Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi finished second in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix after a hard fought race saw him right up battling with the best of them through the entire race.
Rossi had a strong start from seventh on the grid and soon found himself in fifth position after the first few corners.
He continued to push hard on lap 1, crossing the line in fourth place, right behind his teammate.
An early battle with Johann Zarco saw him move back to fifth, but he was soon riding in third place, with 25 laps to go, when Marc Marquez and Zarco went wide.
Passing Viรฑales, the Doctor looked to be on a roll when he overtook Jack Miller for the lead two laps later, but chaos was about to ensue.
Zarco and Marquez made a comeback as Rossi went wide in turn 4, with 18 laps remaining, and Miller did the same shortly after.
The Italian didnโt hesitate to fight his way back to the lead again, but he was unable to break away as the battle at the front continued.
The Doctor was riding in second place when, with eight laps to go, a touch of Marquezโ front wheel pushed him back to fourth.
Yet, a manic four-lap dash at the end of the race saw the nine-time World Champion retaliate. He set consistent personal best times in sectors one and two to start the last lap in second place.
With a two-second gap to Marquez, he focussed on holding off Zarco and Viรฑales and took the chequered flag in second position, 1.799s from first. This result earned Rossi his 17th podium finish at the Phillip Island track.
โI enjoyed the race very much,โ he said. โThis track is unbelievable and it was a great race! All the riders in front were very aggressive, so you need to be more 'stupid', more aggressive, than they are. It was a great battle with Zarco, Iannone, Marquez and Viรฑales. I wanted to try the maximum to be on the podium. In the end I'm in second place and I'm very happy. I want to say thanks to all my team, they always work very hard, and thanks to all of Yamaha.โ
