The breakaways in the 125cc class continued in Brno, scene of the Czech Republic Grand Prix.
Nico Terol, Julián Simón and Andrea Iannone took off early on Sunday, engaging in a three-way fight for the win.
Riding between half a second to a full second quicker than the trailing pack, the three would decide the positions amongst themselves. Terol eventually held off Simón for the victory, contending with a pass attempt on the final lap from his fellow Spaniard.
If Sachsenring and Donington showed a more fighting Simón, Brno was treated to a thinking one. The Bancaja rider was solid from the start and became the first man to go round in under 2'09, looking for the leadership of the race. On lap three he joined two rivals in the fight, and studied Terol for a number of laps. Battling with Iannone he clocked the fastest lap of the race with a 2'08.640 on lap nine, although he lost out to Terol on the final lap and had to settle for second and twenty points.
“I am very happy with this race. Second place is a fantastic result considering that I said before coming here that the fast corners were difficult for me”, he said. “I was very decisive throughout the weekend, trying to set the bike up best for today. We maybe lacked a bit of acceleration compared to Nico, but we did a great job with the chassis that gave me the advantage in braking and pace. Nico was very tough, making it more difficult for me with every lap, and he closed down every opening when I tried to make a move on the final lap. I am satisfied because the 20 points allow us to leave Brno as leaders of the championship and give me extra confidence. We know that this is the way to go if we are going to win the title. We are going for wins in the final part of the year, but we have to keep our heads to get points.”
A first-lap scare for Bradley Smith allowed the leaders to get away from the Briton, leaving him riding more or less on his own in fourth place. Not wanting to risk a crash, Smith rode steadily and picked up his first points in three races. Thirteen points maintain his third position in the overall standings.
“It was a pity that I had that scare on the opening lap. I think I might have hit the clutch lever at just the wrong moment, shutting off the engine and nearly going down. I was just about to hunt down Iannone and lost concentration. I think that without this I could have been up there with the top three”, he explained. “In any case, after the disasters at Sachsenring and Donington I got back in the points, and that was my goal. Fourth isn't bad, but I will take more from fact that it comes after troubles yesterday and the in the warm-up. I leave Brno a little disappointed, because Iannone and Nico are both rivals who finished ahead of me. I already have my sights set on a podium at Indianapolis.”
Sergio Gadea's tough weekend concluded with ninth place, as the Spaniard realized that it wasn't going to be his day. Gadea had a good start, but a lack of comfort on his Aprilia proved too big an obstacle to overcome.
The World Championship season continues later this month in Indianapolis, USA, with Simón leading the way by 54.5 points.




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