Jack Miller's win in wet conditions at Assen looks to have given independent teams on the MotoGP a glimmer of hope against their far better funded factory rivals. The Czech Grand Prix proved this yet again as Cal Crutchlow of the LCR Honda team won his first ever race in the premier class. The win also made him the first British rider to win a premier class grand prix since the 1981 Swedish GP at Anderstorp when Barry Sheene was victorious.
Yamaha's Valentino Rossi was second nearly eight seconds behind, but the result saw him overtake outgoing teammate Jorge Lorenzo for second in the rider's championship. The defending MotoGP champion suffered a horrid race in which he made a poor strategy call regarding tyre choice that saw him finish one lap down in 17th place.
Honda's Marc Marquez retained his championship lead and lost only four points to Rossi as he overcame what he admitted was a wrong call on tyre strategy. After slipping from pole position to fifth place. The Spaniard waited patiently for those ahead of him to overuse their tyres as the track started to dry over the course of the 22-lap race.
A late pass on Hector Barbera and Ducati's Andrea Iannone secured third place for Marquez who now has a 53 point advantage over Rossi while Lorenzo is a further six points behind in third.
Seven rounds of the MotoGP world championship now remain with the next round being held on the 2-4 September weekend at Silverstone.
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