Marc Marquez (Honda) won at Phillip Island earlier today and, perhaps, more importantly took a nearly insurmountable lead over Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso in the championship with just two races remaining.
Dovizioso had a miserable day at Phillip Island, eventually finishing way back in 13th place. Now 33 points behind Marquez, Marquez could easily clinch the title next weekend at Sepang.
The race at Phillip Island was close and exciting until Marquez formed a sizable gap at the front with just a few laps remaining. The final laps saw a battle for podium positions develop among Yamaha riders.
At the checkered flag, just a few hundredths of a second separated the Yamahas of Valentino Rossi (finishing second), Maverick Viñales (third) and Johann Zarco (fourth).
Follow this link to full race results. For additional details and points, visit the official MotoGP site.
See more of MD’s great photography:
both suzi’s, both ktm’s, crutchlow, miller AND redding ahead of dovi and petrux? gigi didn’t have that smug smirk on his face this sunday…
I think I ruined my couch – puckering up ‘an all…
Great stuff!!
Early on in the season we were talking about “tire conservation” and how boring the races were in the last ten laps or so because the riders had to manage tire life rather than mix it up with each other.
Obviously Michelin has found some secret formula because the last few races have been some of the best of the 4-stroke era.
Just an amazing race for fans to watch!!!
If you missed this, then you really did miss it.
Was great to see both KTM’s get top tens too.
Beware of them next season as they may climb a podium or two.
Just a great race from start to finish. Sad for Dovi as I thought he would be there with the front runners. Zarco is the man to watch; he knows how to get everything out of that Yamaha.
re: “Zarco is the man to watch…”
…as he does the ARGY BARGY and spins you and your bike around.
(not to imply ALL his moves were bad, out the dozen +/- there was only one into MG i would take issue with)
That was spectacular racing from flag to flag.
To what degree is it likely that MM just held up on purpose, to add excitement to another boring MM Championship season, till there were only a few laps remaining, and he went WFO to crush the field? IOW, to what degree is it likely he could have pulled away much earlier?
I admit it’s not particularly likely, because the racing was so close he could have crashed out. But there is some slight chance his Dorna paymasters convinced him to do it to increase suspense and make viewers return this year and in future years.
The chances look bleak for anyone to dethrone MM till the late 2020s, or considering how long modern athletes last, maybe the early 2030s.
As good as the racing was this year, I consider passing on next season’s subscription. The racing is fantastic, but if/when there’s no real Championship mystery, does it really matter?
But the racing is fantastic.
Some of the most unbelievable racing in a long time and a tight championship race with 3 races left in the year….. and you say you might not watch next year. Not even sure where to start (leaving aside your “conspiracy theory”).
For what its worth, I have been riding and a fan of racing since the early seventies.
re: “I admit it’s not particularly likely, because the racing was so close he could have crashed out. But there is some slight chance his Dorna paymasters convinced him to do it to increase suspense and make viewers return this year and in future years.”
no it’s likely. he throttled back (as did everybody else). that “conga line” of “sport tourers” we witnessed was deliberate and intentional, but not for any other reason than the need to PRESERVE tires for the end. lest we forget the Bridgestone repave nightmare of 2013.
though knocked down a bit, the special asphalt used (see entry for taconite tailings) is still very abrasive. fast-forward 4 years and Phil’s Isle is still not a place the teams/riders can just throw caution to the wind (off the Bass Straight).
“As good as the racing was this year, I consider passing on next season’s subscription. The racing is fantastic, but if/when there’s no real Championship mystery, does it really matter?”
It was hardly a given who would win the championship. After the first 3 races everyone said Vinales was going to walk away with it. Up until Rossi broke his leg and then wadded it up last week, he was still in it. A few weeks ago before Pedrosa had a dnf and a couple bad races, technically he was still in it.And going into this race Dovi was only 11 points behind, had won 5 races and he was still in it.
PLus there are 50 points left. If marquez gets hurt in practice or wads it up next race and Dovi wins, he’s STILL in it. There is nothing decided yet.
re: “There is nothing decided yet…”
https://tinyurl.com/jaglr9y
While my money was always on Marquez, like others have said, the championship wasn’t a forgone conclusion in the least. This last race has probably clenched it for Marquez. But had the Ducati’s not had such a miserable time at Phillip Island, the points race would still be very tight.
But to answer your specific question, I live race to race. Even if there were no championship trophy at all, it wouldn’t make the slightest difference to me. When the points are tight, that just adds another exciting dynamic to the show. But that is just icing.
That’s just my take on it. It has been a magnificent season. If after all of this it really dampens your enjoyment of the spectacle simply because Marquez came out on top, then you might do well to save those subscription dues because I think we will see several more championships go to Marquez in the years to come.
I’d say you best pass on watching any more Moto GP. You’ve already got it all figured out, so why waste your time? Watch flat track or perhaps NASCAR, that’s not boring and at least the conspiracies are whether Danica is buff or not.
I’ve been following since the 70’s, you must think it’s boring, I don’t. Pass on the next year video package.
What happened to Ducati in Melbourne? They wasn’t even in top ten finishers.
Q: What happened to Ducati in Melbourne?
A: i honestly haven’t the “Carl Foggiest”. we may not be in Kansas any more, but instead WAAAAY outside the NATCORK “coverage zone”…
(per the Dove) he indicates a combination of tire choice and the Duc’s old Achilles heel of no turning coming back to bite him (and the others) in the ass. ok not sure i’m buying that just yet, though we DID obviously see him find “reverse gear” at the checkers, i need to make some phone calls. FFS my 12 year old sister could’ve set up kit to run with that front pack at the Island…!!!
right then check these fairings for rubber, as we saw both Zooks were hanging (quite easily) in the top 8, and though back a bit, both KTM’s rounded out the top 10 (insert Norm’s best WTF face).
Zarco was amazing AND he’s a rookie. Funny how Rossi doesn’t get much coverage during qualifying or any pre-race commentary, but come race day he’s something else.
It was nice to see Jack Miller up front and in the lead group until the end. Lots of great racing and amazingly, no crashes amongst the leaders. I’m guessing a lot of this has to do with the electronics, which are allowing more people to ride on the edge without falling. I’m guessing if they were turned off the same guys would still be scrapping for the win.
It’s just good riding. It’s not much harder to crash while racing now than it has ever been. They must all decide how late & hard to brake and turn-in and none of them have their traction control set up so that they can’t spin the rear tire a little bit.
I bet Miller took a total of 3 breaths the whole time he was out front
Best race of the year, no doubt. Breathtaking stuff at near every corner at points during the race.
That was the best race of the year so far. I watched it at 1 am them again at 11 am. Would have been nice to have Dovi in there scrapping it up with them. It was a sad sight seeing him sitting in his box with his head hanging low, helmet still on, knowing that was probably the death blow for his Championship chances this year. I thought PI was supposed to be a Ducati track?
It’s amazing how riders can look so competitive one week, and so un-competitive other weeks.
re: “It’s amazing how riders can look so competitive one week, and so un-competitive other weeks.”
such is the Law of NATCORK, it’s not pretty, it’s akin to “wake up juice”….
wrestle with it enough and you’ll be as sober as a priest on Sunday.
Bash, bang, boom, rossi said it at park ferme race interview about riding stupid fast to be in front. This maybe a new era in motogp. Some might quote ancient Rome, “it’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye” but as Rossi also said later, this is the sport,if you don’t want to play hard, stay home. It was a fantastic race and we will see what develops but sure hope the guy coming up behind me into a curve isn’t using this race as a an inspiration for riding on our local highway.
It keeps getting better.Just as we digested last weeks gem now this! wow. Talk about exciting racing.
That was a great race… Worth watching again. The only downer was that Dovi was unable to get himself in the mix to keep the points race tight. I think just about every rider in that big lead pack had tire marks on their leathers after the race.
It was great to see Iannone return to form. Hopefully Suzuki can put a better kit together for 2018.
Innone is benefiting from the new fairing.
What got my goat, was on TV, when the top 8 were banging bars, 1-4 was swapping places seemingly in every other turn, TV would go to the camera on the back of Dovi’s Duck, showing the back of his leathers (hardly little else), then after some time, go back to the race up front, and Marquez had dropped to 4th, and Rossi had moved from 3rd to First. Must have done it a dozen times, when the action up front was non stop, what were they thinking. Crutchlow and Pedrosa both passed him at the finish relegating him to what, 14th? Come-On! How many times did Zarco, Vinales, Rossi, Marquez, all dive up the inside, or go around the outside, fantastic, what a great race. Marquez’s rear fiberglass was broken from Zarco ramming him, Rossi had rubber marks on his shoulder from Marquez’s front tire, fabulous stuff.
I only watch clips. The main reason is I absolutely can’t stand announcers, and just watching without sound is super annoying after a little while. But the other reason is indeed as you cite, super annoying ADD on the part of the f__kos doing the editing (or whatever it’s called live). Even the clip of the g_dd_mn battle between M. and D. in Japan – there’s a sudden random cut to some f__ko that is not M. or D. What the everlasting gobstopping f___.
“Stone the bloody crows.”
As with most sports these days, it seems whoever the director is they are trying to tell a side story that nobody cares about and thus they make the most inane decisions regarding which camera to cut to during a live event.
I’ll never forget all of those Indy 500’s and on the last two laps they are constantly flashing to Ashley Judd.
Who gives a shit!
Still overall, very worth watching.