BRNO, Czech Republic // Australia's world championship leader Casey Stoner ran away to his sixth victory of the season in the MotoGP race at the Czech Grand Prix Sunday.
The 25-year-old Stoner, winning here for the first time since 2007, the same year he went on to win his only MotoGP world crown, beat his Honda Repsol teammate, Andrea Dovizioso of Italy, by 6.532 seconds.
"I had a really tough battle with Andrea [Dovizioso] in the early laps, but once I got past him I realised the bike had enough speed," said Stoner. It was his 29th MotoGP grand prix victory.
"After a tough weekend it's really satisfying to win here," he said, after finishing in fine sunny weather that helped dry the circuit after Saturday's rain.
Dovizioso said he was pleased with his result and with a "really competitive team".
"I made a really good start, [and] I tried to cut Casey, but I made a mistake," he said.
Italy's Marco Simoncelli on another Honda came in third for his first ever podium placing at this level.
"We, as a team, were confident of achieving a podium position this season, and I am really happy to have got my first one," Simoncelli said.
Jorge Lorenzo, the defending world champion, lost more points to Stoner in finishing fourth.
With seven races to go in the season, Stoner now has a comfortable overall lead with 218 points, followed by Lorenzo (186) and Dovizioso (163).
Dani Pedrosa, the Spanish pole-sitter, crashed out from first place on lap three, followed by Britain's Cal Crutchlow and the Czech Karel Abraham.
Stoner took the lead and kept building the advantage until a few laps before the finish when he allowed the chasers to narrow the gap.
Lorenzo took the lead briefly in lap one but then he gave in to pressure from Dovizioso and Simoncelli, and he had to fight hard to shake off Yamaha's US rider, Ben Spies, who finished in fifth place.
Valentino Rossi, the Italian Ducati rider, came in sixth, failing to extend his record of five MotoGP victories on Brno's undulating 5.403-kilometre circuit about 180 kilometres south-east of the Czech capital, Prague.
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Jawan
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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SPECS
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
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