Moto GP

Magnificent Marquez Takes Win Number Five And First Ever Points At The Island

Posted:

Monday, October 19th, 2015

4:22 AM

Repsol Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez returned to the top step of the podium in today‰Ûªs Australian Grand Prix, taking his fifth win of the year in breathtaking style after a race-long four-way fight that commentators described as ‰ÛÏthe race of the decade‰Û

Jorge Lorenzo closed in on Valentino Rossi with a second place finish at Phillip Island

Movistar Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo crossed the line just .249 of a second behind Marquez, with the result moving him a couple of points closer to his team-mate and world Championship rival Valentino Rossi.

"I think this was the most exciting race of the season and for sure one of the best in the last few years." Lorenzo commented. "To have four of the fastest riders fighting for victory in all the corners for the whole race is unbelievable.

"To be honest, I didn't expect that Andrea and Valentino would be able to stay with us. I also expected Marc to be stronger than me, but in the race I saw that he had some problems in some corners and so when I passed him again I tried to push to the limit and create an advantage, but it wasn't enough.

"In the slow corners I lost out a little bit, because my front tyre's life was going down, so I couldn't lean in completely, so he was able to recover a lot of time in these corners. I didn't want to crash in the last braking zone and that's probably why Marc was able to brake later and take the victory.

"It's a really good feeling to close in on Valentino in the championship. The bike was working really well and we did a good job throughout the whole weekend. It was just a pity that this front tyre on the bike was struggling a little bit, but we are a step closer in the championship.

"It could have been more but it also could have been less, but it's enough. At some point you have to be happy, look ahead to continue delivering this good work during the last two races."

Andrea Iannone put in the race of his life to finish on the podium

Ducati's Andrea Iannone produced what was probably one of the best races of his MotoGP career at Phillip Island, when he finished in third position, less than a second away from the race win.

‰ÛÏWhat an incredible race!" Iannone enthused. "It was really important for me to finish on the podium because here we had the possibility of doing a good race, but the result was neither easy nor a foregone conclusion.

"We all had a great battle, passing each other many times, and it was an incredible spectacle, I hope also for the people watching at home. The team fully deserved this result and it was also important for me because we are getting better all the time, race after race.

"If you look at last year‰Ûªs race, here we have made incredible progress, and no one expected this. On the second lap something really unusual happened, because there was a seagull in front of me trying to get out of the way: I hit the poor thing head on, but in the end it was like a good luck kiss!‰Û

Valentino Rossi holds an 11 point lead in the championship standings with two races remaining in this years world championship.

Valentino Rossi crossed the line, right on the rear wheel of Iannone to limit the points damage in this years championship race, with Dani Pedrosa rounding out the top five finishing some four seconds back from the lead pack.

"Today the results could have been better, but this is OK too." Rossi said. "It could have been better if I would have been able to overtake Iannone in the last lap and it was a shame I wasn't able to stay on the podium.

"I had a good pace and good speed during the race, so arriving in fourth place is a pity, but it was still a good race. We already said that race results was going to be important ten rounds ago, but now it's really important and it will be very tough until the last race."

Rookie Jack Miller aboard his LCR Honda was not only again the best of four riders campaigning the Open category Hondas, but top finisher in the lower-spec Open class for the first time. Riding in his home GP, the 20-year-old finished an excellent 15th, his sixth finish in the points in the premier class.

Australian Anthony West, taking the place of injury victim Karel Abraham (AB Motoracing Honda RC213V-RS), finished 23rd.

Aussie Jack Miller finish 15th and as the leading Open Class bike in a race that only saw one rider retire, with the remaining 23 riders all finishing on the lead lap

Round 16 - Phillip Island Race Results
1 Marc Marquez 40'33.849 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 0.249 ESP YAMAHA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
3 Andrea Iannone 0.930 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
4 Valentino Rossi 1.058 ITA YAMAHA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
5 Dani Pedrosa 5.062 ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
6 Maverick Vinales 6.800 ESP SUZUKI Team Suzuki MotoGP
7 Cal Crutchlow 9.375 GBR HONDA CWM LCR Honda
8 Pol Espargaro 18.401 ESP YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Aleix Espargaro 20.039 ESP SUZUKI Team Suzuki MotoGP
10 Bradley Smith 20.657 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
11 Scott Redding 21.846 GBR HONDA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS
12 Danilo Petrucci 22.840 ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
13 Andrea Dovizioso 29.168 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
14 Alvaro Bautista 37.244 ESP APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
15 Jack Miller 40.192 AUS HONDA CWM LCR Honda
16 Hector Barbera 48.263 ESP AVINTIA Avintia Racing
17 Yonny Hernandez 48.572 COL DUCATI Pramac Racing
18 Loris Baz 48.677 FORWARD YAMAHA Forward Racing
19 Eugene Laverty 50.201 HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
20 Mike De Meglio 50.262 FRA AVINTIA Avintia Racing
21 Stefan Bradl 50.277 GER FORWARD YAMAHA Forward Racing
22 Toni Elias 1'20.942 SPA FORWARD YAMAHA Forward Racing
23 Anthony West 1'23.454 AUS HONDA AB Motoracing
24 Nicky Hayden DNF USA HONDA Drive M7 Aspar

Philip Island MotoGP Podium

Championship Standings
1 Valentino Rossi 296 pts
2 Jorge Lorenzo 285 pts
3 Marc Marquez 222 pts
4 Andrea Iannone 188 pts
5 Dani Pedrosa 165 pts
6 Bradley Smith 158 pts
7 Andrea Dovizioso 153 pts
8 Cal Crutchlow 107 pts
9 Danilo Petrucci 97 pts
10 Pol Espargaro 96 pts
11 Aleix Espargaro 88 pts
12 Maverick Vinales 84 pts
13 Scott Redding 78 pts
14 Yonny Hernandez 49 pts
15 Hector Barbera 30 pts
18 Jack Miller 17 pts

Top Image: Marc Marquez picked up his fifth win of 2015 at Phillip Island

Credit: Honda