If the title of World Champion has been awarded to Marc Márquez and Andrea Dovizioso has a comfortable lead for second position, on the other hand the fight rages for third with Maverick Viñales and Álex Rins tied with 176 points, threatened by Danilo Petrucci fifth with 169 and El Diablo jumping more and more from his box, sixth with 163.
Viñales has defended himself very well in the last five Grands Prix, finishing third at Silverstone, Misano and Buriram, as well as fourth in Aragón and Motegi. Sixth in the general classification before the British Grand Prix, Maverick successively overtook his teammate Valentino Rossithen Danilo Petrucci to rise to the level of the leader of the Suzuki team.
Although he has only won one race this year – at Assen – Viñales arrives extremely confident at Phillip Island, where his record fully justifies his enthusiasm. Second in Moto3 on KTM (Team Calvo) in 2013, he won in Moto2 the following year on a Kalex (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) from the Sito Pons team.
In MotoGP, he finished third on Suzuki in 2016, then third again in 2017, this time on Yamaha. It was last year that he achieved his masterstroke by winning, still on Yam, ahead of Andrea Iannone (Suzuki), Andrea Dovizioso, Alvaro Bautista, alex rins and Valentino Rossi.
According to Maverick Vinales, “Overall we had a positive race weekend in Japan, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to be on the podium. »
“Now we are in Australia. I really like the Phillip Island track. I have a lot of good memories from this circuit, and one of them is last year's race, when I won the Australian GP, which is very motivating. »
“The team was working really hard, so we're going to try to be strong again this year and fight for the lead again. »
For his team manager Massimo Meregalli, “After the Motegi race last weekend, we went straight to Australia. Phillip Island is a special track with stunning scenery, completely different from all the other tracks we race at. »
“Our two drivers also like to drive here because of the smooth layout of the circuit. Last year, Maverick and Vale were actively involved in an amazing fight for victory, which was ultimately won by Maverick. With the 2018 Phillip Island race still fresh in our minds, we are determined to join the battle for victory again this weekend. »
“We saw in Japan that there was work to be done, so we will push to take more steps and work hard from the start of the first session to find a comfortable and competitive setting for our drivers. »
Provisional ranking of the World Championship:
1. Marc Márquez 350. 2. Dovizioso 231. 3. Rins 176. 4. Vinales 176. 5. Petrucci 169. 6. Quartararo 163. 7. Rossi 145. 8. Miller 125. 9. Crutchlow 113. 10. Morbidelli 100 11. Pol Espargaró 85. 12. Nakagami 74. 13. Mir 66. 14. Aleix Espargaró 47 . 15. Bagnaia 37. 16. Oliveira 33. 17. Iannone 33. 18. Zarco 27. 19. Lorenzo 23. 20. Rabat 18. 21. Bradl 16. 22. Pirro 9. 23. Guintoli 7. 24. Syahrin 7 25. Abraham 5. 26. Kallio 2.
An eTour of the Phillip Island circuit with Lorenzo Daretti, the official Yamaha rider in this discipline:
Photos © Yamaha
