Marc Marquez emerges victorious at the Australian MotoGP

Marc Marquez emerges victorious in an epic battle against the leader, Jorge Martin, at the Australian MotoGP.

An unwavering Marc Marquez (31) narrowly defeated championship frontrunner Jorge Martin (26) in a fierce showdown at the Australian MotoGP on Sunday, with Francesco Bagnaia (27) settling for third place. The Spanish rider from Gresini had a challenging start but managed to recover and chase down Pramac’s Martin, ultimately overtaking him with four laps remaining to secure his fourth triumph at Phillip Island. Despite Marquez’s win, Martin extended his lead over Ducati’s reigning world champion Bagnaia to 20 points in the title race, with three more race weekends to go. Fourth place went to Fabio Di Giannantonio from Ducati-VR46, followed by Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini and Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli. “At one point, I believed it was impossible to catch Martin, but around lap five or six, I began to find my rhythm,” said Marquez, who also claimed victory in Australia in 2015, 2017, and 2019.

Marc Marquez

“While Martin pushed throughout the race, I conserved my tyre for the final assault.” Martin displayed impressive speed throughout the weekend, securing pole position and leading from start to finish in Saturday’s sprint race where Bagnaia finished fourth. Although the championship is effectively a battle between two contenders, Marquez’s win as a six-time world champion keeps him in contention.

Marc Marquez

But with a substantial 79-point deficit, he only has a slim chance of spoiling the celebration.

There will be a change of location next week as the circuit moves to Thailand, followed by Malaysia and then the final race of the season in Valencia.

On a sunny yet gusty afternoon, Martin maintained his lead as he navigated the first corner and accelerated with determination.

However, Marquez experienced significant wheelspin at the start, causing him to drop from second to seventh place while Bagnaia swiftly moved up to second from fourth.

Just moments before the race began, Marquez removed a tear-off from his helmet visor, but unfortunately, the clear plastic layer got caught under his rear wheel.

Marc Marquez

“I usually don’t remove the tear-off during the start because it’s risky, but this time I noticed something significant (on the visor), so I took it off,” he explained.

“I saw that it was impossible to retrieve it from under my wheel, and as soon as I released the clutch, I started spinning.”

After completing three laps, Martin had established a 0.7-second lead over the Italian rider.

However, Marquez regained his focus and began setting faster lap times, even achieving the first-ever sub-1 minute 28 seconds lap in race conditions at this picturesque waterfront circuit.

This impressive performance brought him back within reach of Bagnaia, who himself was closing in on Martin.

Marquez executed his maneuver on the Italian rider during the twelfth lap of the twenty-seven lap race, propelling himself into second place and setting the stage for an intense battle for first position.

With only ten laps remaining, Martin held a mere 0.225 seconds advantage over Marquez, while Bagnaia trailed behind by 1.7 seconds.

Seizing the opportunity, Marquez seized the lead with just four laps to go when Martin overshot turn four. This marked the first time he had taken the lead in the race.

Marc Marquez
Click HERE to learn more about this promotion (18+)

However, Martin swiftly retaliated and reclaimed the top spot on the following lap, only for Marquez to respond almost immediately, securing his third victory of the season.

Marquez made his move on the Italian on lap 12 of the 27-lap race to go second, signalling a battle was on for first.

Leave a reply