Photo: motogp.com
Valentino Rossi found an amazing way to celebrate his 250th GP race in the career with a spectacular victory in the Australian round at Phillip Island yesterday. After the many crashes the Aussie track saw in the Free Practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, we sort of hoped that the race will not be as eventful. These hopes have been shattered however, as no less than 9 riders haven’t got to the finish line.
This means that all the 14 pilots who managed to drive by the checkered flag this weekend earned GP points. Even more, with some of the big names crashing out of the Australian race, important changes in world standing have been also recorded.
It was a weekend to forget for Repsol Honda, as their main rider and two-time MotoGP World Champion crashed out of the race while he was riding in the 1st position and had a comfy 4-second advantage over Valentino Rossi.
Stefan Bradl also collided with Aleix Espargaro after the German had a risky approach in a rather delicate moment. With the tails section flying to bits, the elder of the Espargaro brothers tried to keep on racing but shared the same fate with Dani Pedrosa, being forced to retire. Driving his bike and stopping it on a grass patch, Espargaro was so unnerved that he literally smashed the windscreen of his pike with his fists, in a display of discontent we haven’t seen in MotGP since the days of the Gibernau-Rossi battles.
Cal Crutchlow has an amazing race, at least until the last lap. He even managed to pass Jorge Lorenzo for second before crashing out of the blue after losing his front end and denying Ducati another podium. Pol Espargaro, Broc Parkes, and Karel Abraham were also on the DNF list.
Race Direction gave Bradl a penalty point for crashing into Aleix Espargaro, while Bradley Smith was also give one penalty point for overtaking under the yellow flag after Marc Marquez wet down. The Inannone-Pedrosa collision is also under Race Direction scrutiny.
At the same time, Aleix Espargaro lost the change to battle for the 5th overall position at the end of the season. Dovizioso is now 49 points head, leaving the Spaniard with only theoretical chance of climbing one position in the world standing, if a funny one: winning both remaining races and Dovi finishing outside the points zone. Which, of course, will not happen.
While Marquez remains at the top of the world standing with 312 points, the battle for the rest of the podium places just got fiercer. Since Pedrosa earned no points at Phillip Island and both Yamaha factory riders were on the podium, he dropped to the 4th overall position, retaining his 230 point.
Rossi stepped in the second position with 255, and is now chased by Jorge Lorenzo with 247, with the battle for the podium still far from over and will most likely go down to the last round in Valencia. Until then however, the triple flyaway race is expected this vey weekend at Sepang, in Malaysia, before MotoGP action returns to Europe for the final round.
Clashes, crashes and penalty points
Two clashes put an early end to the racing effort of 4 riders at Phillip Island paste Sunday. Ducati’s Andrea Iannone clipped Dani Pedrosa, and was mildly injured. Pedrosa tried to continue the race but the damage to his bike was too extensive so he decided to retire.It was a weekend to forget for Repsol Honda, as their main rider and two-time MotoGP World Champion crashed out of the race while he was riding in the 1st position and had a comfy 4-second advantage over Valentino Rossi.
Stefan Bradl also collided with Aleix Espargaro after the German had a risky approach in a rather delicate moment. With the tails section flying to bits, the elder of the Espargaro brothers tried to keep on racing but shared the same fate with Dani Pedrosa, being forced to retire. Driving his bike and stopping it on a grass patch, Espargaro was so unnerved that he literally smashed the windscreen of his pike with his fists, in a display of discontent we haven’t seen in MotGP since the days of the Gibernau-Rossi battles.
Cal Crutchlow has an amazing race, at least until the last lap. He even managed to pass Jorge Lorenzo for second before crashing out of the blue after losing his front end and denying Ducati another podium. Pol Espargaro, Broc Parkes, and Karel Abraham were also on the DNF list.
Race Direction gave Bradl a penalty point for crashing into Aleix Espargaro, while Bradley Smith was also give one penalty point for overtaking under the yellow flag after Marc Marquez wet down. The Inannone-Pedrosa collision is also under Race Direction scrutiny.
The world standing has changed
With Crutchlow crashing out in the final stage of the race, Bradley Smith managed to secure the first-ever MotoGP podium in his career, completing an all-Yamaha rostrum. Jorge Lorenzo made no effort to hide is discontent and frustration for making a bad tire choice for the race. According to his own declarations, his tire got destroyed pretty early in the race and this prevented him from efficiently attacking Rossi for the top position of the podium.At the same time, Aleix Espargaro lost the change to battle for the 5th overall position at the end of the season. Dovizioso is now 49 points head, leaving the Spaniard with only theoretical chance of climbing one position in the world standing, if a funny one: winning both remaining races and Dovi finishing outside the points zone. Which, of course, will not happen.
While Marquez remains at the top of the world standing with 312 points, the battle for the rest of the podium places just got fiercer. Since Pedrosa earned no points at Phillip Island and both Yamaha factory riders were on the podium, he dropped to the 4th overall position, retaining his 230 point.
Rossi stepped in the second position with 255, and is now chased by Jorge Lorenzo with 247, with the battle for the podium still far from over and will most likely go down to the last round in Valencia. Until then however, the triple flyaway race is expected this vey weekend at Sepang, in Malaysia, before MotoGP action returns to Europe for the final round.
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