Marquez Celebrates Thriller at Phillip Island

An amazing last lap effort has seen Marc Marquez snatch victory in the Australian Moto GP, bringing his Repsol Honda home just ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone.

Marquez started the race on pole after a brilliant qualifying time but he certainly didn’t have it all his own way in the main event, spending most of the 27 lap race involved in an intense four-way battle with Lorenzo, Iannone and current championship leader, Valentino Rossi.

But the Spanish star left his best until the very end.

He seized the lead on the last lap, passing Lorenzo at MG corner, to take the flag just 0.249 seconds ahead of his compatriot.

With track temperature in the mid-to-high 30s, all 25 riders opted to race with Bridgestone’s newly-developed asymmetric front slick which provides a balance of warm-up performance, braking feel and cornering stability.

“Congratulations to Marc and Honda on a well-deserved victory in Australia. Marc’s final lap was outstanding and was a strong reminder of his championship-winning skills,” said Shinji Aoki - Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department.

“The pace in all sessions was very quick and in MotoGP there was only one crash over the entire race weekend at what is the fastest circuit on the calendar and it is this result which pleases me the most.”

Marquez’s astonishing final lap was actually the fastest of the race - 1’29.280 seconds - and gave the reigning world champion a new race record by 13 seconds.

Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone also rode an excellent race and held off Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Rossi in the dying seconds to claim the third podium position. 

For Marquez, the 2015 Australian Grand Prix is one to remember.

“During the race I felt good and in the opening laps there were many overtakes between me, Andrea and Valentino but that meant Jorge was able to pull a gap,” he said.

“Later in the race I was getting some movement from my front tyre, so I decided to back off a little and save my tyres until the last three laps and then I could make an unbelievable final lap and catch Jorge.”

“We have been working hard to improve our results, so I am really happy that we were able to take the victory.”

With two rounds to go, the Spaniard’s win sees him consolidate third place on the points table.

Lorenzo’s second place finish means he’s now just 11 points behind current leader Rossi, with Marquez a further 63 points back.

Championship Standings

1. Valentino Rossi    296 points
2. Jorge Lorenzo     285 points
3. Marc Marquez    222 points
4. Andrea Iannone 188 points