Marc Márquez is the one who made the big operation of this season in this Australian Grand Prix particularly disputed. In the running for the world title, he accepted the challenges imposed by ruthless opponents to win them better, collect his sixth victory of the year and take the break in a championship that he now leads with a 33-point lead. . With two Grand Prix remaining, a fourth title in the premier category is looming. And with added panache.
« I knew before the start that this race would be crucial to increase my lead over Dovizioso. I'm happy to have won and I'm even happier that I now lead by 33 points. And that makes me even more happy”. All is said. Well, not exactly. Because before delighting in this happy epilogue, Marc Márquez had to go to coal spitting in his gloves. His leather and his motorcycle also bore the scars of a bitter rag-picker battle!
« This race was honestly incredible. At the start, I decided to stay calm and warm up my tires. But from the second or third round, “Bam”, the first contact, and it was with Johann Zarco. There, I understood that it was going to be a tough race. We were like a Moto3 group. I was having a lot of fun, but I understood halfway through the race that I had to join in the fight, otherwise, I would be overtaken everywhere ».
« Sometimes it was dangerous. With eight laps to go, I told myself it was time to open the throttle wide. I managed to create a small margin which made my life easier during the last laps ". Meanwhile, the Yamahas were fighting among themselves, without counting a Iannone who tried his luck in a somewhat desperate way on Red, before falling into line.
« It's an important victory, which resembles that of 2015 where there was also a fight. Now we can envisage the championship with more room for maneuver. We will fight in Malaysia and Valencia, but we will think about points first and we will not be too aggressive ».
It will be enough to Márquez to finish first or second in a week in Malaysia to keep his world crown. His fourth in MotoGP after 2013, 2014 and 2016.
#AustralianGP MotoGP J.3: Ranking
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 40'49.772 |
| 2 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | +1.799 |
| 3 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | +1.826 |
| 4 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | +1.842 |
| 5 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | +3.845 |
| 6 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | +3.871 |
| 7 | 43 | Jack Miller | Honda | +5.619 |
| 8 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | +12.208 |
| 9 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | +16.251 |
| 10 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | +16.262 |
| 11 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | +21.652 |
| 12 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | +21.668 |
| 13 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | +21.692 |
| 14 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | +26.110 |
| 15 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | +26.168 |
| 16 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Honda | +26.252 |
| 17 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | +36.377 |
| 18 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | +39.654 |
| 19 | 22 | Sam LOWES | Aprilia | +40.400 |
| 20 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | +45.901 |
| 21 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | +48.768 |
| 22 | 23 | Broc PARKES | Yamaha | +57.711 |
| Not Classified | ||||
| 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 20 lapses |
