Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez has taken his fifth MotoGP win of the season at Brno this afternoon after a classic battle with reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo while Britain's Cal Crutchlow crashed out on lap eight.
The rookie rider towed Pedrosa back up to Lorenzo after the factory Yamaha man opened a one-second gap in the opening laps and then, with 16 laps gone, tried a pass up the inside of turn four but Lorenzo rode around the outside for position into the right of turn five.
Marquez then made another pass stick but Lorenzo was back past on lap 18 with a move into turn 14. Marquez then put a mirror of his first pass on his fellow Spaniard but covered the inside.
Pedrosa held a watching brief and sat on Lorenzo's rear wheel until the penultimate lap where he jammed a block pass on the Yamaha man for second place which he held to the chequered flag and crossed the line with a two-second advantage.
Crutchlow had used his new tank and seat unit to great effect from pole, picking up fourth place after getting swamped at the start and running with the Spanish trio but Alvaro Bautista passed him on lap four and then held up the Monster Yamaha man.
He got under back under the Gresini Honda man a lap later and pulled a gap but then lost the front on lap eight. After getting a push from attending marshals, he re-joined 1min 11s behind the leader and finished just outside the points in 17th place.
The Isle of Man resident's fall left Valentino Rossi and Bautista to scrap it out for fourth place. The Doctor took fourth on lap ten and looked to put a gap on the Honda man but eight laps later Bautista was back in front.
An error by Rossi allowed Bautista to pull away by a second but Rossi upped his game again, putting in a 1'56.681 final lap to re-pass Bautista and take fourth place. Stefan Bradl had a lonely race for sixth place, crossing the line nearly ten seconds behind Marquez.
Once again Andrea Dovizioso, who has a new-spec engine this weekend, was locked in battle with team-mate Nicky Hayden and after 22 laps crossed the line just three-tenths ahead for seventh place. Andrea Iannone was ninth and Aleix Espargaro tenth and first CRT man home. Colin Edwards was second with Danilo Petrucci third.
Bradley Smith failed to capitalise on his best qualifying performance of the year so far, sliding off his Monster Yamaha on lap three. Michael Laverty finished in 18th place.
