MotoGP preview: Field flies back to Europe for round 11 at Brno

Published Aug. 14, 2014 10:16 a.m. ET

foxsports

After the return to action from the MotoGP midseason break at Indianapolis, the teams and riders head straight back to Europe this week to prepare for round 11 in the Czech Republic.

The visit to Brno takes the World Championship to one of the most historic venues on the calendar, where racing has been held since the 1930s. The current circuit first held a Grand Prix in 1937.

This time around, MotoGP’s current ‘history maker’ Marc Marquez will look to extend his winning run to 11 consecutive victories after another fantastic display at Indy. The only other previous rider to have won the opening 10 races of the premier class season is the great Giacomo Agostini (1968, 1969 and 1970), so Marquez has the chance to set yet another new record this weekend.

All trying to stop him from winning again, at the track where Marquez scored his penultimate victory of 2013, are the likes of the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP pair Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Currently sitting third and fourth respectively in the standings, Rossi and Lorenzo each hope Brno will give them a chance to finally defeat Marquez, after they both joined the Repsol Honda rider on the podium Indianapolis.

On the other side of the Repsol Honda garage, Dani Pedrosa did not quite get in hooked up at Indy and finished fourth, maintaining his second place in the standings. Like Marquez, Pedrosa tested at Brno in the summer and will be hoping for at least a podium result on Sunday.

The Ducati Team pair of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow will look for better than their respective seventh and eighth place finishes at round 10, whilst Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammates Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith will aim to build on their top six finishes in the States. Smith will need treatment on a finger injury this week, having aggravated an old wound in a crash on Saturday.

Looking to immediately bounce back from Brickyard DNFs, Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda), Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) and Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Yamaha) will all have top five aspirations at Brno.

Leon Camier was unlucky not to finish the Indy race on his MotoGP debut and he will get another chance in the Czech Republic as he rides in place of Nicky Hayden with Drive M7 Aspar. Meanwhile, Alex de Angelis will make a return to the premier class, as he steps in to replace Colin Edwards at NGM Forward Racing.

Camier and De Angelis are also both included on the list of riders scheduled to remain at Brno for a post Grand Prix day of testing on Monday.

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