Brno, Czech Republic - Cal Crutchlow posted the first premier-class win by a British rider in 35 years and the second win by a privateer of the 2016 season as he sliced through the field for one of the most spectacular victories of recent years.
South African hero Brad Binder, however, crashed out of the Moto3 lead with just four laps to go in appalling conditions, cutting his championship lead from 67 points to 61.
MOTOGP
The heavy rain that had made both the junior classes an exercise in survival finally slacked off as the big guns formed up on the grid, which was to have a profound effect on the outcome.
Pole-sitter and championship leader Marc Marquez (Honda) completely botched the start, as Yamaha’s defending title-holder Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati Team rider
Andrea Iannone, dived past to lead into Turn 1. Neither of the Yamaha factory riders was able to match the pace set by the Ducatis, however, dropping back to the middle of the top 10 leading - along with Marquez - while Iannone, his works partner Andrea
Dovizioso and Ducati privateer Scott Redding made the early running.
But is was LCR Honda privateer Crutchlow who was really on the charge, slicing through the field from 15th on the grid to join the leading trio, shortly before Dovizioso was forced to retire with a tyre problem.
But the front-runners were all running soft-compound tyres and as they degraded it was Crutchlow, on a hard front and medium rear, and Lorenzo’s team-mate, nine-times World champion Valentino Rossi, who took over at the front.
Marquez also upped his pace in the closing stages, passing Iannone and Ducati privateer Hector Barbera to protect his championship lead with a steady ride home behind Rossi.
Tyre choice (and wear) proved decisive as Loris Baz (Ducati) suddenly surged past his team-mate Hector Barbera, and Eugene Laverty, also on a privately entered Ducati, overtook Iannone for sixth and yet another Ducati privatger, Danilo Petrucci relegated the Ducati Team leader to eighth, with Maverick Vinales (Suzuki) ninth and Tito Rabat (Honda) posting his first top 10 finish in the premier class.
Lorenzo, unable to stay with the leaders, chose to gamble and came in to change bikes – but it was the wrong decision; once back on the track he was one of the fastest riders out there, but was unable to unlap himself and came home stone last, losing his second place in the championship to team-mate Rossi.
MOTO2
Jonas Folger took an incredible win - his first in more than a year - in torrential conditions, with Alex Rins and Sam Lowes completing the podium, both taking a chunk out of championship leader Johann Zarco’s lead as the title defender crossed the line 11th, in a race where all but one of the tip 10 were Kalex-mounted.
Folger swept round the outside to take the lead into Turn 1, and was simply unstoppable for the rest of the race. Alex Rins had a stunning turnaround in the wet on race day, taking a solid second, five seconds adrift, after struggled in the dry.
That cut Zarco points lead by by 15 points, keeping the championship in the balance during the second half of the season. Sam Lowes also benefitted from the wet in Brno with a calm ride to complete the podium, keeping his title hopes alive as well.
There was drama on the final lap as Folger’s Dynavolt Intact team-mate Sandro Cortese and Mattia Pasini collided, knocking Cortese back to finish 19th after an impressive ride through the field, while Pasini sailed home to finish fourth.
Alex Marquez had a fantastic ride into fifth, as he converted his front-row start into a top-five finish. Marquez, who slotted through Turn 1 impressively on the inside, fought with the leaders throughout the first half before choosing a solid finish at the flag.
Wet-weather specialist Hafizh Syahrin made good on his nickname - The Fish - with a smooth ride to sixth, ahead of Danny Kent in seventh as both moved up the timesheets in the wet. Franco Morbidelli came home eighth after taking less risks that those that saw him crash out of contention in the wet German GP, with Kent’s Leopard Racing team-mate Miguel Oliveira ninth and a wild-card entry, veteran Anthony West, rounding out the top 10 after a stunning ride on a three-year-old Suter.
MOTO3
Peugeot rider John McPhee took his maiden Grand Prix win with a calm, almost faultless ride to the flag as his challengers (literally) fell by the wayside. Championship leader Brad Binder (KTM) crashed out of the lead with four laps to go, before Khairul Idham Pawi (Honda) also ended up in the gravel in a dramatic change for the race in the final few laps.
Binder led off the line, before losing places on a cautious first lap as Jorge Martin (Mahindra) took the lead and set off trying to make a gap, with a breakaway group of Martin, Binder, McPhee and Aron Canet (Honda) in pursuit.
Binder upped the pace McPhee stayed calm in second; that proved the perfect strategy as the South African crashed out of the lead. It took Malaysian rider Khairul Idham Pawi - winner in the wet in Argentina and Germany – just five laps to make up 25 places before crashing out of podium contention close to the end of the race.
McPhee continued his solid pace at the front as he inherited the lead, until an almost-highside saw him out of the seat and desperately hanging onto his bike. Saving the moment and retaining the lead, he kept his head and rode a faultless final lap for his first Moto3 win.
Jorge Martin (Mahindra) had a drama-free ride to second as those around him pushed too hard, taking his first podium in some of the most difficult conditions of the season so far. He led briefly in the early stages before letting others take the risk, a strategy that paid off at the flag.
Fabio DiGiannantonio (Honda) was the rookie star of the race, completing the podium after through the field following wet-weather expert Pawi. Keeping his own pace and his head, he took his second podium of his rookie year as he camer home nearly a second ahead of more experienced team-mate Enea Bastianini.
Niccolo Antonelli (Honda), 2015 winner at Brno, was fifth ahead of local hero Jakub Kornfeil (Honda), and rookies Bo Bendsneyder (KTM) Joan Mir (KTM) and Nicolo Bulega (KTM).
Jorge Navarro (Honda) rounded out the top 10 to claw some points back on Binder, but the South African’s only other serious title rival, KTM rider Romano Fenti, was conspicuous by his absence after being benched for bad behaviour by his team at the previous week’s Austrian Grand Prix.
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