At the Phillip Island circuit, the first ever Michelin® Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix was won by Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda). Winner of his second MotoGP race, Crutchlow is the first British rider to win a motorcycle Grand Prix in Australia.
Starting from second position on the grid, Crutchlow opted for a hard MICHELIN Power Slick at the front and a medium at the rear. The Honda driver got off to a decent start, giving his front tire time to warm up. Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) got off to the best start, before being overtaken by neo-champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda). Crutchlow completed the first round in 4e position, while Marquez maintained his advantage. The British pilot then attacked. He overcame his opponents to pounce on the leader and set the fastest lap in the race. Marquez had made the same choice of tires as Crutchlow, with hard at the front and medium at the rear, but the Spaniard made a mistake on 10e lap: he braked too late on a white line and crashed. Crutchlow therefore found himself ideally placed to take control and increase his lead. At the end of the 27 laps, he won by four seconds and won the First Independent Rider prize; he retains the lead in this championship.
After two days marked by terrible weather conditions with torrential rain and a violent wind causing the cancellation of a free practice session, everyone was able to appreciate the return of blue skies for the race. But with few tests carried out in the dry, all the drivers had to make their tire choices based solely on the data from the morning warm-up. So, everyone chose the medium rubber at the rear and the majority preferred the asymmetric front with the exception of Crutchlow, Marquez, Maverick Viñales (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR), Aleix Espargaro (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR) and Jack Miller (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) having opted for the hard asymmetric front. Behind Crutchlow, Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) took 2e place after leaving 15e rank and made a superb comeback. Viñales also had a fantastic ride: starting from the 13the rank, he finished on the final podium. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) took 4e place. Thus, four different manufacturers make up the top-4 of this Michelin Grand Prix. First leader, Espargaro finished in 5the place ahead of Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP). The other places in the top ten were the scene of a very intense battle between Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) who brought his Ducati back to 7e place ahead of Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) and local hero Miller.
Michelin will now leave Phillip Island and the circuit of the first eponymous MotoGP towards Malaysia for the 17e and penultimate round of the championship, Sunday October 30, at the Sepang International Circuit.
Cal Crutchlow – LCR Honda:
“First of all, I would like to highlight the incredible work of Michelin for allowing us to achieve such fast times at the end of this long race and with very little driving time in the dry. We are very satisfied with the performances and their work this weekend. Yes, we pushed the limits with the front, but it was a gamble to use the hardest tire in these conditions and with these temperatures. Michelin had brought a good range of tires, but some people chose tires that perhaps should not have been used in these conditions, like me. I probably should have gone with softer ones, but the hard ones were still so efficient in the end. I approach Malaysia with confidence after this good result here. »
Nicolas Goubert – Deputy Director, Technical Director and MotoGP Program Supervisor, Michelin Motorsport:
“It was a very special weekend for Michelin because it was the first time that the brand was title sponsor of a MotoGP race. It was a very special moment. Unfortunately, the weather was unpredictable with rain, wind, cold and sun. We were therefore able to test practically the entire range of tires that we had brought! Today was the first time we had an entirely dry session. The drivers worked hard to define their warm-up set-ups and our technicians had to call on their extensive experience to advise the drivers on the best tire choices for each. We are satisfied with the performance of the front tires, the times were very fast taking into account the little running and we had an interesting race throughout the peloton. After Marc Marquez's crash, Cal Crutchlow ran a smart race; he attacked when necessary to achieve victory. It's one of the most demanding circuits of the season and it was even more difficult because of the conditions, but overall we are satisfied with our weekend. Now for Malaysia where a new challenge awaits us with higher temperatures. After Phillip Island, it will be welcome! »
