Stoner gifts Rossi Czech Victory
Casey Stoner did his chances of retaining his MotoGP World Championship no good at all, after crashing out of Sunday's Czech Grand Prix. The Australian was in the lead by a second from Rossi, when he skidded off into the gravel on lap six. The Ducati was too badly damaged for him to carry on, leaving Rossi to cruise to victory, giving himself a fifty point lead ahead of Stoner.
As for the remaining two podium places, Spain's Tony Elias and the Italian veteran Loris Capirossi came second and third respectively. Anthony West surely saved his MotoGP career by coming home in fifth and this seasons serial underachiever Marco Melandri salvaged some face for Ducati by finishing seventh.
Tyres played a major role with Michelin proving to be very uncompetitive at Brno. The re-surface appeared to knock those supplied by the French manufacturer right out of contention, including Pedrosa, Edwards and Toseland. All three managed to finish at the back of the field. In fact, at one point there was some tlak of the Michelin shod teams refusing to race. Sounds like a US Grand Prix I watched once...
With six races left to go and all the challengers slowly dropping out of the picture, the Doctor could have a clear run to the title. However, before we make any rash statements, lets wait until the fat lady breaks into song eh?
Other news
Peugeot took a one-two at the Nurburgring 100kms, with the car of Stephanie Sarrazin and Pedro Lamy leading home team mates Marc Gene and Nicholas Minassian. The Audi sportscar could not compete with the diesel powered French prototype and could only manage third and fourth. Nothing to be ashamed of at all, but are we seeing a tip in the balance of power in the Le Mans series?
