Five years since he was last victorious, Kent’s Tim Reeves was back on top of the world on Sunday evening when two podium finishes at Estoril in Portugal saw him and passenger Mark Wilkes claim the 2019 World Sidecar Championship.
Following on from his championship success in 2005-2007, 2012 and 2014, it was Reeves’ sixth world title to go alongside the two World Cups previously won whilst Wilkes was finally able to take his first world title.
Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes
Victory on the Berlin Express-backed Adolf RS Yamaha also meant it was the first world title won by a non-LCR outfit since 2002 and the championship success went some way to ease the pain from last year when retirement at the last round denied them the title.
Aided by wins in Hungary, Germany, Holland and Croatia, the duo came into the event with a 12-point lead over season long rivals and reigning World Champions Ben and Tom Birchall although rain in qualifying added another twist to proceedings.
However, undeterred by the weather Tim and Mark claimed pole position and with Saturday’s 10-lap ‘Sprint’ race starting in similar conditions, they followed the decision of both the Birchalls and Finnish pairing Pekka Paivarinta/Jussi Veravainen to fit full wet tyres, the latter also still in contention for the world title.
There was little to choose between Reeves/Wilkes and the Birchalls for much of the race and although Kees Endeveld/Jeroen Remme closed in rapidly in the closing stages as their dry tyres started to come into their own, they duly held on to take their fifth win of the season and extend their championship lead to 17 points with just Sunday’s 17-lap Gold Cup race to go.
Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes
Safe in the knowledge eighth was all they needed to take the title, Tim and Mark were equally aware that things could still go wrong as they had done the previous season but good, sunny conditions helped their cause and they quickly settled into the second place behind the Birchalls.
The latter stretched their lead as Tim concentrated on taking a good, solid finish but when the Birchalls were forced to retire they found themselves in the lead with Paivarinta/Veravainen breathing down their neck. Resisting the temptation of getting embroiled in a battle for the victory, Tim wisely opted to settle for the second place and they crossed the line in the runners-up spot to clinch the World Championship in style.
With five wins and four second place finishes from the ten races, Tim and Mark ended the season with 205 points and with a comfortable advantage of 32 points over Paivarinta/Veravainen whose final race victory saw them overhaul the Birchalls for second in the final championship standings.
Tim Reeves
“I’m chuffed to bits to finally get my hands back on the World Championship and apart from one DNF, it’s been a faultless season. Right from the word go, I felt really strong and as soon as we took our first win in the second round in Hungary, I felt that we were the team to beat. Having said that, I knew every race would be tough as Ben and Pekka are extremely strong at every circuit and all of the races were hard fought so to end the year with five wins and four more podiums is great. I would have loved to have ended the year with two wins but there wasn’t any point in risking anything in Sunday’s second race so took the second place. Ben and Tom had opened up quite a sizeable lead and I wasn’t totally aware that they’d gone out so when Pekka came by it gave me something to focus on and I brought the bike home to start the celebrations. It was a completely new chassis for us this season but it was faultless and the whole team have been superb all year so a special thank you to everyone involved especially Jurgen Roder from Berlin Express, Adrian Kornas, H&S Contractors, DFDS Seaways, Collett Wealth Management, SSD Stainless Steel Design, MJW, Rock Oil, LA Marketing, Potters Home Digital, Pluckley Coachworks, SWT Vehicle Logistics, Pagid Brakes, Shock Factory, Ian Bell Motorcycles, Arai Europe and Wintex.”
Tim Reeves and Mark Wilkes win the 2019 World Sidecar Championship
2019 World Sidecar Championship Final Standings
Tim Reeves/Mark Wilkes (Team Berlin Express Yamaha) 205 pts
2020 KTM Ultimate Race Australian entries announced
Following a spectacular two days of action at the 2020 KTM Ultimate Race qualifiers Australia will be represented by Simon ‘Simmo’ Arthur and Graham Cheney during next year’s KTM Ultimate Race at the Merzouga Rally.
2020 KTM Ultimate Race Qualifiers Australia
Simon ‘Simmo’ Arthur
“KTM always puts on a good event and the prize for this is quite remarkable, to be able to go and compete in the KTM Ultimate Race and represent Australia. I’ve only had the KTM 790 Adventure R for a few weeks, but it handled the conditions so well and did the job perfectly – it’s a very versatile bike. What a chance this is to see a different part of the world in Morocco! I’m on a program to try and get to Dakar in 2021, so this is perfect for me and I’m really grateful. This has been made possible for me by three organisations in particular, which are Choice Suspension, Canberra Motorcycle Centre and APlus Towing – we put this together as a team and got the outcome that we were chasing, so it’s really exciting for all of us.”
Each country that hosts a KTM Adventure Rallye receives two positions in the KTM Ultimate Race, with Arthur and Cheney set to each receive a fully-supported ride, which includes flights, accommodation, entry fees and a KTM 790 Adventure R to compete aboard, with a full race service under the guidance of pro-level and factory-backed off-road racers.
“I’m stoked to be able to qualify for the KTM Ultimate Race, especially considering I only picked the KTM 790 Adventure R up right before the event and it was basically stock-standard. I was really impressed with it though, the bike was definitely competitive throughout the qualifiers and now I’m looking forward to this money-can’t-buy experience in Morocco next year. The goal for me was to remain consistent, flow as well as I could and minimise mistakes during the special tests, which all worked out and I can’t wait to get over there now.”
This year’s KTM Ultimate Race Qualifiers was packed with capable riders on an assortment of KTM adventure machinery, however, both Arthur and Cheney were fittingly equipped with the recently-released KTM 790 Adventure R model. One of the inaugural winners of the KTM Ultimate Race Qualifiers, Steve ‘Robbo’ Robertson was also on-hand to share his experience from earlier this year in Morocco.
2020 KTM Ultimate Race Qualifiers
Commencing the qualifying event on Friday was a 250-kilometre navigation challenge, which took riders through a mixture of terrain including a 40-kilometre section on Stockton Beach that will prove incredibly valuable once Arthur and Cheney arrive in Morocco for the sand-filled Merzouga Rally.
The navigation test also included a series of waypoints where riders had to upload a photo of their bike to Instagram in particular places using correct hashtags as supplied by event organisers.
Saturday provided entertainment for the spectators on location at the Transmoto event, as riders in the KTM Ultimate Race Qualifiers had to complete a pass/fail bike-lift, wheel-change challenge and two timed special tests. The top five riders were then announced, based on accumulative scores, and they put on a final show with a ‘hot lap’ special test of the entire 26-minute Transmoto track.
2020 KTM Ultimate Race Qualifiers
It was another successful KTM Ultimate Race Qualifiers operated by the Transmoto Events team in Stroud, with Arthur and Cheney the final duo selected to represent KTM and Australia during the 2020 KTM Ultimate Race in Morocco.
“The KTM Ultimate Race Qualifiers is a very cool initiative from KTM to bring together the global KTM adventure communities. It is also a great way to showcase the versatility of the KTM adventure range, as these bikes can go long distances over a variety of terrain and also cut some serious times in the special tests! I could not be happier for Simmo and Graham to be representing KTM and Australia – they showed not only what fantastic all-round adventure riders they were, but that they are great sportsmen and are going to be true ambassadors at the KTM Ultimate Race.”
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) played high speed chess at the Pramac Generac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, with the two locked in a tense duel for supremacy throughout.
It wasn’t a duel fought in overtakes and swapped paint, it was a duel in pure speed – with the two perfectly matched the point they made a break for it right down to the final lap.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
That final lap was a dramatic one as Marquez struck early and Viñales dug deep to fight back – and then suffered a dramatic crash that decided the first time the two men have really gone head to head.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
With that, Cal Crutchlow’s (LCR Honda Castrol) impressive ride became one to second place and his best finish of the season, with Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) completing the podium to the delight of the home fans – the first Aussie to stand on the rostrum on home soil in the premier class since MotoGP Legend Casey Stoner won the 2012 event at Phillip Island.
Phillip Island MotoGP Race Report
From the off, the race was a classic – and dramatic. From P4 on the grid, Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) got a great launch to get the holeshot into Doohan Corner, with Viñales slipping to P6 from pole.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Then, at Turn 2, two heavyweights went out of the race: Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) was pushed slightly wide by Marquez as the packed shuffled into the left-hander, and the Italian was a little too eager on the gas, high-siding and dramatically slid into Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). The Frenchman was already wide and almost on the grass, therefore sadly also right in the path of the oncoming Italian.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Back at the front, ‘The Doctor’ was still leading the way on his 400th Grand Prix start, with Crutchlow and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Andrea Iannone slotting in behind the Italian as a freight train of nine riders formed at the front in the opening handful of laps.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Rossi held P1 until Lap 4 when Crutchlow powered past the Yamaha into Turn 1, before Iannone then spectacularly led the race for Aprilia as Crutchlow, Iannone, Rossi, Marquez, Viñales, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Miller and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) all battled one another in a scintillating start to the 2019 Australian GP.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
The man with the pace for most of the weekend was slowly picking his way through the pack though. Viñales was up to third on Lap 8, second on Lap 9 and the lead on Lap 10. Knowing the polesitter had the pace to make a break, third place Marquez was then in a hurry to get past Crutchlow as he shoved the Brit wide at the top of Lukey Heights. That dropped the number 35 down to P4 behind Iannone, and Viñales and Marquez immediately seemed to pull the pin. Crutchlow passed the Aprilia of Iannone into Turn 1 and attempted to go with the leading duo as all three set mid 1:29s and escaped the monster battle for P4.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
The LCR Honda Castrol man couldn’t hold the pace of Viñales and Marquez, however, as the two Spaniards were relentless in the lead to pull away. But Crutchlow was far clear of the scrap behind as three Ducatis, two Suzukis, two Aprilias and a Yamaha fought tooth and nail. Rookies Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) were two impressive performers as they got up in the mix.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
By a handful of laps to go, Marquez was threatening to lead into Turn 1 – and sitting up. As the race rolled on, Marquez kept shying away from a pass, shadowing Viñales around the rest of the lap and waiting for the last. When that came around, there was nothing between the two over the line and the Honda suddenly struck.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Viñales was quick around the outside in the hope of gaining the inside line for the Southern Loop, but Marquez shut the door. Next came Honda Corner and no way through, leaving Turn 10 as the likely major overtaking opportunity. And the race would be settled on the drop into 10, but not how we imagined.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Viñales had already pulled off some sublime moves there, and this time he was equally apid over the crest of Lukey Heights, right on the back of Marquez.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
But then, drama suddenly struck as it proved too much to ask of the Yamaha and Viñales cascaded out the race and onto the grass, leaving Marquez uncotested to the line.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
For the reigning Champion it was victory number 55 of his MotoGP career, becoming the most successful Honda rider in the premier class and overtaking Mick Doohan’s record on the MotoGP Legend’s home circuit.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Viñales’ crash bumped 2016 Australian GP winner Crutchlow into P2, a sensational result for the number 35 after last year’s near-career ending crash at Phillip Island. Meanwhile…
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Miller fought himself to the fore of the group battle for P4, which had now become a fight for the podium.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
On the run to the line, he had to fend off team-mate Bagnaia to return an Aussie to the rostrum, apparently with a little inspiration from Ned Kelly in his livery.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
‘Pecco’ pocketed his best MotoGP result in P4, from P15 on the grid no less, topping off a great weekend for the Pramac team at Pramac Generac-sponsored GP.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Fellow rookie Mir also claimed his best premier class result in P5, the Suzuki man holding off the super impressive Iannone as ‘The Maniac’ took his best Aprilia finish and equalled the Noale factory’s best.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Dovizioso crossed the line in P7 just a whisker behind Iannone, meaning the Team Championship between the Ducati Team and Repsol Honda Team now sits at just one point.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Rossi slipped back to eighth in the closing stages, holding off the challenge from Rins and Aleix Espargaro, who completed the top ten.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) took P11 ahead of a tougher weekend for Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), that closing Aprilia’s deficit to KTM a little in the standings.
2019 Phillip Island MotoGP Race results 1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda) 40’43.729 2 – Cal Crutchlow* (GBR – Honda) +11.413 3 – Jack Miller* (AUS – Ducati) +14.499
Johann Zarco (LCR Honda Idemitsu) took P13 on his Honda debut, with Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) completing the points.
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) didn’t race after being declared unfit in his morning check up.
Marc Marquez
“Incredible, incredible win because today we weren’t the fastest on the racetrack, Maverick was faster but I was waiting for him. I knew he was the target, I knew he was coming and didn’t start so well so I was waiting for him and when he overtook I tried to follow him and be there. I knew he’d push once he overtook Cal and that’s what he did. It was a strong move when I took Cal but I had to make it because I knew if Maverick had a gap of more than half a second or a little bit more, it would be impossible. So I was using his slipstream, he was so fast in T2 and T3, I was fastest in the last sector and the straight, where we could use our engine.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
“On the last lap it was my plan to overtake on the straight and then close the door, then I saw it started to rain, especially at Turn 3 and Turn 6, and I thought, ‘what’s going on?!’ but I just tried to brake late. At Turn 10 he’d already overtaken me twice and I knew he would come. I went in so deep, braking hard. I didn’t know he crashed but I think I would have had a second chance. I think I could have overtaken him before the finish line too.
Phillip Island MotoGP 2019 – Image by Rob Mott
“It was a slow-cooked victory that, we tried to work on the details, all the Repsol Honda Team, and I equalled Mick Doohan in Motegi. Now, I’m the rider with more victories for Honda, which is something incredible. I’m happy, enjoying dreaming this dream. Just enjoy it because you don’t know the future.”
Marquez passes Doohan as Honda’s most successful premier class rider with record breaking 55th win
A hard-fought victory at the Australian Grand Prix cemented yet another record for eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez as he becomes Honda’s most successful rider in history.
Mick Doohan 1998
During Honda’s home race at the Japanese Grand Prix, Marc Marquez joined mighty Mick Doohan and former team-mate Dani Pedrosa as one of just three riders to win 54 Grand Prix races on Honda machinery. Now just a week later, the Repsol Honda Team rider raises the bar once again, clinching victory at Phillip Island for a record-breaking 55th premier class win on the Honda RC213V.
Mick Doohan and Marc Marquez
Since 1998, Australia’s Mick Doohan has held the honour of being Honda’s most successful rider after taking his 54th win at the Argentine Grand Prix as he celebrated his fifth straight premier class title on the NSR500.
Mick Doohan with Marc Marquez
Doohan’s records and results stood as the standard for Honda riders for almost two decades after the Australian surpassed the feats of Freddie Spencer from the 80s.
60 years of Honda Road Racing celebration earlier in the year – Kunimitsu Takahashi, Freddie Spencer, Mick Doohan and Marc Marquez
His first victory in 2013 at Austin saw him beat fellow Honda legend Freddie Spencer’s 30-year old record as the youngest premier class Grand Prix winner.
Marc Marquez celebrting his first MotoGP victory – COTA 2013
From his 125 premier class starts, Marc Marquez has taken to the top step of the podium 55 times and has finished on the podium in 75 per cent of the races since his 2013 MotoGP debut.
Only Valentino Rossi (89) and Giacomo Agostini (68) have more premier class victories to their names than the 26-year-old from Cervera.
2019 has also seen Honda take their 300th premier class win, Marc Marquez taking victory in France, continuing the story of Honda’s premier class success which began in 1966 with Jim Redman, who won a total of 45 races for Honda.
Marquez dominated the #FrenchGP this year
Alongside holding the win record for Honda riders in the premier class, Marquez is also the most successful Honda rider in terms of premier class World Championships with six titles and holds the outright pole position record in the premier class with 62 – four more than Mick Doohan.
Marquez and Honda celebrate Constructors Championship at Motegi, which Marquez won for them by himself…
Marquez needs just nine more podium finishes to equal Pedrosa’s record 112 premier class podiums on Honda machinery.
With two races still remaining in 2019, Marc Marquez (375 points) is just nine points away from surpassing Jorge Lorenzo’s record 383 points from a single premier class season.
Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) is the 2019 Moto3 World Champion. After a stunning race win at Phillip Island to secure the crown, the Italian from the Tuscan city of Prato becomes the first from his country to win a lightweight class World Championship since Andrea Dovizioso took the 125 title in 2004
The 2019 Moto3 World Champion is Lorenzo Dalla Porta – Image by Rob Mott
Dalla Porta made his first appearance in the Moto3 World Championship at Indianapolis in 2015 replacing Isaac Viñales at Husqvarna Factory Laglisse, the same structure he raced with at the time in the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship. Throughout the rest of the season he only failed to finish once, at Phillip Island, and took a best result of eighth after an impressive debut showing.
The following season, the Italian made more than just a few more appearances on the world stage. At Mugello he replaced Philipp Öttl at Schedl GP Racing and scored a point, and at Assen he replaced Jorge Navarro at Estrella Galicia 0,0, taking his second top ten in Moto3. Later in the season, he then joined the Championship full time replacing Romano Fenati at Sky Racing Team VR46 from Silverstone on. The same year, his junior campaign continued and Dalla Porta was crowned 2016 FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Champion at the season finale in Valencia.
2017 saw the Italian join Pull&Bear Aspar Mahindra and make the permanent move up to the World Championship, although the year was a tougher one for Dalla Porta, especially given his earlier results. He did enough to gain the attention of Leopard Racing for the following season, however, and joined the high-profile team for 2018.
The switch was an immediate success and Dalla Porta was on the podium in the season opener at Losail, taking third place and his first rostrum finish in Grand Prix racing. From there followed some solid races as the Italian took a top ten finish more often than not, and his first win would come in the latter half of the season on home turf at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. More podiums in Thailand, Japan and Malaysia followed, putting Dalla Porta in the top five overall by the end of the year.
2019 saw that promise pay off even more as Dalla Porta put together an impressive campaign. Again it began with a podium in Qatar, this time in second, and the Italian took two more rostrum finishes at Le Mans and Mugello.
He missed out at Catalunya through no fault of his own, but he was back on the box at the TT Circuit Assen before taking his first win of the season at the German GP.
Another two podiums at Brno and Silverstone saw him exchanging the points lead with key rival Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) as the two pulled clear at the top of the standings, but as the flyaways came around, Dalla Porta was the man with the momentum.
Another podium at Buriram was backed up by a second win of the season at the Twin Ring Motegi to put the him in the driving seat on the road to Phillip Island, and some key drama hit early in the Australian GP as closest rival Canet crashed out in the first few laps – leaving Dalla Porta with an open goal.
In a classic Moto3 showdown around one of the most challenging racetracks on the calendar, the number 48 was fearless to take a hard-fought third win of the year and secure himself the crown.
The 2019 Moto3 World Champion is Lorenzo Dalla Porta – Image by Rob Mott
This is the fifth time that a Honda rider has won the Moto3 World Championship, adding to the titles won by Alex Marquez (2014), Danny Kent (2015), Joan Mir (2017) and Jorge Martin (2018).
The 2019 Moto3 World Champion is Lorenzo Dalla Porta – Image by Rob Mott
Dalla Porta is the first rider to clinch a Grand Prix World Championship having also won the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship (since 2015).
The 2019 Moto3 World Champion is Lorenzo Dalla Porta – Image by Rob Mott
Phillip Island MotoGP podium like a win for home hero Miller
Section: Competition
Mega third-place result for Pramac Racing star in Australian thriller.
Image: Russell Colvin.
A heroic podium finish for Phillip Island fan favourite Jack Miller lit up the 2019 Pramac Generac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix this afternoon, his third-place result feeling ‘a little bit’ like a victory for the Queenslander.
Miller, 24, has stood on the top step of the podium in Moto3 at Phillip Island in 2014, however, this was his first-career premier class rostrum at home and marked the fourth top-three finish of the season for the Australian sensation.
A final lap crash from Spaniard Maverick Vinales bumped Miller into the top three with only three turns remaining, then pushing into overdrive in a bid to fend of impressive Pramac Racing Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia across the line. And that’s what he did, marking his hard tyre selection work over race distance.
“I saw [Marc Marquez, Vinales and Cal Crutchlow] bolt at the front and knew they were on soft tyres,” Miller recalled. “I managed the race, tried not to push too early like I’ve done in the past and yeah, I got to fourth in the end there. I thought ‘fourth was probably going to be the best you can do here, just defend your position’.
“And then, to my surprise on the last lap there, I just saw dust over the top of Lukey and I thought ‘who’s that?’, saw it was Maverick and I said, ‘holy… I’m in third now’. I just defended the last two corners and here we are!
“It’s amazing, we did a lot of work all weekend trying to establish a base-setting without much track time, so thanks to the Pramac team – they really had to work overtime this weekend, changing the livery and everything. It’s not a win, but it feels like it a little bit.”
It was an electric result for the emotion-charged Miller, joining reigning world champion Marquez and close friend Crutchlow on the podium in front of a buzzing crowd of Australian fans. He’s now eighth in the championship standings, now within 22 points of top Independent Fabio Quartararo after the latter crashed out today.
Victory to Marquez as Miller scores Australian GP podium
Section: Competition
Long-time leader Vinales crashes out on final lap at Phillip Island.
Image: Russell Colvin.
Reigning MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has won the 2019 Pramac Generac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in a thrilling affair that eventuated in home hero Jack Miller standing on the podium for finishing in third position.
Repsol Honda’s Marquez was relentless in his pursuit of pole-setter Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha), who led much of the 27-lap duration prior to a final lap attack from the eight-time world champion into turn one.
With rain looming, Vinales attempted to counter-attack in the run from Lukey Heights down into turn 10, but lost grip on his factory YZR-M1 and crashed out in spectacular fashion. That enabled Marquez to go and eclipse Mick Doohan as Honda’s best-ever on 55 MotoGP wins, plus allowed Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) and Miller to climb positions into second and third places respectively.
It was Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha) who holeshot and led the opening three laps in his 400th grand prix appearance. Meanwhile, contact between Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) saw them both out of the race at Southern Loop on lap one.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini teammates Andrea Iannone – a shock leader at one point – and Aleix Espargaro featured inside the top five during the early laps, but it was Vinales and Marquez who were steadily moving forward. Vinales took the lead into turn four with 18 laps to run, with Marquez also slicing through on Crutchlow by turn nine.
Image: Supplied.
Marquez was patient in his strategy, but once he hit the lead he pushed at 100 per cent, able to force Vinales into the mistake that enabled him to go on and win by 11.413s on soft tyres – his fifth win in succession – from Crutchlow and Miller.
Behind the leading trio came impressive rookie Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing Ducati), who almost pipped teammate Miller across the line, with Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) also strong for a top-five result. The top 10 was completed by Iannone, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Rossi, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Espargaro.
Finishing 11th was Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), comfortably ahead of Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who in turn edged out former teammate Johann Zarco (LCR Honda), while Karel Abraham (Reale Avintia Racing Ducati) and Hafizh Syahrin (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in the points. The final finisher was Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda) following another puzzling ride in P16.
Sixth place in Moto2 at home a ‘building block’ for Gardner
Section: Competition
Gritty Phillip Island effort sees Australian score a good haul of points.
Image: Russell Colvin.
A sixth-place finish came as a positive result for ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team’s Remy Gardner in his home round of the Moto2 World Championship, overcoming a difficult start to the weekend in a determined ride.
Gardner crashed heavily in Friday practice at the Pramac Generac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, but managed to bounce back on race-day Sunday for a good haul of points in a confidence-inspiring ride.
A clash between Iker Lecuona, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzechi into turn four on the opening lap split the field and then a late attack from Lecuona on Gardner cost the Australian any chance of challenging for a top-five result. Still, it was a positive outcome for the 21-year-old.
“I can’t be completely disappointed with the result,” Gardner reflected post-race. “It could have easily ended up worse, but I mean the first lap incident really spread out the whole group and we lost a lot of time there. I was pushing my heart out trying to catch, once I got part Marquez and all of them, but there was already a gap, unfortunately.
“That’s what happens when you start down the back and why I was so frustrated yesterday, but this weekend I couldn’t catch them. If I was there, 100 per cent I could sit in their draft and be able to fight for a podium spot, but the cards didn’t go my way – that’s racing.”
“Sixth it is and, you know, at least I finished the race [laughs],” he added. “This is a good building block, so we just need to keep working because we’re sort of back to where we’re supposed to be.”
As a result of his P6 finish at Phillip Island today, Gardner now sits 13th position in the world championship rankings with two rounds remaining. Today marked his best result since scoring fourth and Silverstone’s British Grand Prix back in August.
Binder leads Red Bull KTM Ajo 1-2 in Phillip Island Moto2 race
Section: Competition
Solid sixth-place finish for Gardner in Australian grand prix.
Image: Russell Colvin.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brad Binder and Jorge Martin were unmatched in Moto2 on their way to a 1-2 result during this afternoon’s race at the 2019 Pramac Generac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Binder kept his title hopes alive in a race that saw world championship leader Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) cross the line in eighth position – 33 points now the difference with two races remaining.
While South African Binder – who will step up to MotoGP in the factory Red Bull KTM team in 2020 – overcame the challenge of teammate Martin by 1.968s, with veteran Thomas Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) rounding out the podium finishers and currently second in the standings. Pole-setter Jorge Navarro (Beta Tools Speed Up) was fourth, ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri (FLEXBOX HP 40).
Australian ace Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) put forward a strong effort for a sixth-place this afternoon at home. He was followed by MotoGP-bound Iker Lecuona (American Racing), Marquez, Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Temporary Forward Racing) and second of the SAG Team entries, Tetsuta Nagashima, in 10th.
Drama struck Luca Marini (SKY Racing Team VR46) and Marco Bezzechi (Red Bull KTM Tech3) on the opening lap when both crashed out, courtesy of an error made by Lecuona into turn four. He also ran wide and was later dealt with a long lap penalty on his way to salvaging P7.
With yesterday‘s FP4 being red flagged and the qualifying sessions delayed until Sunday morning it was quite a busy and unique Sunday schedule that confronted MotoGP teams.
Maverick Vinales has maintained his stellar form in qualifying at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, quickest in the morning warm-up session before then taking pole for today’s Pramac Generac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2019.
The Spaniard, who won here a year ago, took the ninth MotoGP pole position of his career with a time of 1m28.492s.
Maverick Vinales – P1
“I feel good and very positive because on the laps I did I was able to push at my maximum, that‘s very important. Straight away I felt good on hard tyres and soft tyres, so we will try to keep this momentum: start well, get into first place, and push from the beginning. I will try my best as always. The Yamaha is working very good on the track, we need to be careful with the tyres, but anyway, I‘m very happy and feeling very positive.”
Maverick Vinales
Vinales led a 1-2 for Yamaha, with Fabio Quartararo taking second on his Petronas SRT machine. The Frenchman had to do it the hard way, by coming through the first qualifying session, after losing track time in the practice sessions because of a crash on Friday. Quartararo was half-a-second behind the pole-sitter but that was still good enough for P2 on the grid.
Valentino Rossi underlined the supreme balance of the Yamaha around Phillip Island by securing P4 on the grid in what will mark the 400th Grand Prix start for the veteran.
Valentino Rossi – P4
“It was a good qualifying session. I’m happy with the second row and I was very close to the front row. I feel good on the bike and we have improved the set-up. Now we have to start thinking about the race. The weather is uncertain, and the choice of the tyres will be crucial. I hope for a completely dry or wet race.”
Valentino Rossi
World champion Marc Marquez is positioned in third with a time of 1:29.216 seconds on his Repsol Honda after pulling off another miraculous front end save this morning.
The front row for this afternoon’s race
Danilo Petrucci was the fastest of the Ducati riders in fifth ahead of LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow, the 2016 race winner here at Phillip Island.
Aprilia had a great session with seventh and eighth for Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone, respectively. Underlining that despite its fast nature Phillip Island is not a horsepower circuit.
Jack Miller will start from ninth with a different look for race day. The Townsville rider is carrying a one-off change of livery on his Pramac Ducati GP20, and will be looking for a strong start to run with the leaders early in the race.
The 23-lap Australian Grand Prix is scheduled to begin at 3:00pm AEDT.
