Last lap heroics help Marquez clinch first premier class victory at Phillip Island; Rossi keeps lead with 4th

David Bodapati October 18, 2015

334 3 minutes read

Phillip Island, 18 October 2015: Marc Marquez won his first premier class race at Phillip Island after the Repsol Honda Team rode an astonishing final lap to snatch victory from Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone who finished in second and third place respectively. Rossi finished fourth to keep his championship lead.

Today’s Australian Grand Prix turned into a four-way battle for the lead with Marquez, Lorenzo, Iannone and Valentino Rossi trading places throughout the twenty-seven lap contest. Such was the intensity of the fight for victory that Marquez’s finishing time beat the previous Australian Grand Prix record race time by thirteen seconds. Marquez’s final lap was completed in a time of 1’29.280 – the quickest lap of the race – during which time he managed to overtake Lorenzo at MG corner and power through the final two turns to take the chequered flag 0.249 seconds ahead of his compatriot. Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone rode a brilliant race and after challenging for victory, managed to resist the attention of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Rossi on the final lap to take the final podium spot by just one tenth of a second ahead of his fellow Italian.

The Australian Grand Prix took place in fine weather conditions with the track temperature peaking at 38°C at the start of the race and only dropping by a couple of degrees by the final lap. The conditions were almost a carbon-copy of what they were during Free Practice 4 and qualifying yesterday and so tyre choice for the race mimicked that of yesterday’s sessions. The newly-developed asymmetric front slick was the unanimous choice for the race, with all twenty-five participants selecting it for its balance of warm-up performance, braking feel and cornering stability. For the rear tyre, sixteen riders – including all the factory Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha entrants – selected the medium compound rear slick for the race, with the remaining nine riders opting for the soft compound rear slick. Tyre performance during the race was quick and consistent, highlighted by the top seven riders completing the lap in quicker time than the previous overall race time record.

Lorenzo’s second place in Phillip Island helps him close the points gap to the current championship leader, Valentino Rossi to just eleven points with two rounds remaining. Marquez’s win sees him consolidate third place on the points table, a further 63 points behind Lorenzo.

The race began at a rapid pace, with Lorenzo, Iannone, Marc, Dani, Rossi and Crutchlow leading the way. Lorenzo pushed at the front trying to open a gap as the other riders jostled for position behind him. By lap seven, Marc had slotted in behind Lorenzo as the other riders continued to battle, constantly swapping position. By lap sixteen, Dani had established himself in 5th – fending off Crutchlow – as a small gap opened up to him and the leading four riders.

Despite constantly passing one another, Marc, Rossi and Iannone caught up with Lorenzo and on lap eighteen Marc took the lead briefly, but it only lasted three laps. Marc, Rossi and Iannone continued to fight and Marc dropped down to 4th with just two laps to go. However, he never gave up hope – passing Rossi on the penultimate lap into 3rd – and on the final lap making up two places whilst recording the fastest lap of the race and taking the victory by just 0.249 seconds over Lorenzo.

The top four riders crossed the line with barely a second separating them with Dani bringing home 5th place. Marc’s win here is his 50th in his career and his first in the MotoGP class at Phillip Island – only victory at Motegi eludes him – from circuits on the current calendar. Honda remain the most successful manufacturer at Phillip Island in the MotoGP era with six victories.

Australian MotoGP Top Ten Race Classification

Pos	Rider	Team	Race Time	Gap	Front spec	Rear spec	Tyres
1	Marc MARQUEZ	Repsol Honda Team	40’33.849		Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone
2	Jorge LORENZO	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	40’34.098	0.249	Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone
3	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati Team	40’34.779	0.930	Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone
4	Valentino ROSSI	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	40’34.907	1.058	Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone
5	Dani PEDROSA	Repsol Honda Team	40’38.911	5.062	Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone
6	Maverick VIÑALES	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	40’40.649	6.800	Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone
7	Cal CRUTCHLOW	LCR Honda	40’43.224	9.375	Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone
8	Pol ESPARGARO	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	40’52.250	18.401	Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone
9	Aleix ESPARGARO	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	40’53.888	20.039	Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone
10	Bradley SMITH	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	40’54.506	20.657	Asymmetric	Medium	Bridgestone