Sports SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015

BRNO: rider Robin Mulhauser from Switzerland cuts a curve during the first Moto2 free practice at the Masaryk circuit in rno,B Czech Republic, yesterday. The Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Czech Republic is scheduled for tomorrow. — AP Lorenzo tops MotoGP free practices at Brno

BRNO: Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo, on Marquez of Spain, on a , pionship leader noon session. lowing a crash early in the after- a Yamaha, set the fastest time in came second, just 0.014sec on a Yamaha. The nine-time With the tarmac heated up to noon session. “ is yesterday’s eventful, crash-filled behind Lorenzo after topping the world champion across all cate- 50 degrees Celsius (122 OK!” the clinic later said on MotoGP free practice ahead of the afternoon practice.Italy’s Andrea gories, Rossi leads the overall Fahrenheit), Marquez ran off the Twitter. Dovizioso, Bradley Smith Czech Republic Grand Prix in Brno Iannone, on a Ducati, took the standings with 195 points after 10 track in the morning practice and and also crashed today. In scorching heat, the 28- third spot, trailing Lorenzo by out of the season’s 18 MotoGP crashed at the end of the after- at the end of the second practice. year-old MotoGP champion from 0.251sec. races, ahead of Lorenzo with 186 noon session. Defending Moto2 champion 2010 and 2012 clocked 1min Marquez’s team-mate and and Marquez, the 2013 and 2014 Rossi also crashed in the after- Tito Rabat dominated the practice 56.499sec on the 5.4-kilometre compatriot Dani Pedrosa, the overall champion, with 139. noon but resumed the practice, in his category while Moto3 (3.36-mile) circuit in the morning 2014 Brno winner, came fourth Among the top six riders yester- while Pedrosa was less fortunate, championship leader Danny Kent practice. ahead of the Italian duo of Andrea day, only Marquez and Iannone walking straight to the mobile of Britain topped the Moto3 prac- Reigning champion Marc Dovizioso on a Ducati and cham- managed to improve in the after- clinic with ice on his left foot fol- tice standings. —AFP Biles surges to lead at US gymnastics championships

INDIANAPOLIS: Even ’ bad nights weakest discipline - but followed with a work- end up looking good. The two-time defending manlike 14.8 on beam and then an uncharac- world champion struggled during the opening teristically sloppy floor exercise, her favorite round of the US womenís gymnastics champi- event. She typically turns her 90 seconds on the onships Thursday, slipping on floor exercise large blue mat into her personal canvas high- before recovering late to post a total of 61.100, lighted by propulsive tumbling runs that chal- 1.4 points clear of and 2.4 lenge the laws of physics while doing it with a points ahead of reigning Olympic gold medal- smile that can send a charge through the are- ist Gabrielle Douglas. na. Not this time. Biles under rotated during her Biles hasnít lost a meet in two years and is final pass and ended up on the ground. The considered a heavy favorite to be atop the crowd let out a telltale ìooooohhhhî before podium at the 2016 Olympics but needed to Biles quickly recovered. It’s telling of her talent drill her on the final rotation to establish that she still managed a 14.9 - one of the better some breathing room. scores of the night - in what felt like a disap- Three-time Olympic medalist pointment. hopped off the beam and will enter Saturdayís final round in fourth place in the final major Breathtaking event before national team coordinator Martha Biles entered the final rotation in small dan- Karolyi picks the six-member team that will ger of trailing for the first time since her eight- head to Glasgow for world championships in meet win streak began at nationals two years October. Bilesí spot is locked up but the ago. That danger vanished in the time it took dynamic 18-year-old didnít exactly look like her for Biles to complete a breathtaking Amanar. dominant self. Packing 2 twists into a split second, Biles land- Things started promising enough with a ed with her feet seemingly magnetized to the INDIANAPOLIS: performs in the floor exercise at the US women’s gymnas- 15.15 on uneven bars - which she considers her floor. AP— tic championships Thursday, in Indianapolis. — AP