MotoGP Australian GP: Marquez wins sprint to take championship lead after Martin's crash

Marc Marquez moved back into the lead of the MotoGP standings with a fine victory in the Australian Grand Prix sprint, while his title rival Jorge Martin crashed out from second place.

The two Spaniards engaged in an epic battle for victory at Phillip Island on Saturday after the track completely dried out following earlier rain showers.

But just after the halfway point, Martin dumped his Aprilia while chasing Marquez for the top spot, handing a 10-point championship lead to the Ducati rider.

Alex Marquez therefore finished second for Gresini, while Fabio di Giannantonio completed a podium lockout for Ducati in third.

At the start of the race, Marquez got the holeshot from pole position, while Martin jumped from fourth to second to put himself directly behind his title rival.

Alex Marquez initially went in the other direction from second on the grid, before repassing Johann Zarco and Martin in quick succession on lap two to emerge as a potential rear-gunner for his brother.

Race start

Photo by: Robert Cianflone / Getty Images

But Martin quickly dispatched the Gresini rider and then launched an attack on the reigning world champion during lap three, making the move stick at Turn 10.

However, just as it appeared that Aprilia had an upper hand over Ducati in dry conditions, Martin ran wide at Turn 4 on lap five, allowing Marquez back through into the lead.

Martin passed Marquez again into Turn 1 on the following lap, only to cede the position again with an error at Turn 4.

The battle between the pair reached its head on lap eight, with the pair exchanging position at least three times in the first five turns - allowing even Alex Marquez to join the fight.

Just after dropping back to second, Martin threw it all away at Turn 8, sliding out into the gravel at 180km/h. The Spaniard was put on a stretcher by the marshals and taken to the medical centre, where doctors later declared him unfit for Sunday's grand prix.

With Martin out, Marquez had no trouble keeping his brother at bay, taking the chequered flag with a three-tenth margin to secure his ninth sprint win of the season.

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images

Di Giannantonio recovered from a low-key qualifying that left him eighth on the grid to finish third, securing his second successive sprint win.

With Martin crashing and Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez pulling into the pits due to pain, Aprilia’s charge was led by Marco Bezzecchi, who dropped to 12th on the opening lap before climbing back to fourth.

Pedro Acosta wound up fifth for KTM after running as high as third, while Ai Ogura finished sixth after starting 12th.

Acosta’s team-mate Brad Binder enjoyed a strong run to seventh, while home hero Jack Miller was again Yamaha’s best-placed rider this weekend as he bagged two points in eighth. 

LCR’s Honda Diogo Moreira rounded out the points scorers in ninth, while the top 10 was completed by Iker Lecuona, who was standing in for the injured Fermin Aldeguer at Gresini.

Zarco’s brilliant qualifying effort was undone by a technical problem, the Frenchman retiring on lap four while running inside the top six.

MotoGP Australian GP sprint race results

SPRINT

All Stats

 

Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Retirement	Points
1	M. Marquez Ducati Team	93		Ducati	13	19'09.411				12
2	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73		Ducati	13	+0.323 19'09.734	0.323			9
3	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49		Ducati	13	+0.590 19'10.001	0.267			7
4	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72		Aprilia	13	+1.074 19'10.485	0.484			6
5	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37		KTM	13	+3.689 19'13.100	2.615			5
6	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79		Aprilia	13	+6.146 19'15.557	2.457			4
7	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33		KTM	13	+7.433 19'16.844	1.287			3
8	J. Miller Pramac Racing	43		Yamaha	13	+7.782 19'17.193	0.349			2
9	D. Moreira Team LCR	11		Honda	13	+10.722 19'20.133	2.940			1
10	I. Lecuona Gresini Racing	27		Ducati	13	+10.773 19'20.184	0.051
11	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	13	+11.215 19'20.626	0.442
12	E. Bastianini Tech 3	23		KTM	13	+11.437 19'20.848	0.222
13	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42		Yamaha	13	+11.568 19'20.979	0.131
14	F. Morbidelli Team VR46	21		Ducati	13	+18.277 19'27.688	6.709
15	A. Fernandez Pramac Racing	47		Yamaha	13	+37.945 19'47.356	19.668
dnf	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25		Aprilia	8	+5 Laps 13'49.668	5 Laps		Retirement
dnf	J. Martin Aprilia Racing Team	89		Aprilia	7	+6 Laps 11'08.358	1 Lap		Retirement
dnf	M. Viñales Tech 3	12		KTM	6	+7 Laps 10'40.115	1 Lap		Retirement
dnf	J. Zarco Team LCR	5		Honda	3	+10 Laps 6'17.953	3 Laps		Retirement
dnf	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63		Ducati	2	+11 Laps 4'42.169	1 Lap		Retirement
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