MotoGP Czech GP: Live commentary and updates from Brno

Worth noting: Ogura is the first Japanese polesitter in MotoGP since Taka Nakagami took pole at Aragon in 2020.  

The red, white and blue dancers and singers have made their way off the grid as what feels like a crucial race edges closer. Bezzecchi leads the championship on 180 points, where he's going to stay. Martin is on 165 but unlikely to score many. Marquez? He's on 115, in fifth place, and nobody will need to tell him what a great chance this is to take a chunk out of the leaders. Which might actually be good news for the likes of Bagnaia and Ogura, who will be thinking of nothing but the race win.

As the riders line up for the Czech national anthem, here's the Bezzecchi-less starting grid for today's race: 

Grid

All Stats

 

Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Time	km/h
1	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79		Aprilia	1'51.139	175.013
2	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49		Ducati	+0.211 1'51.350	174.681
3	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63		Ducati	+0.244 1'51.383	174.629
4	M. Marquez Ducati Team	93		Ducati	+0.297 1'51.436	174.546
5	D. Moreira Team LCR	11		Honda	+0.552 1'51.691	174.148
6	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25		Aprilia	+0.633 1'51.772	174.022
7	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37		KTM	+0.682 1'51.821	173.945
8	F. Morbidelli Team VR46	21		Ducati	+0.712 1'51.851	173.899
9	J. Martin Aprilia Racing Team	89		Aprilia	+0.770 1'51.909	173.809
10	F. Aldeguer Gresini Racing	54		Ducati	+0.905 1'52.044	173.599
11	J. Mir Honda HRC	36		Honda	+0.945 1'52.084	173.537
12	M. Viñales Tech 3	12		KTM	+0.914 1'52.053	173.585
13	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	+1.046 1'52.185	173.381
14	L. Marini Honda HRC	10		Honda	+1.124 1'52.263	173.261
15	E. Bastianini Tech 3	23		KTM	+1.218 1'52.357	173.116
16	J. Miller Pramac Racing	43		Yamaha	+1.281 1'52.420	173.019
17	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42		Yamaha	+1.367 1'52.506	172.886
18	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33		KTM	+1.417 1'52.556	172.809
19	C. Crutchlow Team LCR	35		Honda	+2.460 1'53.599	171.223
20	T. Razgatlioglu Pramac Racing	7		Yamaha	+1.487 1'52.626	172.702
View full results

Air temperature is 32 degrees and track temperature 48. With that in mind, we await news of tyre choices. Can anything but a medium rear work in these conditions?

Aprilia will need to look towards its satellite team, Trackhouse Racing, for hope in today's race. Ai Ogura will start on pole position, and if he can nail the start then it will be fascinating to watch what he can do from the front. The Japanese sophomore is of course best known for charging through the field in  the second half of races...

The Bezzecchi news pretty much guarantees another disastrous weekend for the works Aprilia squad, as Jorge Martin faces a double long lap penalty for taking out Bezzecchi (and others) last time out in Hungary. 

The biggest news overnight, in case you missed it, was Marco Bezzecchi being banned from today's race. Most uncharacteristically, he struck a marshal after falling out of yesterday's sprint. He's already been over to apologise, and was clearly emotional when doing so - but he is guaranteed zero points today regardless. Another chance for Marc Marquez to chip away at that points lead...

Good afternoon from central Europe! It's absolutely cooking ahead of the MotoGP Czech Grand Prix at the top of the hour - welcome to our live text coverage on Autosport and Motorsport.com!