Cal Crutchlow (Honda) won his second race of the year earlier today at Phillip Island, Australia. Crutchlow showed dominant speed during the race, creating a large gap between himself and second place finisher Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) at the checkered flag. Crossing the flag in third place was Maverick Viñales (Suzuki).
Newly crowned MotoGP champ Marc Marquez (Honda) crashed out of the lead midway through the race, although it is questionable whether he could have held off Crutchlow’s charge in any event. Rossi looks destined to secure second place in the championship this year as teammate Jorge Lorenzo had a mediocre race finishing sixth.
Here are the full race results:
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
| 1 | 25 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | LCR Honda | Honda | 176.5 | 40’48.543 |
| 2 | 20 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 176.2 | +4.218 |
| 3 | 16 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 176.1 | +5.309 |
| 4 | 13 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati Team | Ducati | 175.9 | +9.157 |
| 5 | 11 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 175.5 | +14.299 |
| 6 | 10 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 175.1 | +20.125 |
| 7 | 9 | 45 | Scott REDDING | OCTO Pramac Yakhnich | Ducati | 174.5 | +28.369 |
| 8 | 8 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 174.5 | +28.781 |
| 9 | 7 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | OCTO Pramac Yakhnich | Ducati | 174.5 | +28.792 |
| 10 | 6 | 43 | Jack MILLER | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 174.5 | +28.815 |
| 11 | 5 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 174.3 | +31.809 |
| 12 | 4 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 173.1 | +47.734 |
| 13 | 3 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Pull & Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 173.1 | +47.749 |
| 14 | 2 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | Pull & Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | 172.7 | +54.311 |
| 15 | 1 | 7 | Mike JONES | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 172.6 | +55.875 |
| 16 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 171.9 | +1’06.395 | |
| 17 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 170.8 | +1’22.604 |
See more of MD’s great photography:
Hats off to Cal, that guy has sure paid his dues and then some, glad to see some good coming of it. Unreal to watch Valentino march thru the positions, shadowed by his forthcoming teammate. I’m always struck by how ‘run hot, run cold’ Lorenzo has become depending on the bike and the track on race day. Marc is always brilliant, and it was ironic after seeing how mature he’s become in taking what the bike will give him in a given race, when yesterday he felt he could take a little more risk (like the old days), he gets caught out: What reinforcement. Good to see Nick up on the wheel, a shame he got taken out, I know he wanted to do well for Honda drafting him to sit-in this weekend, still a great showing.
Was glad no more seagulls were dispatched this year !
Hayden was pretty blunt in the press conference blaming Miller. Miller said nothing about the incident at all. I don’t think of Nicky as ever blaming others if not deserved. What really happened? Even if it was Jack’s fault, it seems like it was still just racing, but it’s odd that there was no acknowledgement from Miller.
According to Motorsport, Miller apologized to Hayden. This incident doesn’t seem too egregious, but the guy has gotten a reputation for reckless riding, and other guys have definitely complained (look up what Redding had to say after Argentina this year). Of course the most famous incident was barging into Crutchlow in the rain at Silverstone.
I think Stoner’s famous line about ambition outweighing talent applies here…
Blunt? What else did he say besides this…?
NH: “I felt like I had the best tyres left in that group and that I could win that battle… but then in the Honda hairpin, Jack knocked me down. That’s racing. I didn’t actually see him, I just felt him when it was too late to do anything.”
That seems pretty reasonable to me. I did see this quote from Miller:
JM: “I think that’s what you call a heavy battle! It was an intense race and I enjoyed it. It got a bit scary at times because you have no idea who is going to lunge up the inside from one corner to the next.”
Gee, ya’ think?
Miller was all over the place. Just racing? Sure. Also: accident waiting to happen.
We saw replay of MM’s low side crash, while in the back ground some fans reacted w/delight, jumping w/upraised hands (ditto fans at other locations throughout the stands). What think readers of these fan’s reaction?
Do not care.
They’re Hater’s. They hate who they don’t cheer for. I’m not sure they understand the finesse that’s needed to run at this level. MM is a fantastic rider, I’d never cheer someone’s demise at the expense of crashing out.
Oh, be more dramatic. Marquez was clearly uninjured. No harm, no foul. It’s no different than when your football team sacks the quarterback or your favorite boxer lands a knockout punch…
Meh, you’re probably right.
The cheering that went up when JL crashed out very fast (at Misano?) is what made up my mind about who to support at the end of last season. Those that enjoy that kind of thing don’t deserve anything, and I’d have liked to see those same people’s reaction when JL won the title.
Similarly, those that cheered on Sunday probably had a rotten day when MM won this year’s title. Good.
I’m not sure which is more incredible, the way Rossi always makes his way to the front on Sunday no matter his starting position or the race-day conditions, or the way Lorenzo is always a total non-factor both in qualifying and also in the race anytime the conditions are less than ideal.
And now Jorge is going to try to win the championship next season on that paragon of consistent-as-clockwork perfection, the Ducati GP machine?
This ought to be downright hilarious.
Jorge is not riding at full pace. I wouldn’t discount him from winning the championship outright next year aboard the Ducati.
I’ll bet there would be a lot of people that would take some of that action, lol
Where do you place your bet?
Re: “Jorge is not riding at full pace.”
To beat the guy (Vinales, 11 points behind him) who’s taking his seat on the Yamaha next season?
C’mon now, Jorge is absolutely doing his best.
“Jorge is not riding at full pace.”
Of course he wasn’t. The ambient temperature wasn’t 74.6-degrees Fahrenheit, with a slight SSW breeze of no more than four knots barely ruffling a brilliant azure sky dotted with a particularly delightful pastiche of cirrus cotton candy, and the pristine, bump-free track wasn’t lined with fresh-out-of-the-oven snickerdoodles festooned with blue and red M&Ms forming the number ’99.’
Totally understandable.
“I wouldn’t discount him from winning the championship outright next year aboard the Ducati.”
Wow, so Marc Marquez switched to the Aprilia squad for the 2017 season without anyone knowing, and he took #46 with him? Even then, nope, Jorge would still have to beat Vinales on the factory Yamaha.
Yeah, don’t hold your breath on #99 winning any championships next year.
Unless they hide an M1 under Ducati “clothing” no one hold their breath. I won’t be surprised to see JL in the dirt often next season.
Right now he’s riding a race horse. Next season he’s going to be riding a bull.
I’m quite sure that the factory Ducati came in 4th on Sunday. It’s has got several podiums and a race win this season. How much faster is JL than Dovi? Quite a bit, I think anyone would agree.
The odds would be generous before I’d put money on the title, but 3 or 4 race wins for JL next year? I think that’s entirely possible.
The Ducati is not an M1. The Yamaha is far more neutral and balanced which is what Lorenzo needs to do anything. Well that plus perfect tires, weather, track surface and no one touches him.
The Ducati is more of a wild animal which doesn’t suit that list of requirements Lorenzo needs to be at the front and winning.
So far the only person to ever tame a Ducati was Stoner, and Lorenzo is no Stoner in many ways.
I have a feeling that Lorenzo is not only unmotivated, but he has also stopped receiving updates to his machine from Yamaha. It will actually be interesting to see how he does on the Ducati.
I believe this to be absolutely true.
doubt it. He hasn’t said anything, and lorenzo who generally always has an excuse if he’s not winning, has never been one to hold back when he thinks he is not getting the best ala Michelin tires, HJC helmets etc. If Rossi was getting something trick he wasn’t, we’d hear about it from him.
Absolutely.
There is no way Lorenzo would keep his mouth shut if he felt he was being slighted by Yamaha, especially now, since he’s not returnng to Yamaha next season.
There’s too many variables to know, but I find it unlikely that Yamaha would restrict any resources from Jorge. Yamaha races to make Yamaha look good and they must continue to develop their equipment so that their new rider is as competitive as possible. Spending millions of Euro’s to transport a team around the globe only to apply a partial effort at the races makes no sense.
Michelin doesn’t want anybody bad mouthing the brand (least of all one of the few guys who actually gets in front of the camera) either.
I don’t know that the Ducati can be called a “Bull” anymore. It has proven to be pretty competitive under a wide variety of riders and it’s reasonable to believe that with Jorge’s arrival they may have some more “Audi bucks” to spend on it’s development.
Nicky wore those ugly leathers to keep Miller’s Spanish sponsors happy and then Miller pays him back by knocking Hayden off?…
Brilliant riding by Crutchlow, Rossi and the 2 Suzuki’s. Lorenzo not so much. Suzukis had their hands full with the speed of the Ducati. 212 mph, fastest speed posted. Just goes to show fastest doesn’t always translate to best finishing position.
1st off for Marquez which is a great year for the kid.
Loved the race.
MotoGP has produced some great racing this year. It’s great to see the mix of riders and manufacturers standing on the podium. Great photo of Rossi congratulating Cal. In the post interview he mentions Cal’s pace as the reason he finished second and not tire choice. Respect! I saw Cal last year in Indy as I was walking through the pits. No one stopped him or asked for an autograph. He was downcast alright. Not this year. I’m happy to see him get his time in the spotlight.
Cal wins again, what a season, so many winners, so many DNFs, Marquez is champion but not a dominant winner, on any day Rossi at 37 can still be incredible at turning in podium performances, Vinales may catch Lorenzo for 3rd , two more races and who knows what surprises are left.
Ahem….Marquez has been in another league this year..
Didn’t you notice!
How’d Nicky do? He finished last but must be more to that story. Make a mistake or someone punt him off the course?
He was passed by Miller and in mid pass Miller went wide and bumped Nicky off the bike. Nicky remounted and came in last. He was in 9th place at the time I think with two laps remaining. There was a large group from 7th -11 at the time. Like a Moto3 race.
Jack Miller and he touched, with Hayden loosing the front, dropping from mid pack.
Nicky was heading for a very solid finish, but s*** happens. Given the crazy conditions all weekend, he did really well. If they decide to rest Pedrosa for the season, maybe Nick can have another go at Valencia…?!