MotoGP Gets Back to Business at Brno
After a well-earned two-week summer break, MotoGP will regroup at Brno in the Czech Republic this weekend as the second half of the 18-race MotoGP season gets underway with Jorge Lorenzo lands in eastern Europe as the runaway championship leader.
Brno is an historic track for World Champion Valentino Rossi as it was there that he took the first of his 104 Grand Prix wins, in the 125cc class in 1996. Since then he has gone on to take a further six wins at the track, five of them in MotoGP and including the last two years.
The Automotodrom Brno is situated in the area of Kyvalka, about 16kms from Brno city centre. The present Brno Grand Prix circuit was built in 1987 and is located in woodland near to the old street circuit which previously staged the event. It is one of the highest attended races of the year, with a crowd of over a quarter-of-a-million possible during the weekend.
A Grand Prix was first held on the Brno road circuit in 1965 and since then over 40 World Championship races have been contested there. Today the modern track retains much of the character of the original road circuit, with its winding chicanes and dramatic elevation changes and it is a favourite track with the riders, often bringing as it does fast and close racing.
MotoGP gets the weekend underway with the first free practice session on Friday afternoon. The final practice will be on Saturday morning, with qualifying held in the afternoon. The 22-lap race gets going at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) on Sunday 15th August.
Photo : Rizla Suzuki MotoGP / Fiat Yamaha Team
