MotoGP: Dovizioso Wins Czech GP In A Dramatic Three-Way Fight

Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso took home a hard fought win at Brno in what was a three-way fight for the 2018 MotoGP Czech Grand Prix title. The Ducati rider fended off attacks from rival Marc Marquez as well as teammate Jorge Lorenzo to bring home his second win of the season after an absolute thriller during the closing stages at Brno. While Dovizioso superbly dominated the race having started on pole, the final lap saw Marquez chase down Lorenzo to take second, but had to eventually settle for third in his 100th MotoGP race start. Nevertheless, Marquez managed to extend his lead for the championship with the podium finish.

Dovizioso led most of the 21-lap race having taken pole on Saturday while Yamaha's Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez were the other front-row starters. Rossi had a strong start from second and led the race on Turn 1, but only to be pushed back to second as Dovizioso was quick to regain the lost lead. The Italian managed to hold on to the spot until Lap 8 and was once again outpaced by Rossi, who took the lead for the next three laps. A win for Rossi seemed possible at this point, but the Ducatis clearly had the pace for leading the race.

With Dovi retaking the lead on Lap 11, Marquez was quick to pass Rossi to take second, while LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow took third pushing the Yamaha rider to P4 by halfway point in the race. Meanwhile, Lorenzo was yet to launch his offensive and managed to do so as he passed Rossi on Lap 13.

The Spaniard was now on attack mode as he passed Crutchlow and was now breathing down Marquez and Dovizioso's necks. Lorenzo passed Marquez on Lap 18 at the Turn 13 left-hander and went on to pass his teammate a lap later for the lead. However, Dovizioso clearly had the edge today and regained the lead soon after, going on to claim the win at the chequered flag. The last lap battle between Lorenzo and Marquez was a spectacle with the duo swapping positions, but it was the former to take second place on the podium 0.178s off Dovi.

Despite a promising start, Rossi had to settle for fourth, after passing Crutchlow in the later stages of the race, while Dani Petrucci claimed sixth behind the LCR Honda rider. Tech3 Yamaha's Johann Zarco and Honda's Dani Pedrosa took P7 and P8 respectively, while the final spots on the top list were taken by Nieto Ducati's Alvaro Bautista and Suzuki's Andrea Iannone.

Teammate Alex Rins was the first to finish outside of the top 10, ahead of Pramac's Jack Miller, Franco Morbidelli of Marc VDS Honda, Tech3's Hafizh Syahrin and Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia.

Yamaha's Maverick Vinales continued to have a horrible weekend and was involved in a three-way crash on the opening lap, ending his run along with KTM's Bradley Smit and Stefan Bradl from Honda. Aprilia's Scott Redding was the other retirement crashing out, while Tito Rabat of Avintia Ducati suffered a mechanical issue.

With 181 points, Marquez leads the championship with a significant margin, while Rossi is a distant second with 132 points. Dovizioso, though has made a significant jump to third with the Czech GP win and has raked in a total of 113 points.