As always, Phillip Island delivered a thrilling race, with Gresini’s Marc Marquez securing his third win of the season after an epic battle with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). The Australian GP had us on the edge of our seats across the weekend, and these are the biggest Talking Points from Round 17!
“In Australia, the insects are pretty big”
Marquez took victory in simply sensational fashion, having botched the launch from the line due to a bizarre reason. The eight-time World Champion saw his tear off get stuck beneath his rear tyre, generating an incredible amount of wheel spin which saw him drop into mid-pack by the opening corner despite a front row start.
Marquez: “With riders, we have an agreement to avoid removing the tear off on the grid. This time, I didn’t have a choice. As we know here, in Australia, the insects are pretty big. And when I was picking the front device, there was one on my visor. I couldn’t see the lights. And I said, I will arrive to the first corner and I won’t have time, so I decided to remove it. I thought with the wind it would have gone away, but it went to the rear wheel!”
Pecco Bagnaia started fifth on the grid, and had the perfect view of the incident as he then had to take evasive action.
Bagnaia: ”As soon as I saw him removing the tear off, I said it will go back to him because the wind was pushing from the outside. It was exactly what I was expecting”
"I almost crashed"
Jorge Martin opened up a 20 point advantage in the title race in Australia thanks to a Tissot Sprint win and Sunday P2, with the Pramac rider ultimately having to settle for second after a brilliant battle with Marquez. While not taking the win, he did pick up crucial points in the Championship, and things could have been a whole lot worse.
Martin:“In the middle of the race, I started to feel a bit better but then I almost crashed at Turn 1. Pecco overtook me, but straight away I was attacking back."
“I tried to stay in first position for the last few laps, but Marc had nothing to lose, so it was much more difficult from my side to battle. I tried to be close, but he had something else. Maybe not in terms of speed, but in terms of the risk that he can take, or the risk that I can take.”
“I didn't like his behaviour”
On Saturday, Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) crashed out of the Tissot Sprint following a high-speed collision, with the Italian earning a long lap penalty for his role in the incident. Following the Sprint, Viñales didn’t hide his feelings on the matter, with Bezzecchi more than unimpressed by the #12’s handling of the situation.
Bezzecchi: “What can I say? For me, what I didn't really like was the behaviour of Maverick, but for the penalty, to be honest, I won't complain, I did my long lap.
“We talked in the medical centre and he told me, ‘No problem, the important thing is that we are fine’. And then he came to the interviews and was very angry with me!
“I didn't like his behaviour immediately after the crash. If it was the reverse, I would go to check how is the other rider instead of doing the middle finger and say ‘f**k’ to me many times after we crash at 300 km/h per hour. “But anyway, the important thing is that we are fine.”
"I got a mega start"
Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished P11 at his home GP, with the #43 recovering from some early drama to work through the pack and score points, though his challenge faded towards the latter stages.
"I got a mega start. Alex Marquez decided to turn in on me, and then I was dead last at Turn 2, and pulled my way back. I was trying to chase Raul [Fernandez] and the whole group there down, but I just gave it a little bit too much.
"Probably with three laps to go, the front tyre sort of went, and then you have to start relying on the rear to bring it around. I let Fabio [Quartararo] slip by when I was pushing to try and battle with those boys, but I couldn’t do much more to be honest."
“It was a nightmare”
Honda has shown progress with the RC213V, as both Luca Marini (Repsol Honda) and Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) scored points at Phillip Island and performed well throughout the weekend. However, Joan Mir faced another tough race, ending in a late DNF on Sunday.
Mir: “I don’t understand what happened honestly. I struggled the whole race with an unexpected problem I didn’t have throughout the weekend. I don’t know what to say.
"We don’t understand from where this vibration has come from. It seems like I am the only one who has it. It’s very difficult, so we will try to understand, we will work and we will not give up”
“It’s a bittersweet feeling”
Before the Australian GP, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) revealed that he would undergo surgery to address ongoing collarbone issues stemming from a heavy crash in Austria. Despite these challenges, the VR46 rider delivered an impressive performance, securing P7 in the Sprint and narrowly missing out on a podium in Sunday's race, where he finished fourth. Though proud of his efforts, the Italian expressed disappointment at falling just short of his first podium finish of the season.
Di Giannantonio: Maybe the best performances of the year. It’s a bittersweet feeling. I’m really happy, but not that happy because I don’t have a trophy with me and I think today it was possible to get it. We have to look at things in a positive way. After the injury in Austria, we’ve come back to a super good level, maybe the best of the year.