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MotoGP Grand Prix of Czech Republic 2019: Race Schedule, Live Stream, Top Riders
August 2, 2019
MotoGP returns from its summer break this weekend with the 2019 Czech Republic Grand Prix.
The Brno Circuit has produced five different winners in the last five years, with Andrea Dovizioso the defending champion this time around.
Marc Marquez is the leader in the riders' championship, though, and he'll be targeting his sixth win of the year.
Schedule
Saturday
8:55 a.m. BST/3:55 a.m. ET: FP3
12:30 p.m. BST/7:30 a.m. ET: FP4
1:10 p.m. BST/8:10 a.m. ET: Q1
1:35 p.m. BST/8:45 a.m. ET: Q2
Sunday
8:40 a.m. BST/3:40 a.m. ET: Warm Up
1 p.m. BST/8 a.m. ET: Race
Live-stream links: BT Sport App (UK), beIN Sports Connect (USA)
Top Riders
Marc Marquez, Honda
Marquez is bidding to win his sixth MotoGP World Championship this season, and he's on course to do so after dominating his competitors over the first nine races:
The Spaniard won five of those nine and finished second on three occasions.
The only race in which he did not achieve a top-two finish was the Grand Prix of the Americas, which he did not finish.
Last time out, Marquez completed a perfect decade of results at the German Grand Prix:
Per MotoGP's official website, he's eager to get back to racing after a month off, but he's aware of how difficult it is to win at Brno:
"I am ready to get back to work and Brno is a fun circuit to ride. We finished the first half of the season in a very strong way and now we must keep our focus to continue this. Brno is a circuit where lots of riders are often strong so we can't take anything for granted."
Marquez won there in 2017 and 2013, as well as in Moto2 in 2012, so he's likely to finish well in Brno even if he doesn't take the chequered flag on this occasion.
Maverick Vinales, Yamaha
Maverick Vinales is 100 points behind Marquez after nine races, so it's unlikely he'll be making a challenge for his compatriot's place at the top of the standings this year.
However, he entered the summer break on the back of two excellent results:
Vinales won the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen before finishing second behind Marquez in Germany, the results earning him more points than the first seven races combined.
He's hoping to pick up where he left off before the break:
Per Crash.net's Peter McLaren, Vinales said he "went on holiday feeling very happy, with the conviction that we're on the right track and with the peace of mind that you get after a job well done."
"Brno is one of my favourite circuits," he added, "so I'll give it my 100 per cent to continue improving step by step."
The 24-year-old retired in the Czech Grand Prix last year, but in 2017 he managed to finish third.
If he's able to restart the season in the same way he ended it before the break, another podium finish could well be on the cards.