The World Championship visits this weekend the Czech Republic, with Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso, Casey Stoner and Marc Márquez ready for the second half of the year
After a well-deserved break, this week the Continental Circus resumes the action on European soil. The Repsol riders go back to work with new energy and will look for new victories during the second half of the season. In the premiere category, the Repsol Honda Team reaches the technical track of Brno leading the championship and with three of the top four positions of the overall standings. Marc Márquez —second of the Moto2 World Championship—, will try to keep the good level shown in previous races and recovering points with reference to Bradl.
The leader of the MotoGP World Championship, Casey Stoner, used the summer break to rest and recover from the intense period of the World Championship they just had: six Grand Prix in eight weeks. The Australian arrives to the Czech Republic with the aim to keep the level shown in Laguna Seca, a race where the Repsol rider had to be patient and smart to wait for the perfect moment to overtake his rivals and cross the finish line in first position. He finished almost six seconds ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, which is also 20 points behind him in the overall standings.
After his third position in Laguna Seca, Dani Pedrosa started two weeks of holidays with the only aim to relax and recover his strength to keep setting good times and be able to sign results such as the ones he had in Germany and the US —first and third—. The Spaniard of the Repsol Honda Team will try to be again on the highest step of the podium at the Czech Republic, a track where he has been about to take victory twice —second in 2009 and 2010—. Since he returned after his injury, Pedrosa climbed to the fourth position of the World Championship, just behind his team mate at the Repsol Honda Team, Andrea Dovizioso.
The Italian was very consistent since the beginning of the season, achieving four podium positions in the first eight races —3 seconds and 1 third— which placed him in the third position of the overall standings. The Repsol rider arrives in Brno with the objective to keep advancing in the World Championship, start from a good grid position, be in the top group on Sunday and fight for his first victory of the season.
The Moto2 class, which was not at the United States Grand Prix, will resume the action at the Czech Republic. Since his victory in Germany, Marc Márquez was able to enjoy nearly three weeks of vacation, which he used to rest and prepare for the Brno round. The current 125cc Champion reaches the technical Czech track 47 points behind the leader, Stefan Bradl, a distance that was slowly reduced thanks to the good results of the rookie of the year of the intermediate class.
Dani Pedrosa
“These two and a half weeks have flown by for me, but I really enjoyed this break. The truth is that I needed it, first of all to rest after the last few races that were physically hard for me but also to disconnect a little and to train, to get back my physical strength and be fit again. My holidays have been a combination of all. When I got back from Laguna I spent some days doing nothing just to relax the whole area of the neck, arms and back. After this I’ve been combining physical training with relaxation exercises to avoid over stressing the area. Now I’m looking forward to competing again and enjoying the races until the end of the season. The bike is working very well this year so I hope we can get good results and win races in this second half of the Championship. Brno is a track I like, I’ve won there in 125 and 250, and I’ve had some podiums also in MotoGP so to fight for the victory is a challenge for me and I’m very motivated. I’m also looking forward to the test at Brno with the 1000cc bike. I missed the first one in Jerez due to the injury and I’m exciting to see to see how the new bike works”.
Andrea Dovizioso
“I spent the summer break with my family and friends at the seaside in Sardinia. Early in the morning I was training, then I could play with Sara, my little daughter. It was a new experience for me that I really enjoyed. It was a perfect time to relax and switch off and now I’m ready for the second part of the season. We arrive in Brno very motivated as we want to redeem the disappointing result of Laguna. Brno is a fast track, the curves have a long range so the speed in the mid corner is high. I’m confident that we can be competitive there, the Honda machine is working very well and the characteristics of the track suit my riding style too.It’s similar to Mugello and we look for a good result. Casey [Stoner], Dani [Pedrosa] and Jorge [Lorenzo] will be strong rivals, but I’m confident that we will be able to fight with them. We are determined to return on the podium. This is our target”.
Casey Stoner
“I’ve really enjoyed this summer break. After a great race in Laguna, we decided to stay in California and visit some friends and enjoy some down time, mixed in with some training. Now I feel relaxed and ready for the second half of the season. I’m looking forward to going to Brno, it’s a circuit I’ve always enjoyed and I believe with the results we’ve had in the past years we can expect to have a good race there. I’ve seen that the Honda can be very competitive at all circuits this year so I’m sure we will also be strong in Brno. The fact that it’s very fast and flowing has helped the Yamaha’s in the past seasons and I think Jorge [Lorenzo] will be strong there, so I will be watching for him. We’ll be working on overcoming some of the issues we’ve had in the fast corners at circuits this year and we will certainly be looking for the win, or at the very least some more important Championship points”.
Marc Márquez
“After the holidays, I am eager to get again on the bike, although we know that we will have to take it easy at the beginning, because we had not ride for a long time and you have to get used to it again. Particularly in a circuit such as Brno, which is beautiful but one of the most difficult, like Mugello, with many changes of direction, uphill and downhill sections. We know that we need to go slowly, because it is again a new circuit for me with the Moto2 and in the two days of practice I should get used to the pace of the competition. We had time to rest, but we also used the time to train, in order to arrive in good form to the second part of the championship. I am looking forward to Friday, and impatient to get on the bike”.
