Australian MotoGP – Race Results

Marquez wins a showdown with Vinales for victory in the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island, which ended when the Yamaha rider fell on the final lap.

After some frantic early laps, Vinales – quickest in practice – worked his way to the front but Marquez immediately saw the danger and put a hard pass on Crutchlow to keep in touch with the #12.

The pair pulled clear, Marquez sitting up at the end of the straight as he stalked his opponent while dark clouds gathered overhead.

Marquez duly made his victory move along the home straight as the last lap began. Vinales later tried to retaliate over Lukey Heights, but lost the rear under braking and was thrown down the road.

Crutchlow, who suffered severe ankle injuries at the track one year ago, was thus handed second place with home star Miller promoted to a delighted third.

Mir and Bagnaia produced the best rides of their rookie seasons while, at the other end of the experience scale, Rossi swept into the lead of his record 400th grand prix at turn one before spending most of the race in the thick of the fight for fourth.

Countryman Iannone put an RS-GP into the lead of MotoGP race for the first time, with Espargaro making it two Aprilias in the top five at one stage.

A huge opening-lap highside for Petrucci saw the Italian land on Quartararo at Turn 2, who had run wide just ahead of him.

Quartararo suffered an ankle injury on Friday, returning to action on Saturday and qualifying on the front row this morning.

Fellow rookie Miguel Oliveira – whose big accident due to the strong wind in FP4 prompted the end of yesterday’s track action, with qualifying moved to Sunday morning – was declared unfit to ride due to a lack of strength in his heavily bruised hands.

Zarco was making his MotoGP comeback this weekend, for LCR Honda in place of Nakagami, who is undergoing shoulder surgery.

The Frenchman, who will ride the team’s 2018-spec RCV in the last three rounds of this season, finished in 13th, comfortably ahead of Lorenzo but just behind former KTM team-mate Espargaro.

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The Malaysian MotoGP takes place at Sepang next weekend.

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