Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa has stormed to a thrilling victory at the bwin Grand Prix České republiky in Brno, narrowing the MotoGP title lead to Jorge Lorenzo.
Pedrosa and Lorenzo staged a gripping fight in the closing laps, with the pair swapping positions before Pedrosa retook the lead and take a classic win.
The win was Pedrosa’s third for the year.
Lorenzo’s championship lead has now been sliced to just 13 points, with the injured Casey Stoner, who missed the Brno ace, seemingly out of contention.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow finished third – his first MotoGP podium and a fitting way to celebrate his contract extension with the team.
Fourth spot went to Andrea Dovizioso, in front of Stefan Bradl, Álvaro Bautista, Valentino Rossi and Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet who finished top CRT.
Cardion AB Racing’s local rider Karel Abraham and De Puniet’s team-mate Aleix Espargaró completed the top 10.
Yamaha’s Ben Spies dropped back drastically after a few corners with a slipping clutch. His bike overcame its issues, but later crashed out after 14 laps.
The next round of MotoGP will be held at San Marino.
Results, MotoGP, Brno
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
| 1 | 25 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 166.4 | 42’51.570 |
| 2 | 20 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 166.4 | +0.178 |
| 3 | 16 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 165.6 | +12.343 |
| 4 | 13 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 165.2 | +18.591 |
| 5 | 11 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 164.8 | +25.582 |
| 6 | 10 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 164.5 | +29.451 |
| 7 | 9 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 164.2 | +34.514 |
| 8 | 8 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 162.3 | +1’04.285 |
| 9 | 7 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 162.1 | +1’08.278 |
| 10 | 6 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Power Electronics Aspar | ART | 162.0 | +1’09.972 |
| 11 | 5 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 162.0 | +1’10.003 |
| 12 | 4 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Avintia Blusens | BQR | 161.1 | +1’24.040 |
| 13 | 3 | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | NGM Mobile Forward Racing | Suter | 160.9 | +1’27.898 |
| 14 | 2 | 51 | Michele PIRRO | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | FTR | 160.4 | +1’36.165 |
| 15 | 1 | 77 | James ELLISON | GBR | Paul Bird Motorsport | ART | 160.1 | +1’40.565 |
| 16 | 54 | Mattia PASINI | ITA | Speed Master | ART | 160.1 | +1’41.226 | |
| 17 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | Came IodaRacing Project | Ioda | 158.4 | 1 Lap | |
| Not Classified | ||||||||
| 22 | Ivan SILVA | SPA | Avintia Blusens | BQR | 159.2 | 13 Laps | ||
| 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 163.1 | 14 Laps | ||
Championship positions
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Nation | Points |
| 1 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | SPA | 245 |
| 2 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | SPA | 232 |
| 3 | Casey STONER | Honda | AUS | 186 |
| 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Yamaha | ITA | 150 |
| 5 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Yamaha | GBR | 122 |
| 6 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | GER | 105 |
| 7 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Honda | SPA | 102 |
| 8 | Valentino ROSSI | Ducati | ITA | 100 |
| 9 | Nicky HAYDEN | Ducati | USA | 84 |
| 10 | Ben SPIES | Yamaha | USA | 66 |
| 11 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | SPA | 60 |
| 12 | Aleix ESPARGARO | ART | SPA | 45 |
| 13 | Randy DE PUNIET | ART | FRA | 41 |
| 14 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | CZE | 25 |
| 15 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | BQR | COL | 21 |
| 16 | Michele PIRRO | FTR | ITA | 18 |
| 17 | Colin EDWARDS | Suter | USA | 17 |
| 18 | James ELLISON | ART | GBR | 14 |
| 19 | Mattia PASINI | ART | ITA | 13 |
| 20 | Ivan SILVA | BQR | SPA | 11 |
| 21 | Toni ELIAS | Ducati | SPA | 10 |
| 22 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ioda | ITA | 9 |
| 23 | Steve RAPP | |||
