through the last corner in 3rd instead of 2nd and again the engine struggled so I lost the win and got 3rd.”

It was Vavrous who grabbed more points from the weekend than anyone else with a 3rd and a 2nd. “I thought yesterday was my toughest ever Rookies race but this was even tougher. There was no planning, no tactics, it was just race as hard as you can at every corner, we were touching everywhere. On the last lap I was determined not to crash but I was also determined to get on the podium.

James Flitcroft, the 15 year old Briton and 15 year old Italian Stefano Valtulini both had great rides to finish 4th and 5th ahead of Cup leader Baldassarri who gained so much from the Sissis crash. “I didn’t look back,” said Sissis. “Everyone tells me off if I do. I didn’t know I was way in front like that, I so wanted to win the race, I tried,” he concluded with a shrug. “Now my dad is going to say that I’ve given that KTM bike away,” laughed the Australian referring to the winner’s spoils at the end of the season. The final race of the year is at Misano on September 3rd.

Race 2 Classification

1. Alan Techer (FRA) 31 minutes 25.716 seconds
2. Tomas Vavrous (CZE) +0.034
3. Scott Deroue (NED) +0.203
4. James Flitcroft (GBR) +0.520
5. Stefano Valtulini (ITA) +0.603
6. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA) +0.638
7. Ivo Lopes (POR) +0.802
8. Florian Alt (GER) +0.849
9. Philipp Oettl (GER) +0.963
10. Brad Binder (RSA) +1.023

The 20-lap encounter turned out to be a frustrating affair for Scott, who was unable to mount his expected challenge for the points. Redding made a decent start from 20th on the grid and the 18-year-old quickly clawed his way into 17th. But just when it looked like he was going to maintain his climb up the leaderboard, he suddenly dropped back down the rankings to 25th on lap six.

The British rider was unable to overcome a front-end grip issue and he eventually crossed the finish line in a disappointing 26th position.

Scott Redding #45 – 26th Position
“That was obviously very disappointing and the frustration continues to build because this is not where myself and the Marc VDS Racing Team should be. I struggled for front grip right from the start, even though we reverted to the set-up I ran in the Sachsenring where the feeling wasn’t so bad. But that didn’t work and I’m a bit lost because we’ve been trying lots of different solutions on the bike and I keep losing the front. I just have big long slides so I can’t get the bike turned and it is impossible for me to keep a fast pace. I don’t think I hit an apex in the race and I couldn’t get into any sort of a consistent pace. We need to have a sit down and try and find a solution for Indianapolis, which is a race where I scored a podium at last year.”

Michael Bartholemy – Team Manager
“It was a difficult weekend for Scott again and we have to try and understand what is going wrong. He was competitive and looked very strong on Friday morning, but every session after that he got slower and slower and that is hard to understand. The lap time he did on Friday morning would have put him in the top six in the race, but he was struggling to get within two seconds of that at times today. Like a lot of riders he had some issues with the front tyre, but that doesn’t account for so much time lost. We’ve got to find a solution and we need to find it quickly.”

Source: Marc VDS Racing

24 T.Lorenzetti FTR/Honda 19 40’37.888 Retirement
25 Alex Baldolini Suter/Honda 11 23’18.886 Retirement
16 Jules Cluzel Suter/Honda 11 24’06.400 Retirement
76 Max Neukirchner MZ/Honda 7 15’30.569 Retirement
31 Carmelo Morales Suter/Honda 3 6’26.237 Retirement
38 Bradley Smith Tech 3/Honda 1 2’10.962 Retirement
68 Yonni Hernández FTR/Honda 1 2’14.342 Retirement
4 R.Krummenacher Kalex/Honda 0 Retirement
60 Julian Simon Suter/Honda 0 Withdrawn