Austria MotoGP race day
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But he runs it wide into Turn 3 and gives EsA the place back.
Rossi slides past EsA for eighth. Teammate Vinales is only 16th.
At the front, Marquez is close to 0.7s clear of the chasing Ducati duo now.
Marquez, Lorenzo, Dovizioso, Crutchlow, Petrucci, Rins, Rabat, EsA, Rossi, Zarco your top 10 on lap seven.
Top three now 1.7s clear of fourth-placed Cal Crutchlow. Marquez 0.5s in the lead from Lorenzo and Dovizioso.
Rossi on the move further back. He has taken ninth from Zarco into Turn 1 at the start of lap six.
The Ducati duo will need to respond soon. Marquez has the hard rear tyre, which in theory should last longer than the soft of Lorenzo and the medium of Dovizioso.
Stopwatch
Marquez down into a 1m24.379s on lap four.
All still line astern as the field start lap four. Top two just putting a few tenths between themselves and Dovizioso.
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Rins runs hot into Turn 3 and loses fifth to Petrucci. Marquez still leads on lap three.
Vinales has had a shocking start. He is 15th, Rossi up to 11th.
Marquez passes Lorenzo at Turn 3 for the lead. Zarco and Iannone collided, but both remain upright.
Look at Alex Rins! He has come from 10th to fourth. Lorenzo leads Marquez and Dovizioso.
Lorenzo has taken the lead at Turn 3.
Dovizioso takes the holeshot, Lorenzo slipped behind Crutchlow at Turn 1 but has reclaimed the spot.
Green flag
The 2018 Austrian Grand Prix is go!
Green flag
Warm-up lap is underway. You excited yet?
A few of the satellite Ducati riders, as well as sole KTM man Smith, have also taken a punt on the soft rear.
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Marquez on the hard rear, Lorenzo has gone for the soft/soft, Dovizioso on the medium rear.
Five minutes till race time. We witnessed an electric duel between Marquez and Dovizioso last year at the Red Bull Ring. Will history repeat itself one year on?
With so little dry running this weekend, tyre choice is wide open. LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow believes all rear tyres are viable race options, which he claims is a "disaster" for the riders.
Pole was decided by just 0.002s between Marquez and Dovizioso. Ahead of this race, Marquez holds a comfortable 49-point advantage in the championship. With second-placed Valentino Rossi struggling, things look good for the Honda rider to extend that this afternoon.
Autosport
In other news, Marc VDS' Tom Luthi will return to Moto2 next year with Intact GP 
Marc VDS MotoGP rider Tom Luthi to step back to Moto2 in 2019
Marc VDS MotoGP rider Thomas Luthi will step back down to the Moto2 class in 2019
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Autosport
Sunday looks set to be a tough one for Yamaha. Rossi failed to make it out of Q1 in 14th - his worst qualifying since Australia 2016 - while Vinales was only 11th. Sensationally, Yamaha management apologised publicly to its riders for its poor form 
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This is what the grid looks like for the 28-lap MotoGP race:
1. Marquez - Dovizioso - Lorenzo
2. Petrucci - Crutchlow - Zarco
3. Rabat - Iannone - Pedrosa
4. Rins - Vinales - Bautista
5. Smith - Rossi - Espargaro
6. Miller - Syahrin - Simeon
7. Morbidelli - Redding - Nakagami
8. Luthi - Abraham
1. Marquez - Dovizioso - Lorenzo
2. Petrucci - Crutchlow - Zarco
3. Rabat - Iannone - Pedrosa
4. Rins - Vinales - Bautista
5. Smith - Rossi - Espargaro
6. Miller - Syahrin - Simeon
7. Morbidelli - Redding - Nakagami
8. Luthi - Abraham
Before we get into the MotoGP preamble, let's recap the Moto2 and Moto3 races we had today.
In Moto3, a heroic Jorge Martin - nine days on from surgery on a fractured right wrist - stopped race winner Marco Bezzecchi from taking a huge points lead of 12 by finishing third, with Enea Bastianini snatching second on the last lap.
In Moto2, the MotoGP-bound Francesco Bagnaia and Miguel Oliveira duked it out for victory, with the former taking the win with a last corner move. Luca Marini carried on his run of podium finishes in third.
In Moto3, a heroic Jorge Martin - nine days on from surgery on a fractured right wrist - stopped race winner Marco Bezzecchi from taking a huge points lead of 12 by finishing third, with Enea Bastianini snatching second on the last lap.
In Moto2, the MotoGP-bound Francesco Bagnaia and Miguel Oliveira duked it out for victory, with the former taking the win with a last corner move. Luca Marini carried on his run of podium finishes in third.
Green flag
Good afternoon. It is race day at the Red Bull Ring. Welcome along to our coverage of the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix.
By: Matt Beer
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