Marc Marquez Wins 2013 Czech Grand Prix at Brno, Becomes First Rookie With Five Wins
Table of Contents
- Race Overview
- About the Brno Circuit
- Starting Grid and Early Laps
- The Fight for the Lead
- Marquez Breaks Away
- Final Classification
- What This Win Meant for the Championship
- Moto2 and Moto3 Notes
- Paddock Scene
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Articles
Race Overview
The Bwin Grand Prix Ceske Republiky took place on August 25, 2013, at the Automotodrom Brno in the Czech Republic. It was round eleven of the 2013 MotoGP season, following the previous round of the 2013 season.
Marc Marquez took the win for the Repsol Honda Team. Teammate Dani Pedrosa finished second. Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo, the reigning world champion, completed the podium in third.
The win was Marquez's fourth in a row and his fifth of the season. At just 20 years old, he became the first rookie in MotoGP history to win five races in a single year.
About the Brno Circuit
Grand Prix motorcycle racing in Brno goes back to 1930. For decades, riders raced on a public road course through nearby villages and the western edge of the city. That original track was named after T.G. Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. Brno is one of the longest-running venues on the Grand Prix calendar, having hosted racing in one form or another for well over eight decades by 2013.
A new purpose-built circuit opened in 1987, designed with hopes of one day attracting Formula 1 to the country. It was modified again in 1996. Today the track measures 5.403 km (3.357 miles), with 15 meters of width, six left-hand corners, and eight right-hand corners. Its longest straight stretch is 636 meters.
Brno sits in a natural bowl carved into forested hills outside the city. The elevation changes throughout the lap, and several sections are banked to give fans a clear view of the action from the grandstands. Riders often describe it as one of the more physical tracks on the calendar because of how the surface rises and falls through fast corners.
The layout rewards a mix of skills. The long back straight allows for a genuine top-speed run and late braking into the following corner, which was a common overtaking spot throughout the 2013 weekend. Further around the lap, a sequence of fast, uphill, and downhill corners tests a rider's confidence in front-end grip, since a small mistake on the changing camber can quickly turn into a crash. This combination of a power-friendly straight and a technical, flowing infield is part of why Brno has remained popular with both riders and fans since the modern circuit opened.
Weather is also a regular talking point at this event. Brno sits in a region where August afternoons can turn unsettled quickly, and the 2013 race weekend was no exception, with rain threatening across the schedule and teams keeping a close eye on the sky throughout the MotoGP race itself.
Starting Grid and Early Laps
Qualifying produced a surprise at the front. Monster Tech 3 Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow claimed his first MotoGP pole position. GO&FUN Honda Gresini's Alvaro Bautista lined up second, with Marquez third on the grid.
Pedrosa and Lorenzo shared the second row, alongside Tech 3 rookie Bradley Smith. Valentino Rossi, riding for Yamaha Factory Racing, started back in seventh.
When the lights went out, it was Lorenzo who grabbed the holeshot, leading into turn one ahead of Marquez, Pedrosa, and pole-sitter Crutchlow. Lorenzo pushed hard early and opened a gap of more than a second over the chasing Repsol Hondas.
The Fight for the Lead
Marquez and Pedrosa sat close together behind Lorenzo for much of the opening laps, content to let the Yamaha rider set the pace while they studied his lines. Crutchlow and Bautista trailed just behind, still in podium contention.
By lap eight, Marquez had closed the gap to Lorenzo, and the two began trading the lead. Neither rider backed down. Marquez tried several times to make a pass stick, only for Lorenzo to find a way back through using the Yamaha's cornering speed.
Behind the lead trio, Bautista also came under pressure as the race wore on, unable to hold off Rossi's late charge for fourth. Further back, the Ducati riders of Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden struggled to match the pace of the Hondas and Yamahas at the front, a pattern that had become familiar for the Italian manufacturer through much of the 2013 season.
Marquez Breaks Away
With four laps remaining, Marquez finally made his move stick, passing Lorenzo through turn three and holding the position through to the finish. A lap later, Pedrosa also got past Lorenzo, moving into second and setting off after his teammate.
Pedrosa closed in over the closing laps but ran out of time, crossing the line just 0.313 seconds behind Marquez. Lorenzo held on for third, 2.277 seconds off the win.
Rossi worked his way forward from his seventh-place start to finish fourth, ahead of Bautista in fifth. Stefan Bradl, Andrea Dovizioso, Nicky Hayden, and Andrea Iannone rounded out the top nine, with Aleix Espargaro completing the top ten.
Final Classification
MotoGP Race Classification, Brno, August 25, 2013:
| Pos | Rider | Team / Bike | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Repsol Honda Team, Honda | 42:50.729 |
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | Repsol Honda Team, Honda | +0.313 |
| 3 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha Factory Racing, Yamaha | +2.277 |
| 4 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha Factory Racing, Yamaha | +10.101 |
| 5 | Álvaro Bautista | GO&FUN Honda Gresini, Honda | +10.178 |
| 6 | Stefan Bradl | LCR Honda MotoGP, Honda | +19.807 |
| 7 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati Team, Ducati | +35.015 |
| 8 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati Team, Ducati | +35.354 |
| 9 | Andrea Iannone | Energy T.I. Pramac Racing, Ducati | +51.149 |
| 10 | Aleix Espargaro | Power Electronics Aspar, ART | +56.392 |
What This Win Meant for the Championship
The result mattered well beyond the trophy. Marquez extended his lead in the 2013 riders' standings to 26 points over Pedrosa and 44 points over Lorenzo, with seven rounds left on the calendar.
It was a striking position for a rider in his first premier-class season. Marquez had already shown flashes of that pace earlier in the year, including a heartbreaking crash from the lead at Mugello in June that had briefly slowed his title push. Brno showed that Setback had not changed his approach. He raced patiently, waited for the right moment, and made the pass count when it mattered.
That patience was becoming something of a trademark. Rather than force a pass early and risk a costly mistake on a track known for punishing aggression, Marquez sat behind Lorenzo and studied his lines for several laps before committing. It was a mature approach for a 20-year-old rookie going up against a two-time premier-class champion, and it was a big part of why he kept winning even as more experienced riders tried to find an answer to his pace.
For Lorenzo, the podium kept him mathematically in the fight, but the gap to his younger rival was growing race by race. For Pedrosa, another close second behind his teammate underlined how tight the battle inside Repsol Honda had become.
Riders unfamiliar with the scoring system can get up to speed with how MotoGP points and championships work. The title fight continued the following month at the next round of the championship, and Marquez eventually sealed the crown at Marquez's title-winning weekend in Valencia.
Moto2 and Moto3 Notes
The Moto2 race at Brno went to Mika Kallio, with Takaaki Nakagami second and Thomas Luthi third. Nakagami had claimed pole position, while Johann Zarco set the fastest lap of the race.
In Moto3, Luis Salom took the win ahead of Maverick Vinales and Jonas Folger. Alex Rins had started from pole, and Salom also posted the fastest lap on his way to victory. The Moto3 class in 2013 was packed with young talent who would go on to race in MotoGP, and this result was part of a strong season for Salom in the smaller category.
Paddock Scene
Race weekends at Brno are known for drawing large crowds who make the trip into the hills outside the city each August. Alongside the racing, the paddock hosted the usual mix of team hospitality areas and sponsor activations.
The Bwin Grand Prix Ceske Republiky also carried the sponsor's own paddock girl presence, a fixture of MotoGP race weekends throughout this era. Paddock girls appeared trackside on the grid, in the pit lane, and at podium presentations, wearing branded outfits tied to the race's title sponsor. Photos of them were a regular part of race weekend galleries published by MotoGP.com and other outlets covering the Czech round, alongside the on-track action.
This tradition has since faded across the paddock as MotoGP has moved away from grid girls at most rounds, making these 2013 Brno photos a small snapshot of how race weekends used to look.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2013 Czech Grand Prix at Brno?
Marc Marquez won the race for the Repsol Honda Team, finishing ahead of teammate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo.
How long is the Brno Circuit?
The Automotodrom Brno measures 5.403 km (3.357 miles), with 15 meters of width, six left corners, and eight right corners.
When was the Brno Circuit built?
The current circuit opened in 1987 and was modified in 1996. Motorcycle racing in Brno dates back to 1930, originally on a public road course.
How many wins did Marquez have after Brno in 2013?
The Brno win was his fourth straight and fifth of the 2013 season, making him the first rookie in MotoGP history to reach five wins in one year.
What was the championship gap after Brno?
Marquez led Pedrosa by 26 points and Lorenzo by 44 points, with seven rounds remaining in the season.
Who had pole position for the MotoGP race?
Cal Crutchlow took his first MotoGP pole position, though he crashed during the race while running in the top five.
Who won the Moto2 and Moto3 races that weekend?
Mika Kallio won Moto2, and Luis Salom won Moto3 at Brno in 2013.
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