A dramatic Australian MotoGP ended with Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi taking the win over teammate Jorge Lorenzo in second and Bradley Smith (Yamaha) in third.
Champion Marc Marquez (Honda) seemed to be cruising out front on his way to his twelfth win of the season (tying Mick Doohan’s all-time record) when he crashed. Several riders seemed to lose the front end, perhaps resulting from the use of an unusual asymmetrical front tire provided by Bridgestone for this event. Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) for instance, crashed out of second place in a similar fashion on the last lap of the race.
With Marquez already declared champion, the fight over second place continues, but Rossi now has the advantage after today’s win. For additional details, results and points, visit the official MotoGP site.
Well done Jack Miller.
Suspect front tire. Identical crashes to Crutchlow P Espargaro and Marquez. Bradl’s crash was horrible to Aleix. Should be investigated. He caught up and was riding desperate.
Biggest culprit, according to insiders, is the organizer’s decision to hold the race at 4pm. Apprently any Philip Islander knows temperatures plummet in the afternoon this time of year, so the track was cooling rapidly throughout the race. Either too aggressive, or too easy (i.e. tires cooled down) and a front tire lock-up was likely.
That said, Rossi put down the fastest lap of the race so I think he earned it 😉
seemed to be cruising… when he crashed
meanest comment ever
Something fishy about the race. I saw more than one world-class rider suddenly lose front ends. Tires were just tucking, with no warning. I think they mentioned in the intro that they were experimenting with a new rubber compound. If so, I don’t think the experiment was a success.
Bradl should face a suspension after taking out Aleix Espargo like that. That’s was a hopeless pass he was trying to make, it was just too crowded, and Espargo suffered for it. So did Bradl, but he deserved it.
If you are a fan, spend the money for the live streaming coverage, real announcers, practice, qualifying, post race interviews, no commercials, as HBO and CBS say, it is the future. You would have seen Jorge talk about getting a bad front tire.
where does one get this sorcery? from the cable company?
internets
I wonder what happened to Lorenzo. He really lost speed in the last 3rd of the race.
Rossi is somehow getting better. Great ride for the Doctor. Poor Crutchlow..all season riding mid pack, gets up front and crashes on the last lap.
Marquez seems to be having a bad luck streak. Poor luck for Dani too, he has dug himself a hole he can’t climb out of. What a crash fest.
It was not the rider’s fault on those front tire crashes. Bridgestone gave them a tire that did not like cooling off and as the wind kicked up that’s exactly what happened. They went down as if on ice skates. Electronics showed the same data for braking and so on.
“Marquez seems to be having a bad luck streak.”
Didn’t he just win his second championship? I’d say otherwise.
Crashing and DNF’s are bad, not matter how you’re positioned in a championship. Any one of these incidents could end his season or career.
re: “Any one of these incidents could end his season or career.”
Jay mangled his finger on the island in 2011. this even before the famous double collar bone incidents of 2013.
the M1… she kicks like a mutha.
Bob Varsha has got to go! He can’t pronounce anyone’s name right and when they were replaying the clips of the racing incidents at the end he didn’t know who Stefan Bradl was. It’s so distracting – find someone who knows the racers at least Fox!
Other than that, great race and great win Rossi! So awesome to see – I hope he takes second in the championship – good battles ahead.
Remember now, this is Fox. They’ll say it’s “Fair and balanced” announcing.
There are people who complain about Nick Harris too, I don’t mind him at all having had to listen to the commentators on this side of the pond.
Who’s Bob Varsha?
re: “Rossi now has the advantage after today’s win”
FISTPUMP…!!!
actually more like 9gag Freddie Mercury winning pose.