Superb win for Stoner with Dovizioso in second completing a full Honda podium

Casey Stoner scored his sixth win of the season, and Andrea Dovizioso his fifth podium in a Honda 1-2-3, the first all-Honda podium since Laguna Seca 2006, and the first of the 800cc period. Unfortunately, only the crash of Dani Pedrosa, on the third lap has marred what has been one of the best Sunday's for the Japanese manufacturer.

Under similar circumstances to Laguna Seca three weeks ago, Casey Stoner has managed to turn a difficult weekend into a win without opposition in a race that he led from the third lap, when Dani Pedrosa, after taking the lead, lost the front and crashed. With the absence of Pedrosa who has been the fastest man throughout the weekend, Stoner had no rival and set a steady pace to increase the gap step by step and cross the finish line 6.5 seconds ahead of his teammate Andrea Dovizioso.

In another consistent race, Andrea had a fantastic start climbing from seventh position on the grid and resisting attacks from Lorenzo and Simoncelli to take his fifth podium of the year. Casey Stoner's victory at Brno, combined with the fourth position of his closest rival in the Championship, Jorge Lorenzo, gives the Australian a 32 point lead in the MotoGP World Championship. Dovizioso continues to hold third position and Pedrosa is now fifth, behind Valentino Rossi.

Casey Stoner – 1st – World Championship Position: 1st with 218 points
"We knew we could make a strong podium challenge today but we didn't really expect the race win. As soon as the race got underway I was having a good battle with Andrea but this cost me a little time and I was afraid that Jorge and Dani would stretch away from me but when I got past I found I had plenty of speed to catch up and the bike felt great. I passed Jorge and then Dani sadly crashed out so I pushed to see if I could pull a gap and I was able to do so quite quickly, then from this point it was a matter of managing the race. I'm very sorry for Dani, he would have been hard to beat today. After such a hard weekend it's fantastic to come out with a comfortable win, a big thanks to my team who never give up, they always support me so a huge thanks to them. Tomorrow we'll be back on the 1000 for another day of testing, so I hope the weather stays dry for us!".

Andrea Dovizioso – 2nd – World Championship Position: 3rd with 163 points
“I’m really happy to be back on the podium, it’s a good result after a difficult weekend and second position is so important for the Championship. In the warm up we made some small changes and my feeling improved. I arrived at the race very determined and I made a very good start from seventh position. In the first laps I was riding cautiously to save the tyres. I had good pace and when Dani crashed I tried to stay with Casey but I made a mistake at turn 13 and I almost went off the track. I lost contact and from that moment Casey built a gap that was impossible to catch. I’m happy of how I managed the race first with Lorenzo and then with Simoncelli to maintain second position. In the final five laps I pushed harder, lapping under 1’58 to maintain the margin from Marco. I didn’t want to fight with him in the last corners. I want to thank Honda and the team for the good work, despite the fact that we struggled slightly over the weekend, we have demonstrated one more time that in the race we are there and I'm really looking forward to Indy in two weeks time”.

Marco Simoncelli - 3rd – World Championship Position: 8th with 76 points
“I am really happy. I have been very strong this year but it has been tough because we have had some difficult situations to deal with. Me and the team have never lost our faith though and finally the result has come so I want to thank all of them, as well as Honda and anybody else who has maintained their belief in me. On the last lap today I just wanted it to be over and nothing bad to happen and thankfully it all worked out. I am really delighted. I didn’t make a great start and had to pass Valentino, who fought back for three corners and I have the tyre marks on my leathers to prove it! It was a nice battle even though it was short. I tried to attack Dovizioso at the end but he was pushing hard and I decided to settle for the position because I knew Lorenzo was making up ground behind me.”

Dani Pedrosa – DNF – World Championship Position: 5th with 110 points
"It was a shame. I lost the front and I crashed, that was it! I was not even pushing so hard, I just took the lead and, well I may have tilted the bike too much, maybe the tyre was not warm enough, still I don't know. The problem is that I've wasted an important race that we had prepared for very well. I have to thank the team for the bike they gave me this weekend, it worked really well, and I will tell them I'm sorry for the mistake. It hurts because we were well prepared and finally the race was quite slow compared to the pace we did in practice sessions, but we can not do anything, just think towards the next one and try to get back on top. Let's hope that tomorrow we can have at least some hours in the dry to test the 1000cc. I've been looking forward to see how the new machine is after missing the Jerez test and I would like to make some good laps tomorrow".