It wasn't a perfect day for Bradl but the German was happy to walk away with the championship lead again.
"I immediately noticed that I could ride faster than the guys ahead of me," Bradl said. "So I saw that I quickly could reach them and take over the lead. I also knew that Alex (DeAngelis) can indeed ride me behind good, but in the lead the work is more difficult. With my attack on the last lap he expected it, but it came from we touched and I am glad that I finished the race at all. I would have liked to win, but we have taken over the championship lead back and we'll see how it goes in Malaysia."
Equally exciting was the battle for third, waged between Claudio Corti and Marc Marquez, the Team CaixaCatalunya Repsol ‰ÛÒ Suter rider and championship leader who started on the back row. Marquez had been penalised by race direction for a practice incident, but that only seemed to serve as motivation.
The young Spaniard made quick progress through the field, moving into 16th ending the first lap and fourth by lap 12 of 25. Now he had Corti in his sights. Marquez caught the young Italian on the 16th lap and made the pass a lap later. It was clear Marquez had the faster motorcycle and he was able to rebuff every challenge.
On the final lap Corti had one last go out of MG Corner, a slow right, but he wheelied and Marquez jetted ahead to solidify his position, denying Corti his first ever Moto2 podium by .113s.
The exercise in damage control paid off for Marquez. Though he lost the championship lead to Bradl, it's only by three points, 254 to 251.
"The race was very tough, the most difficult of the year," Marquez said after the race.
"The high wind made it even more complicated and, as the time of the race got near, I must confess that I was getting nervous, because starting last the race would always be very difficult. I was lucky to do a great start, which I think was the most important. With the team we had set us the aim to gather points, but in the end, the third position is a result I would signed for before starting, because from the last place, to lose only four points from Bradl is a result with which we must be very happy.
"I want to thank the team for the job they did during the weekend, because they prepared two bikes and worked a lot, finishing in the early morning, so this podium is for all of them," the young Spaniard concluded.
Main Photo: Alex De Angelis took his second win in a row at Phillip Island
