The weekend of August 13 and 14 witnessed the eleventh round of the MotoGP World Championship and the venue was the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic.
The race was notable for Motul not only because we were working with our regular two riders in the Yamaha Tech3 team, but because we also had a new ambassador in John Hopkins who was teaming up with Alvaro Bautista for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Team (see Motul Sport News N°31). The American rider was making a wildcard appearance at Brno having ridden recently in the British and World Superbike races, and his presence in the Czech Republic was a great help for Alvaro Bautista.
But Saturday’s free practice session was marred by rain and the wet conditions caused problems for all the riders, even Championship leader Casey Stoner who walked away from a crash on turn three. Unfortunately John Hopkins, having recorded some quick lap times, wasn’t so lucky. He lost control of his GSV-R machine on lap six and broke a finger in his right hand, an injury that forced him to withdraw from Sunday’s race.
And fate wasn’t much kinder to Alvaro Bautista on race day. Comfortably positioned in seventh place in the rear-view mirror of Valentino Rossi, Bautista crashed with six laps of the race remaining, and on the same turn where Cal Crutchlow of Yamaha Tech3 had come to grief just a few laps earlier
Fortunately it wasn’t all cruel news for Motul, and Colin Edwards saved the day by crossing the line in eighth place. He might be 37 but in picking up eight points in Brno the Texan rider showed the world he’s still got what it takes!
Standings:
1// Casey Stoner – Honda – 218 pts
2// Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha – 186 pts
3// Andrea Dovizioso – Honda – 163 pts
…
9// Colin Edwards – Yamaha – 75 pts - Motul
Image : © Stan Perec
