Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez took the win at Phillip Island in Australia on Sunday to put him one step closer to the 2017 title with just two races remaining. Meanwhile, his title rival, Andrea Dovizioso, finished down in 13th place after a disastrous weekend all round.
Valentino Rossi put in a superb fight to finish second, the Doctor battling his own teammate, Maverick Vinales, who eventually finished behind him in third and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Johann Zarco, who was like a dog with a bone that just wouldn't give up. The amount of lead and positions changes involving the young Frenchman were extraordinary as he refused to give up, eventually taking the flag in fourth place.
It was a fantastic race! The adrenaline levels were very high throughout all the 27 laps.,โ said Yamaha Racings Massimo Meregalli. โSince Valentino and Maverick decided to use two different tyre options, I wasn't able to relax, as I was unsure which was the right one, but in the end both choices seemed to work out well as both riders finished on the rostrum.โ
โThis double podium result is very important for the team, especially after the challenging race in Motegi, and gives us a boost for Malaysia. This morning we made a good step in the wet and this improvement is another positive point that we take away from this Grand Prix. I want to thank the riders, team members and engineers for their hard work. We aim to continue this momentum in Malaysia as we still fight for the Team and Constructor titles.ย
With wet and cold conditions in the morning's warm-up, temperatures rose and the sun dried the track for the afternoon's race, and all 23 riders took advantage of the conditions.
Cal Crutchlow finished fifth with Andrea Iannone, who was also battling for the lead at one stage sixth, Jack Miller, who took the lead at the start and led for several laps before falling back, seventh Alex Rins, 8th Pol Espargaro 9th and Bradley Smith 10th.
The MotoGP series now moves onto Malaysia for the final in the three back to back to back events.
GP of Australia โ Race classification:
1. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team - 40'49.772
2. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - +1.799
3. Maverick VIรALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP - +1.826
4. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - +1.842
5. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda - +3.845
6. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - +3.871
7. Jack MILLER, EG 0,0 Marc VDS - +5.619
8. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR - +12.208
9. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - +16.251
10. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing - +16.262
11. Scott REDDING, OCTO Pramac Racing - +21.652
12. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team - +21.668
13. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team - +21.692
14. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - +26.110
15. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team - +26.168
16. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS - +26.252
17. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team - +36.377
18. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing - +39.654
19. Sam LOWES, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - +40.400
20. Hector BARBERA, Reale Avintia Racing - +45.901
21. Danilo PETRUCCI, OCTO Pramac Racing - +48.768
22. Broc PARKES, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - +57.711
Not Classified
Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini - 20 Laps
MotoGP World Standing 2017:
1. Marc MARQUEZ, Honda - 269
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati - 236
3. Maverick VIรALES, Yamaha - 219
4. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha - 188
5. Dani PEDROSA, Honda - 174
6. Johann ZARCO, Yamaha - 138
7. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati - 117
8. Danilo PETRUCCI, Ducati - 111
9. Cal CRUTCHLOW, Honda - 103
10. Jonas FOLGER, Yamaha - 84
11. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Ducati - 70
12. Jack MILLER, Honda - 65
13. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia - 62
14. Scott REDDING, Ducati - 61
15. Andrea IANNONE, Suzuki - 60
16. Pol ESPARGARO, KTM - 49
17. Alex RINS, Suzuki - 46
18. Loris BAZ, Ducati - 45
19. Karel ABRAHAM, Ducati - 30
20. Tito RABAT, Honda - 29
21. Hector BARBERA, Ducati - 25
22. Bradley SMITH, KTM - 20
23. Michele PIRRO, Ducati - 18
24. Mika KALLIO, KTM - 11
25. Sam LOWES, Aprilia - 5
26. Katsuyuki NAKASUGA, Yamaha - 4
27. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Suzuki โ 1
