Alex Rins gave Suzuki their first win of this MotoGP season. In what was a very close race at Phillip Island, the Spaniard ended up beating Marc Márquez (Honda) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), who completed the podium. It was Rins’ first win in 38 Grands Prix.
“Suzuki’s last appearance here is something special in itself, just from the feeling. Of course, to have won now is unbelievable!”, Rins comments on his victory. “Thank you everyone. I’m already looking forward to coming back to the island next year.” Then he will drive for LCR-Honda.
For the World Cup, the first Australian race since 2019 brought a change in leadership. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) fell back early after a driving error and eventually crashed. He lost his championship lead to Bagnaia, who now has a 14-point lead.
Pole setter Martin sets early pace
Dry conditions prevailed for the race after it had rained in the warm-up. All tire compounds were represented in the field. Pole setter Jorge Martin (Prama-Ducati) went hard-hard. Marc Márquez was running the soft tire in the rear.
Championship rivals Bagnaia, Quartartaro and Aleix Espargaro all opted for the medium front tire and hard rear tyre. 27 rounds were scheduled.
Martin stayed in front at the start and Marc Marquez also held second place. Behind them, Aleix Espargaro initially beat Quartararo before Bagnaia grabbed his two World Championship rivals and took third place.
Error and fall at Fabio Quartararo
After the first lap, the lead duo was already seven tenths. Bagnaia tried to reconnect. His teammate Jack Miller (Ducati) made up places, getting his way around first Luca Marini (VR46-Ducati) and then Quartararo. The Australian was already fourth.
On lap three he also passed Aleix Espargaro. Quartararo, meanwhile, fell behind Marini and eventually mis-braked at Turn 4, dropping him to 22nd. A few laps later, the Yamaha rider crashed in turn 2 and had to retire.
Up front, Martin set the pace but couldn’t shake Márquez. The Ducati factory duo came a little closer again, but also dueled each other. Behind them lurked Rins, who was able to slip past Espargaro in fifth.
Alex Marquez sends Miller out
It didn’t take long for Rins to grab the two factory Ducatis as well. Everyone was close together. After eight laps, the top 10 were still only two seconds apart. The only riders who hadn’t changed places up to that point were Martin and Marc Márquez at the front.
The first incident occurred on lap ten: Ironically, in the new Miller curve 4, the Australian was brutally knocked out of the race by Alex Márquez. He slammed his LCR Honda into the rear of the Ducati, giving Miller no chance to react.
Up front, Rins increased the pressure on Márquez and passed down the start-finish straight to set up Martin next. Halfway through the race, Rins took the lead for the first time, but wasn’t able to stay there for long. Both Bagnaia and Márquez passed the Suzuki driver again.
Rins won’t give up – Bezzecchi strong
After Rins’ attack, Martin fell behind Marco Bezzecchi (VR46-Ducati) to fifth place, but found his rhythm again over the next few laps and made up places. But things remained tight in the leading group. It still reached up to tenth place. The positions kept changing.
It also went back and forth at the top. Sometimes Bagnaia led, sometimes Rins. Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez kept up. Further back, Aleix Espargaro was no longer able to keep up the pace with five laps to go and had to drop off in eighth place.
At the start of the final lap, Rins launched another attack on Bagnaia to take the lead. Marc Márquez took advantage of this and took second place. But it wasn’t enough for an attack on Rins. The Suzuki driver crossed the finish line with a lead of 0.186 seconds as the happy winner.
Marquez saved second place ahead of Bagnaia. In the end, the two separated only 38 thousandths. For the Spaniard it is the 100th podium finish in the premier class.
Marc Márquez had ‘really great fun’
“We made the right choice with the soft rear tire,” says the Honda driver with satisfaction. “I divided the race well. At the end the grip dropped a bit, but this race was really great fun.”
“I’m second but the position isn’t that important. Of course I tried to win. I gave it my all but Alex’s last lap was really good. I did my best and I can only say that I did it I really enjoyed the race. I made a lot of overtakes, always in Turn 2.”
Bagnaia explains: “At the start I had problems activating the front device. That’s why my start wasn’t particularly good. But then I overtook a few drivers.”
“When I saw on my pit board that Fabio was out of the race, I thought a win would be okay. But if the others were to overtake me on the last laps, that would still be okay. I’m very happy. We’re leading the World Cup and we have to keep up the momentum now,” said the new World Cup leader.
Aleix Espargaro ended up only ninth
In the end, Bezzecchi fought against Enea Bastianini (Gresini-Ducati) for fourth place and prevailed. Bezzecchi thus secured the Rookie of the Year title ahead of schedule. Marini completed the strong result for VR46 in sixth.
The Pramac pilots Martin and Zarco finished seventh and eighth respectively. Aleix Espargaro was ninth. Brad Binder took tenth place for KTM. He was just six seconds from victory, making the top 10 the second-closest in history.
The remaining points went to Pol Espargaro (Honda), Miguel Oliveira (KTM), Cal Crutchlow, Darryn Binder (both RNF-Yamaha) and Remy Gardner (Tech-3-KTM), who took a point at his home Grand Prix . Aprilia driver Maverick Vinales disappointed with 17th place. Joan Mir (Suzuki) finished 18th on his comeback.