Winners and losers from MotoGP's Czech Grand Prix

Winner: Aprilia

On Friday, it looked like Aprilia was going to be in trouble. The first day of the Czech GP weekend was unconvincing to say the least, with Marco Bezzecchi crashing twice. Returning champion Jorge Martin took things easy, understandably, in the first practice session, which put him outside the top 15.

The duo managed to get straight into Q2, but soon things started to unravel slightly during qualifying. Bezzecchi went down late on at Turn 1, which brought out the yellow flags. Luckily, he had already set a time which was already good enough for fourth, but Martin could only take 12th on the grid.

The sprint race was eventful for both riders. Bezzecchi finished fourth after managing to slip past Bagnaia due to the latter's tyre pressure issues, but Enea Bastianini found a way past the Aprilia on his Tech3 KTM. Meanwhile, Martin finished 11th after a quiet race. A good performance for the factory team, but not quite on the level of the KTMs.

The main race was where Aprilia earned its stripes this weekend. Bezzecchi managed to lead the race after getting the better of Marc on the opening lap and took advantage of Bagnaia's mistake at the last corner to snatch the lead into Turn 1.

Marc took the lead back on lap seven, and Pedro Acosta looked like a threat during the middle of the race, but Bezzecchi soon stretched the Aprilia's legs to secure a strong second. Returnee Martin also put in a good performance to finish seventh after climbing up through the field.

Aprilia Racing's CEO Massimo Rivola was delighted with the weekend, describing Bezzecchi's performance as "practically perfect" while also being pleased with Martin's return to the track. The Aprilia factory team appears much more of a cohesive whole now. It'll be interesting to see if this is a platform they'll build or leap from after the summer break.

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing Team

Loser: Alex Marquez

Whoops. Alex Marquez had a shocker at Brno, walking away with exactly nil points after the Czech GP weekend, allowing older brother Marc to stretch his championship lead.

While qualifying was only average with eighth spot on the grid, his start in the sprint race was truly disastrous, with an uncontrollable amount of wheelspin dropping him down the pack. Things soon worsened when the younger Marquez brother came into contact with his team-mate Fermin Aldeguer at Turn 3. He took it easy from then on to an unremarkable 17th-place finish.

The main race was short one as he had a look on the inside of Joan Mir and went down early on, taking the luckless Honda rider with him and earning a long-lap penalty for the next MotoGP round in Austria in the process. A weekend to forget for Mr Consistency.

Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Winner: KTM

With each passing race, the orange bikes continue to climb higher and higher up the grid. However, qualifying continues to be a bugbear for the Austrian manufacturer, as evidenced by Acosta lining up seventh with Bastianini in 11th. The other factory KTM of 2020 Czech GP winner Brad Binder was only 19th at the track where he took his and KTM's first victory.

The rocket KTM's race pace is excellent however, as shown throughout the sprint and main race. The sprint race was exceptionally strong for Acosta, while Bastianini put in his most convincing showing yet since moving to the Tech3 KTM squad this year. Acosta led, but this was in truth academic due to Marc's tyre-pressure tactics. While Acosta took second, Bastianini showed super pace to finish third.

The main race was also fruitful for Acosta, who ran almost all the race in third, holding off Bagnaia towards the end when 'Pecco' made a late charge to try to reclaim a place on the podium. Bastianini really should have been on the podium as well. The Tech3 rider was swiftly going through the field but made a mistake at Turn 3, which led him to going down from fourth place. At least the remaining KTM bikes finished in the top 10.

If the orange rockets improve their qualifying, they might pose a serious threat to Ducati's stronghold in the second half of the season. Watch this space.

Pol Espargaro, Red Bull KTM Tech3

Loser: Joan Mir

There was no mistaking it, there it was. The red bike was fifth on the grid. Mir managed to equal his best qualifying result as a Honda rider to line up on the second row at Brno. However, like Alex Marquez, Mir also walked away from the weekend with no points.

In the sprint, he lost several positions as the lights went out due to his traction control not activating properly. At Turn 1, things got worse as Mir was forced to run wide due to his cold rear tyre. It took several laps for it to get up to temperature, but it was too late by that point. He finished out of the points.

The main race was even worse for the 2020 MotoGP champion, who was taken off by Alex Marquez early on. One step forward then one step back for Mir, whose Honda retirements continue to rack up.

Joan Mir, Honda HRC

Winner: Raul Fernandez

Raul Fernandez slipped under the radar due to the results of the factory Aprilia and KTM squads, but the Trackhouse rider had one of his most convincing weekends to date.

Putting his bike sixth on the grid in Q2, the Spaniard dropped slightly back in the sprint race before recovering to take P6 at the flag.

Fernandez went one better in the main race and finished in fifth. There wasn't any particular drama during his race, and that's as it should be. The Spaniard is working in some consistency into his MotoGP weekends at last.

Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing

Loser: Honda

While Mir had a depressing weekend, it's fair to say that Honda itself was simply not at the races either. While Aprilia and KTM were putting pressure on Marc Marquez in the opening stages of the race, and Yamaha wasn't fading as badly as usual, the Honda bikes were not in the mix.

Mir was Honda's only hope, and when he stumbled down the order in the sprint, none of the other Honda riders could manage any heroics. Johann Zarco managed eighth on his LCR Honda, but that was all the Japanese manufacturer took away from the sprint.

With high temperatures on Sunday, the Honda riders started to struggle with rear grip, which pretty much ruled them out of contention for the higher point-paying positions. Honda's breathless RC213V bike continues to be desperately short of straightline speed, and Brno's Horsepower Hill highlighted that disadvantage. Mir attributed his accident partly to the Honda's lack of grunt too. A rethink during the summer break at Honda is advised.

Johann Zarco, Team LCR Honda

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