Welcome to our MotoGP Czech GP Live Blog!
There’s already been some pretty big news breaking over the weekend. Five manufacturers (Ducati, Honda, KTM, Yamaha and Aprilia) signed the agreement defining the sport’s framework through to 2031. Álex Márquez made his first on-track return since his crash in Catalunya, having been declared fit for the whole race weekend. Despite giving a relatively solid performance in Q1, Álex admitted that whilst he felt “much better than was expected”, he decided to withdraw from the remainder of the weekend.
Friday’s sessions saw the lap record being broken an incredible seven times, but Ai Ogura did it yet again during Saturday’s qualifying session. With a 1:51.139, Ogura became the first Japanese polesitter in MotoGP since 2020, and has put Trackhouse in the number one spot on the gird for the first time. It was Pecco Bagnaia who went on to win the Sprint, but the mixed-up grid is sure to bring an exciting Sunday race.
And then came the controversy. Marco Bezzecchi, who currently leads the championship by 15 points, was suspended from the Czech Grand Prix following an incident in the Sprint race. After crashing out, Bez got into an altercation with the marshals who were trying to recover his bike. This led to the stewards issuing a race suspension, which Aprilia unsuccessfully appealed but have since accepted.
It’s all to play for, so join us as we bring you live updates on the action at the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Czechia!
Feature image courtesy of MotoGP