Yamaha Factory racing rider Jorge Lorenzo put on an incredible show today in the Grand Prix of Czech Republic, dueling with rival Dani Pedrosa for an incredible 22 laps to take second at the line. Lorenzo took the hole shot from pole and led for the first 11 laps with Pedrosa running consistently half a second or less behind. The pair swapped positions mid-race and continued their Spanish duel, racing at speeds in excess of 300km/hr less than half a second apart until a dramatic final lap showdown. The Yamaha rider made a brave pass inside Pedrosa heading into the final chicane, only to run slightly wide and allow the fellow Spaniard back through. The drama continued through the final corner and to the line, Pedrosa claiming victory by a margin of just 0.178 seconds.

Team-mate Ben Spies had a promising weekend compromised yet again as his run of bad luck continues to haunt him. The Texan’s clutch overheated from the race start, taking a couple of laps to cool down before it became 100% effective again. The issue initially dropped the unlucky rider down to 14th before he made a spirited comeback, climbing six places to eighth by lap eight where unfortunately he crashed.

Today’s race results keep Lorenzo leading the Championship with a 13-point advantage of Pedrosa. Spies remains in 10th position. The Yamaha Factory Racing Team will remain in Brno for a one-day test tomorrow.

Jorge Lorenzo - Position 2nd - Time: +0.178

“I really enjoyed that race, mainly in the last laps, Dani and I tried everything for the win. We are so close in the Championship that every point is important. It was a very strategic race, in some parts of it I was slowing down to relax a bit and get some air and I think Dani was a little later on as well, staying calm and preparing for the last laps. When Dani was pushing a lot I took a lot of risks to stay with him and finally I had to try to pass him, the victory was so close I had to try. This time Dani was cleverer than me and braver so congratulations to him, next time maybe it will be different! A big thank you to my team as well who worked really hard and made a very competitive bike for me.”

Ben Spies - DNF

“The crash today was no other fault than myself, I was trying to get back into a rhythm and catch the group in front of me because I could see they were coming back and I had a good lap times for coming through. I’m really disappointed not just for me but for the team as they’ve done an excellent job this weekend, we’ve showed speed and motivation all weekend which is hard to do after Laguna and Indy. The race was really over for me before turn one because the clutch overheated off the line. It was no one’s fault; we checked the data and my practice starts are identical to my race starts. We checked the clutch and there is nothing wrong with it, it just overheated and took over two laps to cool down enough to give it 100% by which time the race was over. I still tried to get the best out of it I could and just made a small mistake.”

Wilco Zeelenberg - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager

“That was a fantastic MotoGP race today, the last lap was amazing to watch. Second place is not completely satisfying but anyway they both made a great show and if they had continued for another ten laps I think they would still have been right there together. Dani deserved to win today because finally he passed the line first. Jorge behaved really well and tried to do all he could to win it. To take so many risks when you are eighteen points in the lead is very brave so I’m proud of him.”

Massimo Meregalli - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director

“It’s tough to say that we had another issue. From the start Ben’s clutch slipped for almost two laps which compromised the beginning of the race. Having checked the data we know Ben didn’t do anything unusual in his race start. Jorge rode yet another perfect race, his pass on Dani at the end was incredible, unfortunately Dani was able to get back past him to cross the line first. We’re looking forward to testing here tomorrow and in two weeks in Aragon to take another step forward with the 1000cc M1. Tomorrow Jorge will test the first 2013 prototype 1000cc M1 and Ben will be testing 2012 M1 set up solutions.”

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