This time, he didn’t need a helping hand from the heavens. Neither of these nocturnal storms which, at the end of August, had transformed the Aragon circuit into an ice rink, nor of these few drops of rain which, on September 8, on the Misano track, had paralyzed his opponents, allowing him to play of them with his usual virtuosity.
Masterfully
At Phillip Island, even though it rained during testing, the Australian Grand Prix took place in excellent conditions. But neither the Ducati GP24 of Jorge Martin nor that of Francesco Bagnaia managed to beat, at the finish, the GP23 of the Gresini team masterfully led by Marc Marquez. Dazzling, as in the heyday of his career with Honda, the Spaniard won his third victory of the season this Sunday. Not without being scared at the start. Although qualified on the first row of the starting grid, between Martin and Viñales, Marquez, in fact, had the bad idea of getting rid of a tear-off, a few seconds before the lights went out, this film transparent placed on the visor of his helmet. A protection which allows pilots, when it is removed, to clear their vision. But this is generally only done when racing, when the visor becomes dirty from too many insect impacts.
Despite a big insect…
«There is no written rule, but we all know that we must not remove a tear-off on the starting grid, explains the Spaniard. Unfortunately, a large insect stuck to my visor just before departure. I had no choice but to remove it. Bad luck, the wind blew this plastic film under my bike, and when I put on the gas and released the clutch, the rear wheel passed over it and suddenly skidded.» And that’s how he found himself thirteenth at the first turn. “Luckily, the slippage on the grid did not affect the performance of my rear tire, continues Marquez. I was afraid it might have overheated, but that wasn’t the case.» This is what allowed him to quickly come back to Martin and Bagnaia who had hastened to escape. Sixth on the first pass in front of the pits, the Gresini driver was, six laps later, right behind the two candidates for the world champion title. If the Italian quickly surrendered, his compatriot, winner the day before the sprint, was much less inclined to give in. However, he will have no other choice than to give in to his final attack, four laps from the finish.
Martin digs
«I admit that after my initial mishap, I didn’t imagine being able to come back to Jorge, he confesses. But I managed the wear on my tires well, avoiding putting too much strain on them during my climb. This is what allowed me to attack at the end of the race.» And thus establish a new lap record, while reducing the duration of the race by forty-six seconds. Although beaten by Marquez, Martin was satisfied to have finished ahead of Bagnaia again. By ahead of the double world champion on Saturday and this Sunday, the leader increased his lead from ten to twenty points.
Ranking of the Grand Prix d’Aubeam
1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 39:47.702
2. Jorge Martín (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) at 0.997
3. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 10,100
4. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 12,997
5. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati) 13,310
6. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Ducati-Pramac) 15,434
7. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 15.450
8. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Aprilia) 16,636
9. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) 18,757
10. Raul Fernandez (ESP/Aprilia-Trackhouse) 19.345
World Championship ranking after the Phillip Island GP (Australia)
1. Jorge Martín (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) 424 pts
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 404
3. Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 345
4. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati) 331
5. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) 192
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