Bagnaia takes Czech MotoGP pole as Marquez crashes
"Luckily I had this 15 minutes more in qualifying. Then I understood better the way to push in this track," he said.
"We just did a little adjustment that helped a lot," the 2022 and 2023 world champion added.
Marquez will start from the second spot after losing control at turn 13 in the last qualifying lap -- a blow for the Spaniard as split times suggested he would top Bagnaia easily.
He blamed Frenchman Johann Zarco's crash in the same sector moments earlier for a loss of attention.
"When Zarco crashed, I saw some smoke and then my vision went a bit there and I went a bit wide and I just lost the front," said Marquez.
"But apart from that I'm happy with that second position."
Frenchman Fabio Quartararo on a Yamaha will complete the front row.
Reigning world champion Jorge Martin will start from the fourth row on his return after a series of injuries.
Martin sat out the first three races following two pre-season crashes and when he returned at Qatar in April, he crashed heavily again and missed the next seven races.
Marc Marquez, who has taken seven pole positions so far this season, leads the championship with 344 points after 11 of 22 races.
His younger brother Alex is second with 261 points and Bagnaia is third with 197.
Bagnaia smashed Marquez's Brno lap record from 2016 by over two seconds, clocking 1min 52.303sec.
Returning to the MotoGP circuit after a five-year break due to financial woes, Brno has welcomed riders with a brand new, faster tarmac.
Marquez won the last four grand prix, taking the honours in both the sprint and the main race each time.
He is eyeing his seventh MotoGP world title -- and first since 2019 -- that would put him level with the legendary Valentino Rossi.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Ferrari boss confident 'frustrated' Hamilton will bounce back after Hungarian GP
While team-mate Charles Leclerc proved unable to convert Ferrari's first pole position of the season into victory due to unexplained mechanical problems during the race, seven-time champion Hamilton was battling to escape midfield and finished where he started. As on Saturday, when he was dumped out of Q2 and appeared miserable, claiming he was "completely useless" and saying the team should "bring in another driver", Hamilton seemed utterly deflated. To most observers, it appeared as if the pressures of living up to the hype of his spectacular marquee move from Mercedes, where he won six titles, and adjusting to the culture, car and expectations at Ferrari were overwhelming him. At 40, talk of imminent retirement circled around him. But Vasseur was swift to defend Hamilton, who has always been prone to impulsive heart-on-sleeve reactions. "I don't need to motivate him," said Vasseur. "Honestly, he's frustrated, but not demotivated. "He's demanding, but I think it's also why he's (a) seven-time world champion. I can perfectly understand this situation. "Sometimes, you are making comments on what the driver is saying (in) the car, but if you put the microphone on some other sportsmen, in football and so on, I'm not sure that it would be much better. "Sometimes, just after the race or just after qualifying, you are very disappointed and the first reaction is harsh. I can understand the frustration, but we are all frustrated." 'He will be back' Vasseur added Hamilton's weekend appeared worse than it really was because of the tight and competitive times that led him to miss out on reaching Q3 on Saturday. "For sure, when you are a seven-time world champion, your team-mate is on pole position and you are out in Q2, it's a tough situation," he said. "But overall, we can also have a deep look that he was in front of Charles in Q1 and with the first set that he was one-tenth off in Q2. We were not far away from having the two cars out in Q2. "I can understand the frustration from Lewis. That's normal and he will come back. He was stuck in a DRS train, but when he was alone, the pace was good. "I'm sure that he will be back and he will perform." Fourth-placed Leclerc backed his team-mate. "At the end, we are one team and as much as I want to finish in front of Lewis, I want both of us to be successful and for Ferrari to be successful, and obviously this weekend has been a tough one for Lewis," Leclerc said. "But I have no doubt that it's a one-off and I'm sure the second part of the season will be a lot more positive." Hamilton, sixth in the drivers' standings, but without a podium for Ferrari this year, said he was looking forward to a much-needed "break from work" during F1's August holiday before the Dutch Grand Prix on the final weekend of this month.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Chelsea sign Dutch defender Hato from Ajax
Hato, who has been capped six times, agreed a seven-year contract with the Premier League club. The 19-year-old is Chelsea's eighth signing since the end of last season as boss Enzo Maresca strengths his squad to cope with the duel demands of the Premier League and Champions League this term. "I'm very excited, I'm so happy to be here," said Hato, who can operate in central defence or at left-back. "I thought a lot about my future and wanted to take the next step in my career. Chelsea is the best place for me to do that so I'm very happy." Hato joined Ajax's academy from hometown club Sparta Rotterdam in 2018 and signed his first professional contract aged 16 four years later. He scored four goals in 111 appearances for the Eredivisie giants, with his international debut coming as a substitute against Gibraltar in 2023. Club World Cup champions Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign at home to Crystal Palace on August 17. The Blues had signed Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Mamadou Sarr, Dario Essugo, Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez prior to landing Hato.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Japan's Yamashita wins Women's British Open to clinch first major
Yamashita carded a two-under par final round to hold off a strong challenge from England's Charley Hull on the Welsh links course. She finished on 11-under par for the tournament, with Hull and Japan's Minami Katsu ending in a tie for second place after final rounds of 69 left them on nine under. Just a day after turning 24, Yamashita became the third Japanese woman to win the British Open after Hinako Shibuno in 2019 and Ayako Okamoto in 1984. She joyously swigged from a bottle of champagne on the 18th green before wiping away tears of joy after sealing her victory. Yamashita's previous best performance in a major was a tie for second place at last year's Women's PGA Championship. She survived a stern test of her temperament on the last day after resuming with a one-stroke lead over South Korea's Kim A-lim. Having posted a bogey-free 65 on Friday, she had carded a two-over par 74 marred by erratic driving off the tee and struggles on the greens in the third round. Yamashita recovered her composure on Sunday as she embarked on a relentless march to the trophy. Prior to this year, Yamashita's highest finish at the Women's British Open was 13th in 2022, but she mastered the Porthcawl course in emphatic fashion. Kim tested Yamashita when she drew level at the top of the leaderboard with a birdie on the second hole. But Yamashita immediately regained the lead when Kim missed two putts to bogey the next hole. England's Mimi Rhodes made a hole-in-one on the fifth when her tee shot hit another ball and deflected in. However, that remarkable moment couldn't seize the spotlight from Yamashita. She moved three shots clear of Kim on the fourth hole with an ice-cool birdie while the South Korean bogeyed. A three-putt bogey on the seventh left Kim's title challenge in tatters. Hull made her charge with three birdies in four holes to pull within a stroke of Yamashita. She had been 11 strokes back at the start of the third round. The largest 36-hole deficit overcome to win any LPGA major all-time is 10 shots, but Yamashita snuffed out any chance of that record being broken. She carded birdies on the eighth and ninth to move three shots ahead. Hull, who finished second at both the British Open and the US Open in 2023, kept fighting. The 29-year-old dropped in an eight-foot birdie putt at the 12th and guided in another birdie to huge roars on the 14th. Yamashita's lead was down to one stroke with five holes left, but as the pressure mounted it was Hull who cracked. She slumped with bogeys on the 16th and 17th to gift the title to the nerveless Yamashita, who embraced her caddie and punched the air in delight after wrapping up the victory. © 2025 AFP
