A masterful wet track performance in a chaotic Moto2 race delivered Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Álex Márquez a superb second place podium at Brno today.

The rain interrupted Czech Grand Prix was decided over a frantic six lap dash that produced a dramatic contest for the tenth round of the Moto2 World Championship.

With light rain falling Márquez dashed from fifth on the second row of the grid to settle in second place, which he controlled all the way behind race winner Tom Lüthi.

It was a brave performance with Márquez still recovering from a neck injury suffered when he crashed out of the previous race in Germany. The Spanish star dedicated his podium to countryman Angel Nieto, the legendary 12+1 World Champion who passed away last Thursday.

The weather conditions conspired to spoil the race winning chances of Franco Morbidelli, who was leading the initial dry track race when it was red flagged on lap eight because of rain.

Race officials declared the restart for the Czech GP would be six laps over a distance of just 32.4kms.

But Morbidelli could not reproduce his fast wet track pace from Friday practice and was forced to fight for eighth place as he dropped back into the frantic fight of the chasing pack.

Morbidelli continues to lead the championships on 182 points, now 17 points clear of Lüthi with Márquez third on 133 points.

Álex Márquez: 2nd
“I feel really good to get this podium after my injuries in the previous race in Germany and then a difficult period in the summer break. I tried to go for the win for Ángel Nieto but today Tom Lüthi was too good. But I want to dedicate this podium to Nieto – the Maestro – and I will never forget him, he was a true legend of motorcycle racing.”

Franco Morbidelli: 8th
“I was struggling on the wet track, wasn’t that fast and got swallowed up by the group in the opening laps and the race was big fight for positions. I had to work really hard to get this eighth position; many hard battles and I risked a lot and nearly crashed a couple of times. But I’m happy to get some points and still lead the championship. Now we have to understand why I wasn’t fast today, I didn’t expect this after being strong in the rain on Friday.”

Michael Bartholemy – Team Principal
“I have mixed emotions after this result. I am very happy for Álex and this second place, which puts him back in third place in the championship and he can go to the next race in Austria with a lot of confidence. But for Franco it was shame to be leading the race in the dry when the red flag came out and then lose valuable points in the restarted race. Now it is important we go to Austria and go for a good result to maintain the lead in the championship.”