The stars aligned, apparently, as the best race of the year, and perhaps in many years, occurred earlier today at Phillip Island, Australia. After leading the first two-thirds of the race, Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo was joined at the front by three other riders, including Marc Marquez (Honda), Andrea Iannone (Ducati) and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha). The drama ratcheted up until the final lap of the race.
Nearly countless overtakes among the top four riders appeared to set Lorenzo free at the front, once again, with one lap remaining. But Marquez had a special lap left, the fastest of the race, and overtook Lorenzo for the win, while Iannone passed Rossi for third and Rossi finished fourth. Roughly one second covered all four riders at the flag.
Rossi’s championship points lead was cut to 11 points with two races remaining. Here are the finishing riders. For additional details, results and points, visit the official MotoGP site.
| Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | 25 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 40’33.849 |
| 2 | 20 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +0.249 |
| 3 | 16 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | +0.930 |
| 4 | 13 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +1.058 |
| 5 | 11 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +5.062 |
| 6 | 10 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +6.800 |
| 7 | 9 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | +9.375 |
| 8 | 8 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +18.401 |
| 9 | 7 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +20.039 |
| 10 | 6 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +20.657 |
| 11 | 5 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | +21.846 |
| 12 | 4 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati | +22.840 |
| 13 | 3 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | +29.168 |
| 14 | 2 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +37.244 |
| 15 | 1 | 43 | Jack MILLER | AUS | LCR Honda | Honda | +40.192 |
| 16 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +48.263 | |
| 17 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Octo Pramac Racing | Ducati | +48.572 | |
| 18 | 76 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | +48.677 | |
| 19 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | IRL | Aspar MotoGP Team | Honda | +50.201 | |
| 20 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +50.262 | |
| 21 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +50.277 | |
| 22 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Forward Racing | Yamaha Forward | +1’20.942 | |
| 23 | 13 | Anthony WEST | AUS | AB Motoracing | Honda | +1’23.454 |
See more of MD’s great photography:
What could make it almost unbearable going into the last two is if Marquez had the points that would keep him in contention with the Yamahas (I recognize that VR and JL have profitted from that greatly). It’s not inconceivable given the times that he’s thrown the bike down the road this season.
On reflection, though, races like that are common in the two supporting classes.
I wonder what Stoner thinks of what we all saw?
Oh, and a reminder of how great a circuit they have over there. Those first two corners!!!
Two things about Iannone’s epic single pass of (first) MM, then Lorenzo, to briefly take the lead: first, the difference in his rate of speed over two of the fastest bikes extant was almost beyond belief. Second, MM could not possibly have known or suspected the pass, so close they almost touched at an estimated 110mph. The pass caused MM to straighten, upset his line, but did he flinch one bit? Ever the warrior, absolutely not! Immediately after Iannone’s pass was done, MM just kept right on racing and fighting, like it did not even happen.
His face looks like a little girl, but if there is a motorcycle equivalent to a street fight, MM is my first choice. MM has nothing to prove, but my respect grew for him in this race.
I’ve always liked Marquez going back to the Moto3 and Moto2 days. He is a scrappy racer that rarely ever gets rattled. A lot of people seem to think that Marquez is far more reckless than some of the other top guys, but I’ve seen enough races to know that they are all snipers. It isn’t a popular thing to say, especially on this site, but he is probably my favorite racer. (Okay, so that probably isn’t a very popular thing to say on any motorcycle site outside of Catalonia.) Marquez is a resolute warrior on the track and seems to be a very humble and affable guy off the track.
2014 at COTA, after the race (a bit boring except for JLo’s false start; MM walked away with it, again)…we’re shuffling along slowly with the crowd alongside a fence. I’m 6-3 and started a brief conversation with another tall guy who stood above the crowd. At this race about twice as many fans wore VR tribute clothing vs. MM. I mentioned this, and he replied, “Everyone loves a winner. Eventually, no matter what, his fan numbers grow.”
It’s hard to argue with that, especially when I see it happening even w/myself, a true VR fan. This race only adds to MM’s glory.
I’d have to agree w/you, he seems no more or less dangerous than any other #1 competitor. You don’t get there being a shrinking violet. These men eat, breath, and sleep to fight and claw their way to the top. No “affirmative action” in racing!
My tickets were at Turn 15 at COTA, and I’d say it was greater than 5:1 people sporting Rossi wears over Marquez in that particular area of the track. Still overwhelmingly Rossi, but that was way more Marquez stuff than the prior year.
I had made up my mind to pull for Marquez once Stoner retired and Honda announced that Marquez would be replacing him. That said, I was disappointed that the Hondas were so dominant last year and am glad to see Yamaha really bring it this time around. It hasn’t been a great year for Marquez, but I feel like I’ve seen more of what he is truly capable of this season when gets thrown a curve ball or two. And I like it.
Jeremy, a real affirmative on MM!! I really enjoy seeing him ride and like his humility when he does win – unlike a particular un-named Yamaha rider. I was hoping MM would end the season doing well – to help give him some momentum and renewed excitement as he moves into 2016. Watching the Duc dice, dodge and rocket down the straights was wonderful!!
I disagreed with others saying VLR better qualifying better pole position. He was good from the beginning laps and able to join the top four rider pack while plenty of laps remaining. he also overtook Iannone or Marquez in some instances. It is just this race that all four riders were strong, fast, and consistent. I notice Iannone very aggressive and clever when he make a pass over others. At one instance, when Rossi battled to overtake Marquez in one corner, only to see that Iannone came right behind from both and took over. It must be frustrated for Rossi. It was the best race ever to watch!
Well, the thing is this is pretty standard VR riding…I concur and actually think it’s a good point that starting POSITION didn’t really hurt him, but the thing is starting PACE sure did. If he got his setup right for qualifying (unless at huge sacrifice to race setup, a problem which does not seem to be an issue for the top qualifiers) he’d presumably be able to outrun others when mixing it up, instead of hanging near the back of the front pack….
So it may not be so much that the qualifying is hurting him that badly, but rather that qualifying better surely couldn’t hurt….
His poor qualifying only hurt him a little in this race, but it has cost him valuable points throughout the rest of the season, and if things don’t go right he may very well look back to those poor qualifying positions as being the reason for not getting an 8 th in the premier class.
Wow Wow Wow – OUTSTANDING!
Now I know for sure that Ducs are stronger than Seagulls!
Edge of the seat stuff.
…Gull shoulda been wearing HJC.
He probably was. His visor fogged up and the liner fell down into his line of site and that’s why he didn’t see the Ducati coming at him…
You mean why he lost BOOM
Helluva race. Helluva year.
SBK 1 was pretty special today as well
Jeremy in TX paces frantically around living room rapidly throwing his hands up in the air repeatedly during the whole race completely overwhelmed by awesomeness. Stellar. Maybe the best MotoGP race ever, certainly in my memory.
My DVR blew it, or it never showed in TX? Bummed.
Get the MotoGP video pass at motogp.com my friend. I think it’s $40 for the end of the season. Plus you watch any race you want all the way back to 1992 or something like that.
it showed, but iirc the race from “down undah” airs during the overnite hours. no worries, I missed it to. peeped it on MotoGP.
Have a DVR but stayed up to watch it. I’m pacing the floor like crazy and trying to stay quiet as the girlfriend is asleep on the couch.
Amazing race. This championship is going to be so close.
As Dirck said, the stars really did align to create the conditions for that awesome duel. Watching it live on MotoGP video pass only amped the level up. Can’t wait for Sepang…
Man, that was fun to watch! Did you guys see Iannone head-butt the seagull early in the race? I’m pretty sure we won’t see that again. Hats off to all four riders. Lorenzo can be hard to chase down, but it goes to show that given the right circuit, these races can be competitive.
“Did you guys see Iannone head-butt the seagull early in the race? I’m pretty sure we won’t see that again.”*
*Until next year at Phillip Island…
Pics on crashdotnet
Iannone ducked his head but the seagull actually hit his fairing leaving a hole in it. If you watch it in slo-mo you can see that the bird didn’t hit his helmet and later they showed the fairing damage.
You’re right, Aussie M. It’s probably a good thing too. It might have taken him off the bike.
Oh yeah. A one lb object at 75mph (estimate) could knock him off the bike, definitely.
re: “Did you guys see Iannone head-butt the seagull early in the race?”
yup saw Crazy Joe do it, saw Nitro Nori do it in WSBK on board an Aprilia RSV, and apparently even Jay’s managed to collect himself a pelican. taste’s like chicken…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwk2Kf7b4t4
I was on the edge of my seat from lap one, and must recommend this race as THE one to watch. Don’t miss it! Stop reading, put down your coffee, fire up the DVR, kiss the wife (or husband) and ask them to take the dog and kids to grandma’s, then buckle in – this is one wild ride!
Really, this will go down as one of the more memorable races in a very long time with superb scrapping and scratching at the front by four supremely talented heroes. Of course I would prefer to have seen a different order for the finish, but I’ll take this kind of racing any day.
A few interesting thoughts: as Vale mentioned post-race, if he could have qualified better he would probably have had a better outcome. It’s that simple. He and his team wasted precious time hunting down a setup path that gave them nothing for settings. This may just cost him the championship this year.
Iannone is fast. So is Viñale. They’re both going to be a pleasure to watch in the coming seasons. What happened to Dovi and Pedro?
Great stuff, great season. I hate to say it but I fear that the championship is drifting slowly out of Rossi’s grasp no matter how desperately he tries to grab at it. It’s difficult to see yet impossible to stop watching and hoping that he has just enough magic left to plant his flag at the summit and claim this season as his own.
Boy I hope he has enough left but regardless, it’s such a great pleasure and inspiration to watch this graceful, violent, and beautiful spectacle unfold for our delight. I wouldn’t miss the next two battles for anything.
so, I did as you said and you are right.
Neighbor will think I’m crazy for so much yelling.
As an Engineer you can’t finish admiring how on earth is possible they could put that amount of power on such a small machine, and those tires how are they capable of keep everything ticking and pushing.
Sometimes I wonder about the life of others, their experiences: “how would it feel to be the most strongest guy? the more beautiful women? Usain Bolt while he is running? Ian Thorpe swimming? and then, how could it have been for Rossi riding… pushing himself to his top in the middle of those bikes, loosing some points, hearing those 1000hp on 4 different bikes while they choreograph that amazing race…. probably a life dedicated to be the fastest ever on two wheels.
It’s amazing what we humans can do.
Nobody ask me but I think Ianone was the one who made that race special and he is definitively good and that Ducati fast.
“I fear that the championship is drifting slowly out of Rossi’s grasp no matter how desperately he tries to grab at it”
+1
-1.
Do you know who that is!?!? That’s VALENTINO ROSSI.
2x races left. If JL doesn’t win both, his chances are slim. It doesn’t look like those orange Hondas are going to just pull over and while Iannone was great today, I wouldn’t bet on him being in that mix every week until he’s in the mix every week.
“I think Ianone was the one who made that race special”
I agree with that. He didn’t win, but he was the man of the hour and really made that race exciting. The Phillip Island circuit appeared to be the real star and did a great job of equalizing the various strengths and weaknesses of the bikes.
@Brinskee- lets pray for rain in Malaysia- not too far away is a massive typhoon so hopefully its wet in Sepang to level the playing field 🙂
Amazing race, but I must have missed the memo. When did Yamaha switch to a three-cylinder?
We may be seeing the factory team’s engine allocation limit coming into play now. The Yamaha seemed at a greater disadvantage than usual but that Ducati also seemed to have the legs on the Honda. I thought the biggest development was the Ducati being up from til’ the end. These next two races should be really good. I believe JL gets to use his favorite tire type (he didn’t today).
I’m with Dave on the engine allocation deal. We know Hondas had the advantage to pull away from Yamaha pretty much at will. Ducati pulling away so quickly from Honda and Yamaha both was ridiculous.
re: “ridiculous”
reDESMOlous.
re: “I thought the biggest development was the Ducati being up from til’ the end.”
everyone’s 1st clue that they were going to open a CAN O’ WHOOP ASS was the special “predator-esque” 4 fin QUAD-FOIL setup. instead of the stacked bi-plane elements, they added a second set up by the nose like Yamaha’s been playing around with. pretty sure that was the first outing for that trim.
don’t know what “stabilators” Dovi ran…? he couldn’t get arrested tackling a koala.
“Andrea, I thought you were my friend” says Vale.
Clearly, MotoGP can now take away the 2 litre fuel advantage from Ducati. Iannone’s double pass on Marquez and Rossi at 3(?) laps from the finish and his pass on Rossi in the final lap proves the Ducati can corner with the best of them. I believe MotoGP has already said that the 2 litre fuel advantage for Ducati will be gone for 2016.
Iannone was incredible today. Let him race straight up with the aliens without the fuel advantage so that he can hold his head high beating the aliens in 2016.
Take away Ducati’s tire advantage too. They have successfully caught up thanks to the special consessions from MotoGp.
It’s no surprise Iannone can do what he did. If I recall, he had hot battles with Marquez when they were younger.
Fantastic race! It was stunning to see how much faster the Duc & Honda were down the straights as compared to the Yamahas.
35,000 attendance and DORNA is pleased with the race. Twice as many at Indy and that’s not enough. Obviously the riders get to dictate the tracks they like and the one’s they don’t. So it is.
official speeds from qualifying
Iannone and Dovi 347 kph 216 mph
Crutchlow and P Esparago 340/211
Marquez 338/210
Rossi 335/208
Lorenzo 333/207
Vinales 328/204
The Duc clearly accelerates harder in the upper midrange, as well as having more sheer outright speed. Ianonne was blowing by Lorenzo and Rossi like they’d each dropped a cylinder. The Duc was even blowing by the Honda fairly easily.
But they didn’t win – and if they do they’ll [probably give a another 30% “heritage” price increase to their bikes. Best let sleeping dogs lie.
No, Iannone didn’t win, but he sure did impact the championship.
Still, Rossi has no one to blame but himself. If he wasn’t always having to come from behind due to his awful qualifying results, he would likely be well clear of Lorenzo by now.
re: “The Duc clearly accelerates harder in the upper midrange, as well as having more sheer outright speed. Ianonne was blowing by Lorenzo and Rossi like they’d each dropped a cylinder.”
you just witnessed what i’ve only been on about for years. the volumetric efficiency of Desmo. but not just the V/E of Desmo, but the V/E of Desmo at SEA LEVEL. this, where the oxygen content of the atmosphere is most dense. unbeknownst, there’s more to Desmodromics than just controlling float and positively returning valves to their seats.
mind elaborating? all the bikes where on the same track and aspiring the same air and Desmo it’s related to valves actuation; in a few words; no spring to close back valve but a lever
animated gif on how desmo works.
http://i0.8000vueltas.com/2007/07/desmoanime.gif
BTW, a photo of the gear driven mechanisms on the Duc GP bike, I’m drooling
http://i.imgur.com/iTiig7G.jpg
As mentioned above, I don’t think there’s anything fundamentally better about Ducati’s engine, it’s that they don’t have frozen development as Honda and Yamaha do, and they’re allowed something like triple the engine allocation.
I think we saw freshly built, up to the minute development from Ducati, against March-spec, tired engines from Honda and Yamaha.
Q: mind elaborating?
A: the magic’s not in the valve actuation, the magic’s in the afforded port shape.
any dumb/smart mechanism can lift a valve off it’s seat and return it back. even whether it’s cam operated, pneumatic, fixed timed or variably timed is less important as those benefits are more directed to the street where Johnny Consumer demands a wide operating range.
however (comma) on the track in much the same way a close ratio gearbox 3-6 becomes the priority and 1st and 2nd gears become less relevant to Johnny Racer, VALVE OVERLAP moves in lock step with this requirement and becomes the overriding priority of cam timing.
when the piston’s at TDC overlap and the both valves are open, the “efficiency of the air pump” moving CFM from the airbox, through the combustion chamber, and out the exhaust ports, shifts away from the motion of the valves themselves (all things being equal) and onto…
(wait for it)
port shape.
Probably one of the greatest MotoGP races of all time in one of the best seasons of MotoGP or any motorcycle Grand Prix season. LOVE IT!
I second that. Outstanding motorcycle competition. Those guys are unbelievable.